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Deep discounts — $12K, $13K, $16K — are fueling a pickup price war

Heavy discounts of up to $16,000 per vehicle are fueling a "truck war" among full-size pickups sold in the United States by the Detroit Three, a Reuters analysis shows. Strong U.S. sales this year of the highly profitable big trucks have helped offset lagging passenger car sales. But it is not clear how much of the truck demand is linked directly to ample factory incentives and dealer discounts, or how far sales might decline without those subsidies. A Reuters survey of Ford, General Motors Co's Chevrolet and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles's Ram truck dealers across the United States indicates stores are offering deep discounts the country's bestselling full-size pickup trucks. "The walls are not crashing down on full-size trucks," said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. Detroit-based automakers want to keep cranking out their high-margin trucks, he added, and "giving up a little of the profit is the cheapest way to do it." Stores are offering discounts of up to $12,000 on the 2018 Ford F-150, which remains the best-selling vehicle in the country, recording more than 80,000 sales in May. Discounts run up to $13,000 on the 2018 Chevrolet Silverado and as high as $16,000 on the Ram 1500. Average transaction prices for full-size pick-ups range from around $42,000 to $45,000, industry analysts and automakers say. All three companies are spending furiously - GM and Fiat Chrysler to help sell off carryover 2018 trucks to prepare for redesigned 2019 models, and Ford to sustain its long-held sales crown. A supplier fire that temporarily shut down production of the F-150 last month "changed the game," said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive in Troy, Michigan said. The supply halt nudged Ford's crosstown rivals "to ratchet up incentives on the current models to go after weakness at Ford," he said. Deals advertised on the companies' official websites range from rebates and low-interest loans to ultra-cheap lease rates, but they are not telling the whole story. Ford, for instance, advertises a $2,000 rebate and a $500 financing credit on sales of certain F-150 models. But James Collins Ford in Louisville, Kentucky, is offering discounts of up to $12,215 on the 2018 F-150 XLT SuperCrew 4x4. The price cuts are even steeper at a number of GM and Fiat Chrysler dealers. Quirk Chevrolet is selling the 2018 Silverado 1500 Double Cab at $13,000 off sticker.

Race Recap: Rolex 24 at Daytona was fast and feisty

Let the record show that victory at the 2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona went to the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Target/Ford EcoBoost Riley DP driven by Verizon IndyCar drivers Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan and NASCAR drivers Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson. The winner did 740 laps to cover 2,634.3 miles in 24 hours and 57.667 seconds. That's a statement to this year's pace in spite of 18 cautions, two more than last year: the Michael Shank Racing Ligier got pole with a time of 1:39.194, slower than last year's pole time of 1:38.270; however, the winning car last year only did 695 laps. The fight for top honors was shaved to a four-car battle over the first third of the event. The No. 02 Ganassi car took the lead on the first lap, swapping it well into the night with the No. 01 Ganassi car, the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP, and the defending champion No. 5 Action Express Corvette DP, all of them staying within about 20 seconds of one another. The Action Express car had a fuel connector come loose and lost three laps getting towed back to the pits to have it reattached, but was back in the lead 18 hours in. The No. 01 Ganassi car dropped out with recurring clutch problems 22 hours in, retiring not long after. A race-within-the-race is where the concluding action happened, a seven minute, 30-second dash from the end of the last caution to the checkered flag. During the penultimate pit stops with an hour to go, Dixon was in second place followed Jordan Taylor in the Wayne Taylor Racing DP into the pits but beat him out, taking the lead. The Action Express car was in third. In the last pit stops of the race, Dixon gained even more time, getting a four-second advantage over Taylor. Then a full-course caution came out twenty minutes before the finish when a Prototype Challenge car hit the wall and caught fire, bunching up the field. That closed the pits, but the Wayne Taylor Racing car had to pit during that yellow because of a miscalculation of driver time. No driver can be behind the wheel for more than four hours in a six-hour period but Jordan Taylor was going to go over, so he came in to swap out for brother Ricky. That cost the team any chance of second place, since they took an additional drive-through penalty for entering closed pits. When the track went green again, Sebastien Bourdais in the Action Express car stayed all over Dixon for the final five laps but couldn't get around him.

Outrageous Thor24 semi truck to appear in the new season of 'Jay Leno's Garage'

Wednesday is Jay Leno's birthday, and CNBC used the occasion to announce the upcoming season of Jay Leno's Garage. In a new teaser video, Leno is seen with a stacked list of guests, some new, some repeats, as well as a wild gamut of vehicles, including the absolutely insane 24-cylinder, 3,424-horsepower Thor24.  The outrageous semi build, which sold at auction in Saudi Arabia earlier this year for a whopping $12 million (or $1 million per supercharger) will join the likes of the Tesla Cybertruck and a recliner on wheels on the upcoming season of Jay's series.  Thor24 View 24 Photos The formula for Jay Leno's Garage is simple, successful, and not changing anytime soon. He brings out a bunch of famous people, some of which are real enthusiasts, others who have more casual driving backgrounds, and they experience a vehicle together. In the short clip released by CNBC, Leno is accompanied by Elon Musk (again), Danny Trejo, Bill Burr, Tim Allen, Jon Hamm, Brad Garrett, Jeff Dunham, Kelly Clarkson, Matt LeBlanc, Blake Shelton, Norm MacDonald, Edd China, and Jon Lovitz.           View this post on Instagram                   Thank you for sharing your dream with us. Happy Birthday, Jay! Love always, your @cnbcprime Family. A post shared by Jay Leno's Garage (@jaylenosgarage) on Apr 28, 2020 at 8:27am PDT The people, however, are merely social lubricants to spotlight the real stars of the show, the cars. This season will include the Tesla Cybertruck, the record-breaking Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, a 1965 Buick Riviera, a naked cat car, an Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, a Porsche Taycan, a modern Ford GT, a Chevrolet Corvette C8 hard-top convertible, amphicars, a snail car, a beetle car, a couch car, and the 24-cylinder, 12-supercharger, 3,424-horsepower Thor24 semi. Just to name a few. As usual, there will be racing, stunts, spinouts, smoke from both tires and engines, and lots of silly dad jokes. Season 5 of Jay Leno's Garage debuts on CNBC on May 20 at 10 p.m. ET. Related Video: Celebrities Green TV/Movies Aston Martin Bugatti Chevrolet Tesla Special and Limited Editions Jay Leno Jay Lenos Garage