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Why 2015 is going to be a huge year for trucks

Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn took center stage to introduce the 2016 Titan last week at the Detroit Auto Show. He spoke of the truck's new features, impressive Cummins V8 diesel engine and the extensive amount of time and money required to build a modern, competitive pickup truck. "We have done all of this because we see opportunity – an opportunity in the unmet needs of today's American truck customers," Ghosn said. He was speaking about the Titan, but his thoughts echo the industry's mindset: When it comes to trucks, find an opportunity and attack. Even with CAFE regulations looming and fickle consumer preferences, investing in trucks is a no-brainer for automakers. Some consumers will always need a truck for their job or lifestyle. And some people will always want one, whether they need it or not. With that in mind, here are four reasons why the pickup-truck sector is more important than ever and poised for growth in 2015. View 24 Photos The Nissan Titan Is Back Okay, it never left, but the Titan hadn't been redesigned since its launch in 2003, and Nissan sold more NV200s than Titans in 2014. It's an understatement to say the truck was languishing. That all changes with the 2016 model. The Titan will come in two variants, a traditional fullsize competitor and the Titan XD. The XD will lead the market launch, and it arrives late this year. It's pitched as a "whitespace" offering, Nissan sales and marketing vice president Fred Diaz said. The idea is to offer something in the general size and price range of a fullsize truck, but also have some of the capability of a heavy-duty truck. The XD uses a fully boxed ladder frame, the chassis design from Nissan's commercial division, and the wheelbase is about 20 inches longer than other Titan models. The XD, which Nissan is calling the flagship of the line, will be the only model with the 5.0-liter Cummins turbodiesel V8. It produces 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, while being able to tow 12,000 pounds. V6 and V8 gasoline models will also be offered on the Titan XD and the standard, non-XD model. When production ramps up, the Titan will be sold with several cabs, beds and trims. New features include trailer sway control, an integrated trailer brake controller, more storage options in the cabin and even laminated front and rear side glass to reduce outside noise. All of this has given Nissan fresh confidence in an area where it admittedly has been lacking. "We can compete," Diaz told Autoblog.

Barrett-Jackson is auctioning the first 2022 GMC Hummer EV for charity

Unveiled in late 2020, the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 was so popular that enthusiasts scooped up the entire production run in merely 10 minutes. If you missed your chance to reserve one, you're in luck if your pockets are deep enough. Auction house Barrett-Jackson will sell the first example off the production line for a great cause. VIN 001 will be up for grabs during a sale that starts in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 20. Hummer production hasn't started yet, so we don't know precisely what the truck will look like and it won't physically cross the auction block. Barrett-Jackson did not provide a pre-auction estimate, but it pointed out that 100% of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to a charity called Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation that helps wounded first responders and veterans across America. Charity auctions normally bring big dollars, so a sold-out flagship variant of a highly-anticipated model whose base price is pegged at $112,595 could sell for a seven-digit sum. Edition 1 deliveries will start in the fall of 2021, meaning the winning bidder will need to wait a few months before exploring the great outdoors in the 1,000-horsepower electric truck. More affordable trim levels are in the pipeline, but they're not exactly around the corner. GMC will expand the range by launching three trim levels called EV2, EV2X, and EV3X, respectively. Equipped with three electric motors, the EV3X will land in the fall of 2022 with a $99,995 base price. Pricing for the two-motor EV2X due out in the spring of 2023 starts at $89,995, while the entry-level EV2 will arrive a year later priced at $79,995. None of these figures include available incentives. Looking ahead, the Hummer EV will spawn an SUV that will make its official debut online in February 2021. We don't know when it will reach showrooms yet, but we're not expecting to see it until 2022 at the earliest.  Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale sale includes sports cars from every era, ranging from a custom 1928 Ford Model A to a 2021 Honda Civic Type R. Ram's first 1500 TRX is on the roster, too, and it will also be sold for charity. Another stand-out car from the catalog is the first production version of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible. Finished in black with a black and red leather interior, it's powered by a mid-mounted, 6.2-liter V8 engine rated at 495 horsepower, and it's equipped with the 3LT and Z51 packages plus the Performance Data Recorder, among other features.

Chevy Express 1500, GMC Savana 1500 get the axe

Fans of truck-based, light-duty vans can officially pour one out for the Chevrolet Express 1500 and GMC Savana 1500, as General Motors has officially put its long-serving big/little rigs out to pasture. Things aren't quite as sad as they sound, though. The heavier-duty 2500 and 3500 vans will soldier on, in order to duke it out with the largest members of Ram ProMaster, Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter families.
The move does seem to make a lot of sense. According to GM, customers only purchase the 1500-spec Chevrolet 23 percent of the time, while the GMC captures a mere 7 percent of the Savana family's sales. With numbers like that, it's no shock that GM thinks it can shift some of its buyers into its van family's more capable variants. "We knew we could move a lot of our 1500 customers into 2500-series territory," said GM's Joe Langhauser, the product manager for the company's full-size vans.
It's not just simple sales figures dictating the move, though. The 1500 line is taking up some valuable factory space that will be better spent on an eagerly anticipated new product.