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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.

eBay Find of the Day: 25-station video gaming trailer w/ bonus Ford F-250

Why, you might be asking yourself, is Autoblog showing me an eBay Motors listing for a 2006 Ford F-250 and a box trailer (with a badly cropped photo to boot)? It's not because we're highly interested in this blue-collar rig, to be sure, but rather because we're interested in throwing the greatest Forza party of all time. Housed in that innocuous white 26-foot trailer is a gamer's delight, with 25 Xbox 360 systems connected up to 25 high-definition monitors and 24 headsets to keep everyone locked into the action (one of the stations is outside the trailer). When connected up to one of two included generators, the setup allows for two-dozen combatants to square off, back-to-back and head-to-head. Sure, the Buy It Now price of $79,000 seems steep considering the trailer will need about ten grand worth of Xbox One or Playstation 4 upgrades in the near future. But that doesn't mean you couldn't squeeze out a few more years of massive multiplayer fun. Check out the listing here, and do let us know if you buy it, we'd love to come over and game. Featured Gallery Video Game Trailer: eBay Find of the Day News Source: eBay Motors Toys/Games Ford Auctions forza motorsport xbox xbox 360 ford f-250 autoblog black

Watch these videos of an NHRA racer's bodywork blowing off into a crowd

Just a few months ago, fan safety at racetracks was a hot topic following the last-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series crash at Daytona that sent large pieces of racecars into the grandstands injuring 33 fans. Now, a freak incident at a National Hot Rod Association event resulted in a drag racer's bodywork flying into the crowd at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte over the weekend. The carbon-fiber body of Robert Hight's Ford Mustang funny car blew off toward the end of a run when his engine exploded, but fortunately, the two fans evaluated after the incident were later released without serious injury.
As you can see in the image above, the body flew high into the air before landing on a walkway in front of the grandstands, a bit of happenstance that likely gave most fans enough time and space to move out of the way. Scroll down to watch a couple of videos showing what happened, including one from a fan's perspective that also reveals what appears to be part of the body's metal bracing landing dangerously close to the crowd.