Enlightening the problem, our auto engineers explains: “The Hill-hold assist function in the Heavy Duty pickup trucks is suppose to apply the vehicle’s brakes for around 1.5 seconds one the drivers lift their feet off the brake, when the truck is on an incline which is 5 percent or steeper.  But, it didn’t happen in our testing on a 7.2 percent grade and the hill-hold system didn’t engage. The truck started rolling back as soon as we lifted our foot from the brake pedal. This problem was initially discovered in a Chevrolet Silverado 2500.

Considering the severity of the problem and protecting their image, luckily, GM acted instantly on the problem and has started working towards finding the solution to the problem. According to the GM engineers, the problem was with the calibration value of the controlling software used for detecting inclines, and immediately after figuring out the problem with the engineers from system supplier TRW, they corrected the incorrect calibration value of the software. The incorrect calibration value actually prevented the system from detecting the smaller steeps and hills and that is what actually caused the problem.

Immediately, after a week, when the problem came into existence GM took the remedial action on Monday, as a result of which every new heavy-duty trucks produced now will be calibrated for optimal performance. Speaking on the remedial action being taken by GM for its heavy duty pickup truck, an engineer said, “Fixing any such problem a few years ago, easily would have taken few months or weeks at least, but with the modern technology around this problem now could be dealt in few days.”

We haven’t got any word from GM on how they will be recalibrating the models that are already being sold, but we are working on getting some useful information and will keep you posted here.

With Volvo’s Concept Truck 2020 details we came to know that the one idea that Volvo is exploring with its concept is of “auto-pilot” for commercial trucks. This will let the driver relax as the truck moves ahead at a steady pace of 56 mph. But that’s just not it, what’s even more startling is the fact that this technique will have trucks following each other in a convoy, with the help of wireless communications. Trucks not only will be maintaining safe distance and speed, but could actually place themselves in each other’s slipstream. Adapting this technique will certainly enhance the fuel economy of the trucks and will automatically reduce the carbon emissions.

Further we came to know that the Volvo Concept Trucks 2020 will be a lot safer in the event of a head-on collision. This could be attributed to its newly designed jutting from the front “bumper”, it not only is designed aerodynamically for enhancing the fuel economy for the truck, but at the same time will absorb impacts more “tenderly” for plummeting injuries.

Lastly, the driver’s cabin for Volvo Concept Trucks 2020 will be redesigned for enhancing not only driver’s visibility but also their comfort level. A lot of glass has been used around the cabin to make it easy for the driver to be aware of its environs and traffic conditions, at the same time it will allow a lot more eye contact with other drivers on the road.

The rearview mirrors of the conventional trucks will be replaced by cameras in Volvo Concept Trucks 2020. These cameras will project the image on the front windshield of the truck to make it easy for the driver to view them. Finally, the conventional dashboard will be replaced by a panel which will have control functions that are found on touchpads. Each of the controls here can be customized to match driver’s style and habit.

The latest truck maker to enter the league is General Motors, which is looking to make the most of Thailand’s craving for pick-up trucks by introducing an all new mid-sized Chevrolet truck. Chevy even is planning to export the same model to Europe and some other parts of South East Asia.

As initial steps for starting the production, General Motors has secured loans from three Thai banks, though the company still has not opened the amount, which they will be spending on boosting the production of its Rayong plant in Thailand.

The Rayong plant from which Chevy is planning to produce their all new mid-size pick-up for Thailand currently produces Chevrolet’s Aveo and Colarado pickups variants. Chevy is planning to boost the output for the plant by more than 80,000 units, said executive director for GM’s Southeast Asian operations, Mr. Martin Apfel. This all new mid size pickup truck could be the new pickup, which was found in the patent filling in recent times.

Apfel further told that the logical consequence behind producing the pickup in Thailand is to “build where the consumers want it, as it will keep your cost down”. This is why Chevy is targeting Brazil and Thailand, which are the two primary centers of gravity for the mid-sized pickup trucks.

The production of the new model in the Chevy plant will begin after the expiration of a deal for assembling the trucks with Isuzu Motors Ltd. But while the company waits for that to happen, the work on developing an all new diesel engine plant in eastern Rayong region are on course. This new diesel engine plant will be manufacturing engines for new truck. The diesel engine plant is supposed to be in its final stages of completion. Though, the exact time for the completion is still unknown.

The production of mid-size pickup trucks is one part of GM’s plans to invest $467 million in Thailand, while the automaker from Detroit plans to vend around 100,000 units of their all new pickup truck in its debut year, with its global manufacturing concerted in Brazil and Thailand. Some other plans of GM in that region include the restoration of a factory in Bekasi, close to Jakarta which has been inoperative from past five years. This factory will be manufacturing a seven seat vehicle targeting the local market consumptions, and will require around $100 million in investment.

According to our auto engineers, the Chrysler’s Jeep Liberty, Dodge Nitro, Dodge Ram, and Jeep Wrangler, all have a defaulted hose which takes the breaking fluid, and it can crack anytime and can lose fluid as well. These faulty brake tubes are prone to crack, and can loose the brake fluid to deplete from the system.

In case of Ford’s 2010 Transit Connect vans, the problem is their pushpins that lock the headliner above the B-pillars. These pushpins failed in holding back the liner in the government crash test. But the good thing here is that the manufacturers will be informing the vehicle owners if their vehicle falls in the line up of their recall vehicle. So you don’t have to worry, whether you have a Jeep Wrangler, Dodge Nitro, Ram Truck and Jeep Liberty or if you have a 2010 Ford Transit.

Speaking with the reporters, Ford Officials told that 2010 Ford Transit surpassed the safety limit decided by the government for head injury. The same was the case with the Chrysler’s models as well, and will be taken care of once they come back with their respective dealers. As per the two manufacturers, the defected vehicles were manufactured in between Dec. 5, 2008 to May 31, 2010, and with more than 30,000 Ford Transit and more than 20,000 Chrysler models being recalled, the entire process can be a bit lengthy and somewhat troublesome for the owners. But to somewhat minimize the trouble for the owners, the manufacturers will be notifying the owners whether their model falls under the flawed vehicle lineup or not. At the same time they will be taking car of informing the dealers when they had the modified “brake tube” for Chrysler models and when they’ll have the “headliner retention push pin” for Ford Transit Connect.

The two manufacturers are expected to start recalling their problematic vehicles from next month. So if your vehicle manufacturing date (only for afore mentioned problematic models) matches with the above mentioned date of manufacturing for the defaulted models, may be you could also get a call for recall.

One of the most noticeable changes that we found about the 2011 Tacoma was its all new aggressive looking grille. It’s also expected that Toyota will be omitting some manual transmissions from the truck and will be providing it with some more auto transmissions. Apart from the grille and transmissions not much is been known till yet but we are looking forward to fetch as many information as possible and as soon as possible. But till then we’ll have to wait for any information from the Toyota’s house.

One more thing, although not as pleasing as the upgrades in the design, about the 2011 Tacoma we know now is that the truck will also be getting price hike for 2011. The base price for 2011 Toyota Tacoma will be $16,365; while if you want a higher end model, then you will be paying $27,525.

So let’s ride.

Every Single Inch a Harley:

Ford has been launching the Harley-Davidson versions of the F-150 for more than 14 years now, and the special edition pickup trucks have been a masterpiece for both the companies. The Harley-Davidson’s shield and bar complements the Blue Oval of Ford very well, and makes a lot of sense.

The Harley-Davidson F-150 is based on the short bed crew cab pickup and is sprayed with Lava paint so darkly that in some lights it appears black and in some others red. Though the one thing that some might think is too much here is the appearance of “Harley-Davidson” and the shield and bar on F-150’s interior and exterior, we counted only up to 14.

Be it the exteriors of the interiors of the pickup, they all reflected the expertise of H-D and Ford. So the design surely is a bonus point of the F-150 Harley-Davidson.

Power Within:

After going gaga over the stunning interiors and exteriors of the showpiece the Harley-Davidson F-150 it was time to see under the hood, and to find whether this beauty has some power to back up its pickup tag or not. We went under the hood and were a lot happy to see that the F-150 is powered by one of Ford’s finest engines, a logically aspirated 5.4 liter V8 engine. The V8 here is capable of churning 320 hp of maximum power and 390 lb-ft of maximum torque.

Also considering the fact that it is a Harley Davidson truck and the fact that Harley riders have affection for the engine sound and exhaust, we gave a look at both these aspects of the pick up as well. Like earlier, here also Ford and Harley Davidson has done a great job and just like the unmatched sound of a 45-degree V-twin engine, it also has a powerful V8 engine pumping under its hood.
What To Expect?

If you are looking for a hardcore work pickup, then the keep your hunt on, the F-150 Harley Davidson is too fancy to be a work truck, and although it has the same potential as of any other pickup, but you surely wont want to scratch this pretty beauty.

All that said it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that once again the stylish Jeep is planning to re-enter the pickup truck market. The thought of re-entering the Pickup segment came from the mind of Jeeps’ newly appointed CEO Mike Manley. Mike targets the pickup segment of global auto market and thinks that the concept of a pick ‘em-up-truck will be largely profitable for the company as well as for the consumers; as they will get a decent option.

Now, with all due respect to the vision of Jeep’s CEO Mike Manley and considering the fact that the Ford Ranger is still selling in decent numbers, even without seeing any significant updates since the Jurassic period and after seeing the still persistent interest buyers in of Mahindra pickup, even before reaching the American scene, we are doubtful of the demand of a Jeep Pick-up in America. Keeping all ifs and buts aside, we just hope that we get to see a Jeep pickup roaring very soon in the market, if you also are a Jeep and a SUV fan than keep your figures crossed and hope to get the uniquely styled Jeep soon.

Mr. Boije Overbrink used a Volvo semi-truck for setting the semi-truck land speed record and succeeded in doing it at 155 mph. The Volvo semi-truck used here had an engine honking maximum power of 2,000 horsepower and maximum torque of 3,687 lb-ft. considering the power ratings for the semi setting the record clearly was just a matter of time. But like always its not all bread and butter always, and the semi failed to reach the highest point of land speed by a semi, and i.e. 155 mph (Yes, you read it write its 155 mph only). As a matter of fact the Volvo semi reached only up to 103.84 mph after a kilometer.

Now you might be thinking, then “how come it set up the record for land speed?” aren’t you? So let us make it easy for you. The speed in cases of semi-trucks or trucks is not determined, by subjecting the truck for top speed test for long time. It actually is calculated by averaging the speed over a definite course. So this is how the 103.84 mph became 155 mph, and got the Voila, FIA certification for the fastest semi-truck at 155 mph. So, let’s congratulates Mr. Overbrink.

So What’s New Now?

Yes, we are sure you would have asked this question after going through above stanza. So, here is the big news, our auto spies have reported spotting not only the (supposed) replacements of Ford Ranger, but also of a small GM pickup. The GM pickup is expected of being the stand-ins for the GMC Canyon twins and Chevrolet Colorado. Our auto spies also reported that, both the replacements that they saw were comparatively bigger than the top-dog Silverado and F-150.

What To Expect?

All that said there still is a dilemma regarding what future has in the store for these pickups. But considering the fact that GM and Ford, both are testing there mini-pickup trucks in and around their corresponding headquarters situated in southeast Michigan, we think that these replacements can well be intended for US markets. Ford has frequently spoken of a comparatively smaller F-100-style F-150 to replace the Ranger, and there also has been reports suggesting that GM also is working on a new truck to optimistically revive the success story of original GMC Sonoma and Chevy S10.

So if we go by all these reports suggesting the spotting of all new replacements for Chevy’s Colorado and Ford’s Ranger, then there certainly is a lot to look forward in the near future in the small Pickup segment of US market. And who knows it can very well be the rejuvenation of US’s dying small pickup truck market.

But even if then you are feeling a bit problem the here we ware for you with the Top 10 least expensive pickup trucks of the year 2009. This list probably will make it easier for you to winnow you choices. We have compiled our list on basis of the severe review we’ve done on the pickup trucks and the MSRP of every pickup truck, not including the destination charges. The prices quoted here in our list are for the Base-models. So if you want any specific feature or trim variant of any particular pickup, then you will have to put an extra load on your budget. Every model that has made its place in our list was allowed only emergence on the list.

But still we will recommend you to investigate the incentives and rebates on all these models; if you are lucky you even can get some additional discount for you, which will make the truck even more attractive. It’s also recommended to research the market value of each truck before you decide to buy any one from our list.

• 2009 Toyota Tacoma — $15,170

• 2009 Ford Ranger — $15,835

• 2009 Mazda B-Series Truck — $16,060

• 2009 GMC Canyon — $16,705 (tie)

• 2009 Chevrolet Colorado — $16,705 (tie)

• 2009 Suzuki Equator — $17,220

• 2009 Nissan Frontier — $17,460

• 2009 GMC Sierra 1500 — $18,575

• 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 — $19,375

• 2009 Dodge Dakota — $21,075