Natural Gas Option for Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD Comes at an $11,000 Premium

General Motors has announced pricing for the new bi-fuel option on the 2013 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra 2500HD trucks that allows them to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) or gasoline fuel.

Regardless of trim grade or body style, the bi-fuel option will cost $11,000 above the suggested base-vehicle price, which means prices start from $40,100 for both the 2013 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra 2500 HD. Buyers will be able to place their orders from Thursday, April 19, 2012.

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GM Launches Gasoline-CNG Bi-Fuel Versions of 2013 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra Pickups

Starting from next month, U.S. buyers will be able place their orders for the new bi-fuel versions of its 2013 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.

Both models are equipped with a 6.0-liter Vortec V8 engine that has been modified to run on either gasoline or compressed natural gas (CNG), offering a combined range that exceeds 650 miles (1,045 km). The bi-fuel engine will be available on standard and “long box” models in either two- and four-wheel drive configurations.

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China's JAC Does it Again with Ford F-150 Pickup Truck Clone

We've seen this play before and before that and before that, but it never gets old: Chinese automakers replicating vehicles from western automakers. One brand that keeps popping up on our cloning radar is Jianghuai Automobile, more commonly known as JAC Motors.

It's latest accomplishment is the JAC 4R3 pickup truck that makes no attempt to hide the fact that it's a styling copy of the Ford F-150. Of course, as with other Chinese doppelgangers, the similarities begin and end with the appearance as it's too costly for automakers to extend the cloning to the mechanical hardware.

The 4R3 will reportedly make its debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April and will then go on sale in China where it will be offered with a 2.8-liter four-cylinder diesel engine pushing out 108-horsepower and 240Nm (177 lb-ft) of peak torque.

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Chevy Takes a Stab at Ford with its New Super Bowl Ad for the Silverado

And the claws are out! Chevrolet makes no apologies for its new commercial on the Silverado pickup truck that will air during the first quarter of Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world that draws on the Mayan predictions, the ad shows a group of friends that made it out alive and who all happen to be Silverado owners.

Once they assemble, they notice that one of their buddies didn’t make it to the meeting point – the missing friend happens to own a Ford…

You can take a look at Chevy's "2012" Super Bowl ad in the video after the break.

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Power Play: Watch Four Chevrolet Silverados Tear Down a Building

While some GM dealers go around destroying old cars to inaugurate their new premises others use the company's new vehicles to demolish their old buildings like this dealer, who judging by the name used to upload the video on YouTube, is John Thornton Chevy, located in Georgia.

The Chevrolet dealer hooked up four Silverado pickup trucks to the building's columns and the GM models didn't disappoint.

Head over the jump to watch the impressive take down in the video that follows.

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The Top 10 Best-Selling Cars and Trucks in the USA for 2011

We have already seen the sales numbers for automakers in the U.S. for the year that just ended so it's time to take a look at the list with the top 10 best-selling cars and trucks of 2011, which was compiled by Car's Kicking Tires.

What's interesting here is not so much the vehicles that appear in the list but the ones that are absent this year as it was more or less expected that the Ford F-Series and the Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks would once again take first and second place respectively and that the Camry would be the best selling passenger car.

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New Study Reveals the Most Profitable Vehicles in the USA

All carmakers want their vehicles to sell in big numbers. And they make a big fuss out of it when they succeed, especially when they top the sales charts in their respective segments. However, high sale numbers don’t necessarily translate to high profits, especially with the discounts that have become a common practice to draw customers to dealerships.

A recent study conducted by Max Warburton of Bernstein Research, a market trends and analysis firm, reveals which models sold in the U.S. are the most profitable for automakers.

Despite being blamed for almost anything, from the greenhouse effect to the costly bailout a couple of years ago, the study shows that Detroit’s Big Three light-truck models lead the list of the most profitable vehicles in the U.S.

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GM Invests US$275 Million in Ft. Wayne Plant to Build New Chevy and GMC Full-Size Pickup Trucks

General Motors announced on Wednesday that it plans to invest approximately US$275 million at its Fort Wayne assembly plant in Indiana to build the next generation of GMC and Chevrolet full size pickup trucks.

The latest investment is part of a US$2 billion plan that was announced back in May, which will create or retain around 4,000 jobs in 17 of GM’s U.S. factories over the next 18 months.

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GM Idles Pickup Production Once Again to Reduce Inventory

General Motors announced that it will temporarily halt production at its Fort Wayne plant in Indiana for the week starting November 7, in order to reduce its inventory of pickup trucks models.

This is not the first time that GM has stopped production at the plant where the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra are manufactured. Even though pickup sales in the US have increased from January until August by 9% to 1.1 million units, compared to the same period last year, GM seems to have badly misjudged demand for its models, resulting in an inventory of 122-days.

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The Chevrolet Farm Truck is One Sleeper You Don't Want to Mess With… [Videos]

Sure, there are many stupidly fast sleepers out there, but how many look like a 40-year-old rust bucket with wobbly bits and pieces hanging from the body?

Enter the world of "The Oklahoma Farm Truck", a 1970s Chevrolet C/K truck that has been modified from within to create a straight-line slayer with hugely deceiving looks.

The big-block V8-powered monster from Oklahoma comes with a nitrous punch and a huge set of slick wheels at the back.

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Subtle Revisions for 2012MY Chevrolet Silverado

The Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck is entering the new model year with some modest changes.

On the outside, there's a new chrome mesh grille matched with either a chrome surround on LS and LT models or a body-color surround on the LTZ, while LS and LT models now sport a silver-painted lower bumper fascia and a new 20-inch alloy wheel design.

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GM Reduces Truck Production Due to Unusually High Inventories

General Motors is cutting back on production at its Ford Wayne, Indiana plant that builds the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks, due to reduced demand and high inventories.

According to the UAQ Local 2209 site, the Detroit automaker has cancelled Saturday shifts at its plant. A person familiar with the plan told Autonews that Saturday shifts had been cut in half since the beginning of 2011

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Pickup Trucks Inventories Rising, Manufacturers are Worried

It seems like US carmakers are beginning to worry about the rising inventory of their big pickup trucks. For example, General Motors has an inventory of 122 days (or 4 months) of its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra according to a report from Reuters, or 50% higher than the typical industry inventory of 80 days.

But GM isn’t the only automaker in distress. Chrysler, Toyota and Ford also are behind their projected sales, with 93 days inventory for the first two makers and 79 days for the third respectively.

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Jump Fail: Can You Guess What Happens Next?

Here’s one jump that won’t buff out. For reasons beyond logic, the driver of a fairly new Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck decided to impress his buddies (and his….insurer) at a meet on the sand dunes of Silver Lake in Michigan, USA, by performing a high-speed jump stunt. The laws of physics pretty much explain what happens next.

If you're still wondering, follow the jump to watch the video and leave your comments below.

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Jump Fail: Chevy Silverado Flies Right Into Dirt Ramp [Video]

Larry the Cable Guy might disagree, but trying to perform a crazy jump / stunt in a beat up Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck on a dirt track, doesn't sound like a sane idea. Fortunately, this brainless daredevil had mother luck on his side when he used his truck to dig a hole in the dirt ramp. Watch the video right after the break.

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Chevrolet Sells 4.26 million Vehicles Globally in 2010, an Average of One Every 7.4 Seconds

With the global market showing faint signs of recovery, 2010 was a good year for Chevrolet. The American automaker managed to shift 4.26 million vehicles worldwide or an average of one vehicle every 7.4 seconds. The brand’s share of global sales grew by 0.35 points as it accounted for about 5.8 percent of all vehicles sold worldwide. According to GM, Chevy was the only Top 5 manufacturer to increase its total market share last year.

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GM Recalling More than 26,000 Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC SUVs and Trucks

General Motors is expanding a previous recall concerning a faulty rear-axle cross pin to include another 26,751 SUVs and trucks from the 2011 model year. The first recall was issued in late December and concerned approximately 1,260 Cadillac Escalades, Chevrolet Avalanche and Silverado 1500s, and GMC Sierra 1500s, all from the 2011MY. Read more »

America's Top 10 Selling Vehicles in 2010

The U.S. auto sales numbers for 2010 are out and once again, Ford's F-Series pickup truck has been crowned the best-selling vehicle of the year, a title which it has held for 34 years in a row. According to Autodata Corp., the Dearborn-based brand moved 528,349 units of its F-150 light-duty and F-250, F-350 and F-450 heavy-duty trucks in 2010, recording an impressive increase of 27,7 per cent over 2009.

The Chevrolet Silverado took second place with 370,135 units, or some 158,000 less than the F-Series. Sales of GM's pickup truck were up 16,9 per cent from the previous year.

Despite Toyota's recall debacle, the Camry finished third overall earning the title of the best-selling passenger car in the States with 327,804 units, posting an 8.1 per cent drop from 2009. The Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla followed in fourth and fifth positions respectively.

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Automakers Developing Significantly Lighter Trucks to Meet New Fuel Economy Standards

Reuters is reporting that major automakers are tirelessly working on reducing the weight of future generation pickup trucks, in order to meet stricter fuel economy standards without sacrificing key abilities, such as power, payload capacity or towing capability.

Until 2016, when the new mandates take effect, manufacturers must reach an average fleet economy of 35.5 mpg (6.63 lt/100 km), while light trucks will have to return around 30 mpg or 7.84 lt/100 km. Given that around 50 per cent of vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first 11 months of the year were light trucks, it’s clear that the likes of Ford and GM have to act fast.

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GM Issues Separate Recalls on Cadillac CTS and Escalade, and Chevy and GMC Trucks

General Motors is recalling close to 100,000 vehicles in two separate campaigns. In a posting with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], GM said the first recall affects almost 96,000 Cadillac CTS sedans from the 2005-2007 model years over concerns that some of the vehicles have a condition in which repeated flexing of the passenger sensing system mat in the passenger seat may break the connection. The company said that if this occurs, the sensor may not detect the presence of a front seat passenger and will disable the air bag.

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