Before its launch last month, the 2007 Toyota Tundra threatened to displace valuable truck sales from the domestic automakers. Surprisingly, Tundra sales have not been as strong as expected, so Toyota has begun offering incentives on this virtually brand new vehicle. Other automakers have responded with incentive programs of their own.

“Toyota is doing whatever it takes to meet its sales targets for Tundra - 200,000 units this year,” noted Michelle Krebs, Senior Editor of Edmunds’ AutoObserver.com. “So far, most new Tundra buyers are previous Toyota Tundra owners, not ‘conquests’ from other brands as Toyota had hoped and other automakers had feared.”

“The Tundra’s relatively high price seems to have alienated many potential buyers who might otherwise have been swayed to consider a well-equipped, Texas-built truck produced by an import automaker with a solid reputation,” said Edmunds.com’s Senior Analyst Jesse Toprak. “With a market share battle in full force, we expect the truck incentive war may continue throughout the year.”

“Truck shoppers would be wise to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity to get a great deal on a new truck,” remarked Phil Reed, Consumer Advice Editor for Edmunds.com. “There are many terrific new vehicles on the market, and yet market conditions are forcing the automakers to offer dueling incentives that will allow consumers to save a lot of money on the purchase.”

Narrow Down the Selections to Find the Best Truck
Trucks used to be fairly basic, without a ton of options to choose from, and they all looked somewhat similar. Sure, there were styling variations between the automakers, but all in all a truck was a truck.

Things have definitely changed. Today’s drivers have plenty of choices, from basic work trucks designed to haul cargo to option-filled trucks that rival a luxury sedan.

So how do you find the right truck? A good way to start shopping for a pickup truck is to analyze your wants and needs.

Do You Have a Favorite Automaker?
If you do, and the automaker builds trucks, that’s the obvious place to start.

References in Truck Reviews & Specs are arranged by year and by automaker. You’ll find reviews, facts about features and options, and specifications–enough to give you a good overview of what each truck has to offer.

Compact Truck or Full Size Truck?
Compact trucks are smaller in scale than full size trucks.

They can usually tow up to 3,000 pounds, a weight that accommodates many trailer and boat towing tasks. If you have heavier towing needs, move up to a full size truck.

utomakers call some models, such as the Chevy Colorado, mid-size trucks, but most of the pickups in that group are closer in size to a compact than they are to a full size vehicle. Looking at trucks on dealer lots is the best way to understand how they compare to each other in size.

Compact trucks usually get better gas mileage than their full size counterparts, but check EPA Fuel Economy Ratings to confirm average mileage stats.

Make sure the interior space in a compact truck is spacious enough to suit your needs.

Engine Choices
You’ll find four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines in compact trucks. Full-size trucks offer more variety, with six-cylinders, V8s, V10s and diesels.

Drivetrain Options
Most of the trucks on the market are available with either a manual or automatic transmission and your choice of 2WD or 4WD. You’ll find many trucks offer limited-slip or locking differentials and electronic traction control.

What Are Your Seating Needs?
There are several truck cab styles, so you should be able to find one that suits your seating needs.

A standard cab truck has one bench or two bucket seats–no second row seating and no substantial storage behind the seats.

An extended cab truck has jump seats or a bench seat in back. Be sure to sit in the back while someone else drives the vehicle so that you have a feel for its seating comfort.

Extended cabs provide extra space to carry groceries or other packages behind the first row–out of the weather and locked up for security.

A crew cab truck has full second row seating, with 4-doors that swing open towards the front. Crew cabs are gaining in popularity as more and more people use pickup trucks as their primary vehicle.

This list of Top Crew Cab Pickup Trucks gives you a close up look at several popular trucks.
Cab Configuration Tips

Automakers use different terms to describe their cab styles. Here’s a description of the cab styles you’ll see when you go shopping.

The pictures in the Truck Cab and Box Photo Gallery give you a better understanding of the different truck cabs that are available.

Truck Box Configurations
A typical truck cargo box has fairly straight exterior sides, with arched areas just inside the bed to accommodate the rear wheels. There’s room to tuck shorter cargo in the spaces in front of and behind each arch.

Stepside boxes have flared fenders, with the flares providing space for the rear wheels. Stepsides have straight edges along all interior bed sides, but you lose the short spaces in line with the wheel arches in a standard box.

How Long Should the Truck Bed Be?
Pickup trucks are available in variety of bed lengths, ranging from about 5 ft. to 8 ft. long.

You’ll need a long bed truck to haul building supplies or other cargo of significant length. If you haul heavy and bulky items you can get by with a shorter bed, but you’ll need a truck that will handle the weight.

Do You Have Towing Needs?
Do you need a truck to tow a trailer or boat, and if you do, how much weight do you pull? Be sure to check the towing capacity of the truck you are considering to make sure it meets your needs. In general, look for a vehicle with good hp and torque and with a suitable suspension. Special towing packages are available on some trucks.

What’s Your Budget?
Like cars, there’s a huge variety in truck prices, with full size base models and some compacts starting well under $20,000. Luxury and performance trucks cost considerably more.

First Glance at the 2008 Nissan Titan Pickup Truck

Nissan will offer the 2008 Titan pickup truck in two new versions, a Long Wheelbase (LWB) truck with a 37-gallon gas tank and as the Titan PRO-4X model, which is more off-road ready.

PRO-4X Trim & Features Include:

• Switch-on-demand electronically controlled locking rear differential
• 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels and 275/70R18 tires
• Skid plates for lower radiator, transfer case, oil pan and fuel tank
• Standard Rancho performance gas shocks
• Lower final drive ratio (to 3.357)
• Unique interior seating, steering wheel, shifter

2008 Titan Body Styles

The 2008 Titan is offered in two body styles, the King Cab and Crew Cab. You can buy the truck with either 4×2 or 4×4 drive configurations and choose from and four bed sizes: 5′5″, 6′5″, 7′ and 8′. The Titan is also available with Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV) capability (E85 Ethanol).

2008 Titan Styling Changes
Nissan revised the Titan’s front end and added new wheel styles. Inside the truck you’ll find changes to the seat design and revamped instrument clusters. Options for 2008 include a Bluetooth® Hands-Free Phone System, XMâ„¢ Satellite Radio, a heated leather bench seat, a newly designed center stack and a larger, 8-inch DVD screen on trucks equipped with that accessory.

Titan Power
The Titan is built on Nissan’s F-Alpha pickup platform and is powered by a 5.6-liter V-8 engine rated at 317 horsepower and 385 lb-ft torque. A 5-speed automatic transmission has tow/haul modes to help you tow more effectively and save a little gas doing it. The Titan is equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system and has Dana front and rear axles. Properly equipped King Cab version of the Titan can tow up to 9,500 pounds. The Crew Cab is rated slightly less, at 9,400 pounds.

Titan Safety Features

• Zone Body construction with front and rear crumple zones
• An Air Bag System that includes dual-stage front supplemental air bags with seat belt sensors and a front passenger classification sensor
• 3-point front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters
• Front seat Active Head Restraints are standard
• Optional front seat-mounted side-impact air bags and optional roof-mounted supplemental curtain air bags for side-impact and rollover head protection
• Rear bumper proximity sensors

Truckload carrier Heartland Express said Thursday its first-quarter profit rose 14% to $22.6 million or 23 cents a share, from $19.7 million or 20 cents a year ago.

Revenue rose 6% to $143.4 million, Heartland said in a statement Thursday.

Heartland Express is ranked No. 48 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire trucking companies.

Truckload carrier Landstar System said Thursday its first-quarter net income fell to $21.6 million or 38 cents a share, from $24.4 million or 41 cents a year ago.

Revenue fell to $577 million from $610 million in the previous first quarter, Landstar said in a statement.

Net income included a $5 million charge for a severe accident in the first quarter, reducing the profit by $3.1 million or 5 cents a share, Landstar said.

The company’s carrier group of companies generated $424 million in the quarter, down from $428 million a year earlier.

Landstar’s board also authorized purchase of an additional 2 million shares of its common stock “from time to time in the open market and in privately negotiated transactions,” the company said.

Prices and lower volumes in the first part of the quarter began to ease in the latter half, said Landstar Chief Executive Officer Henry Gerkens.

Landstar System is ranked No. 14 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

Truckload carrier Knight Transportation said its first-quarter profit rose 5% to $16.6 million or 19 cents a share, from $15.8 million or 18 cents a year ago.

Revenue rose 11.7% to a record $166.5 million, the company said late Wednesday.

Net income as a percentage of revenue was 11.5%, the third-highest first quarter in its history, Knight’s chairman and chief executive officer said in a statement.

Knight is ranked No. 40 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies.

07 International amassed revenues of $107.1 million for the first quarter ended Mar. 31, compared to $98.8 million for the same period of 2006. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totalled $80.6 million for the first quarter of 2007 compared with $73.3 million for the same period of 2006.

The company reported a net loss of $8.8 million for the first quarter of 2007; $2.2 million lower than the net loss of $11.0 million for the same period of 2006.

The board of directors declared an eligible dividend of $0.037 per common share payable on or about Apr. 19, to shareholders of record today.

Abe Wall of IRL Truck Centre in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, was named the winner of the first ever “International Truck and Engine Technician Rodeo” hosted by International Truck and Engine Corp. at its Melrose Park Engine Plant here. The competition featured the top eight service technicians from International dealerships across North America in a competition designed to test the technicians’ skills in eight key areas of servicing a commercial truck.

Competition stations included mock service areas for air conditioning, brakes, drivetrain, electrical and preventative maintenance. Station areas also were dedicated to I-6, V-8 and V-6 engines.

“Wall demonstrated the highest knowledge and skill and was honored as the winner,” Vaughn Allen, vice president for product and customer support, said. Â “Each of the technicians went head-to-head in a hands-on test of their technical skill and speed. Throughout the day their training was put to the test as they navigated their way through vehicle issues at eight stations where they diagnosed and fixed problems.”

Technicians involved in the competition are either ASE certified or Canadian-provincial certified in addition to Diamond certified, International’s official certification program for its service technicians. Participants were selected from an overall group of the top 400 technicians at International dealerships. Those 400 were narrowed down through online testing, and the highest-scoring technicians in each region of the U.S. and Canada were selected for the rodeo.

“Those chosen for this competition have done all of the training and are at the top of their game,” John Koenig, manager of dealer education and development, said. “They represent our 7,000-plus service technicians from International dealerships, the highest number of any medium/heavy commercial truck manufacturer.”

Technicians who competed in the technician rodeo were from the following dealerships:

• Lake City Trucks in Twin Falls, Idaho

• KCR International Trucks in Kansas City, Mo. and St. Joseph, Mo.

• Mid State International Trucks in Plover, Wis.

• Hunter’s Truck Sales in Smithfield, Pa.

• White’s International Trucks in Greensboro, N.C.

• Roberts Truck Center in Albuquerque, N.M., andÂ

• IRL Truck Centre in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.

International truck customers are backed by the industry’s largest dealer network in North America with more than 900 International dealer locations and more than 7,000 service technicians, Koenig said.

“With the largest dealer network in the industry, International dealers service trucks nearly anywhere, anytime,” Koenig said.

The Melrose Park Engine Plant, one of International’s three engine plants, is home to production of the Inline 6-cylinder MaxxForce DT, MaxxForce 9 and MaxxForce 10 commercial truck engines.