The 2007 Chevrolet Colorado can serve both of the major purposes of a truck. You can use it for work or you can use it to explore the great outdoors. The Colorado comes in regular, extended cab, or crew cab with 10 different body colors and a long list of attractive options.
The power is provided by two new engines, the Vortec 2.9 liter I4 and a Vortec 3.7 liter I5. Both choices have been engineered to be powerful, efficient, durable engines that require very low maintenance. You can chose also between two wheel and four wheel drive packages, as well as automatic or standard transmission.

The Colorado has a nineteen gallon gas tank, and has an estimated 17 MPG in the city, and 23 MPG highway when equipped with automatic transmission. The standard transmission improves this figure about 3 MPG. The interior is large and easily seats six adults. There are several options packages available and the well laid out interiors can be simple with standard instrumentation and a simple AM/FM radio, or include more advanced features like a self dimming rearview mirror with a compass and outside temperature gauge built into it.

The Chevrolet is very proud of their safety record with the Colorado. Last year, the four door version received the highest U.S. Government safety rating in frontal crash testing by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety administration. Standard safety features include an intelligent airbag system. In 2007, the Colorado introduced a new tire pressure monitoring system that alerts the driver of under-inflated tires.

The Chevrolet Colorado like most Chevy trucks is extremely rugged. It is made to do heavy work, but it also is an ideal off road vehicle. Yet inside the cab, the look and the feel is of a comfortable passenger car, and the ease of handling does nothing to dispel that image.

The very popular Chevrolet Silverado is a heavy duty pickup truck that comes in an amazing variety of styles. It begins with six basic models: The Half ton, the Hybrid, the SS, 1500 HD, 2500 HD, and a 3500 model. Each of these is available in any of Chevrolet’s ten basic exterior colors. There are three styles of cabs as well. In addition to the Regular Cab, you can opt for either Extended or Crew Cab versions. You are not very restricted in engine choice either. There are six different engine styles that range from a 4.3 liter V6 to a powerful 8.1 liter V8. The Silverado classic was the first full size production pickup truck to utilize hybrid technology.

You may also select what is known as a FlexFule vehicle designed to use either regular gasoline or E85 fuel (a combinations of 85% ethanol and 15% alcohol). Looking at an engine right in the middle of the lineup, the 4.8 liter V8, the EPA is an estimated 16 MPG in the city and 21 MPG highway. This is usually coupled with a 34 gallon capacity gas tank which would yield a possible 714 mile cruising range. The choices continue with three different transmissions. There are both four and six speed automatics and a five speed manual. Of course, there are either two or four wheel drive options.

It is not surprising to find a wide range of options on a Chevrolet truck. The trend in pickup interiors has been moving more and more toward the luxury side for the last several years. The Silverado can be equipped with six way power adjusted seats and duel automatic temperature controls. You can have power heated outside mirrors and auto dimming inside rear view mirrors. It is possible to even put a six disk CD player with Bose speakers inside your roomy passenger cabin.

The Chevrolet is a well selling and popular Pickup truck, and this did not happen by any accident. It is powerfully built and extremely versatile. You can order it just about anyway you want, and if you have a tough job to do or a long ride to take, it is going to handle it with style and reliability.

General Motors has been engineering and building profession grade trucks for a long time now and they claim that everything they have learned in that time has gone into the 2007 GMC Canyon. The Canyon is available in 2 different models, 3 cab configurations, and you can match that up with one of GMC’s standard colors. The two new engines available are both new for 2007. One is a 185 horsepower 2.9 liter I4, and the other a 242 horsepower 3.7 liter I5. Both engines  have more displacement, more power, and more torque than is available in any other truck in its class.

The Canyon is known for excellent agility, maneuverability and fuel efficiency. The EPA estimate for the 2WD model with the smaller engine is 23 MPG for city and 34 MPG for highway, and coupled with a 19.6 gallon capacity fuel tank makes this a far ranging and economical truck. Both models are available in four wheel drive, and when coupled with all season tires and with its 4-wheel anti lock brakes, the Canyon is a good choice for an off road truck. A High Stance Off Road package with Sport tuned suspension is available in 2007.

The NHTSA gave the Canyon a 5 star rating (the highest possible) for driver and front passenger protection in frontal collisions, and for rear passenger protection in side impacts. GMC trucks have a good reputation for safety and the Canyon does nothing to diminish this. The payload rating of the Canyon Crew Cab is 1338 pounds, and a large double-wall steel cargo box with a two position tailgate makes it ideal for hauling gear or equipment.  The Crew Cab is just as handy for transporting people with a spacious five passenger interior and four large front hinged doors.

You can be fairly certain that GMC Trucks are going to have a state of the art option list for their trucks, and the 2007 Canyon certainly does not disappoint. It has been given mostly rave reviews, although some people have complained about leg room for the rear passengers in some models. It is true that you can not please everyone, but the Canyon comes pretty close to doing just that.

After Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, another auto major is now foraying into the utility vehicles segment with both military and civil models.

Chennai based Truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland has indigenously developed a new four-wheeler light specialist vehicle (LSV). Sources say it’s a Humvee-type vehicle (the iconic vehicles used by the American defence forces) and a prototype will be delivered to the Indian army for field trials soon.

The LSV (Mahindra & Mahindra has also developed an LSV variant called AXE) marks Ashok Leyland’s entry into this category of vehicles.

When contacted, an Ashok Leyland spokesperson confirmed that the new vehicle has been developed by its own R&D . “It’s a vehicle for special needs and trials are underway. The fourwheeler will be rolled out soon and meets army specifications with special purpose weapon capabilities,” the spokesperson said.

Ashok Leyland is the second largest manufacturer of Trucks and Buses in India. The company produced 83,558 units in the last fiscal and is now aiming to tap the potential of smaller utility vehicles. Company sources said that the army vehicles will be followed by a civilian version of the LSV in the next few years.

“Though an exact civilian version is too early to expect, we are working on different multi-purpose vehicles that could hit the civilian landscape in the sub-1-tonne segment. These vehicles are at the design stage and in due course, we will look at market-able variants of these high-powered vehicles , blended with different powertrains ,” a source said.

Most of us - even dyed-in-the-wool truck guys - would think that Dodge’s latest take on semi-truck styling imbues the Ram with sufficient big-rig credibility (especially when equipped with the Cummins diesel). Greg Severt apparently does not, and that’s probably because his day job involves playing with the real thing. So he did what seemed right, removing the cab and bed from a 2005 Ram 3500 and replacing it with sheetmetal from a 1994 Peterbilt. Rounding out the conversion is a bed from a ‘53 Chevrolet pickup, with a set of Peterbuilt front fenders replacing the original stepside quarter panels.

The stock Cummins engine remains intact, and resides under the forward-tilting hood. That particular feature required shortening the front frame rails by two inches - a move that had to be rather nerve-racking on a brand new pickup. The look is rounded out by a set of 40″ tall Mickey Ts on some 20″ Weld Racing wheels, with a mild lift providing the required clearance.

Interestingly enough, the conversion actually resulted in a weight reduction, as the cab and hood are aluminum (weight being very important in the Heavy Truck industry, where every pound of truck is one less pound of cargo).

The future of Ford’s Special Vehicle Team has been cloudy for the past few years. The hope that it would remain around in some form or another took a hit when its current chief, Hau Thai-Tang, was tapped to head Ford of Brazil earlier this year. Nevertheless, SVT indeed soldiers on and today we have proof that they’re hard at work on a new project.

Winding Road managed to corner Jamal Hameedi, Chief Nameplate Engineer at SVT, at a Ford event in Detroit this morning. Hameedi revealed to WR that nearly all of SVT’s resources are busy developing a new truck, and by “truck” he means a “body-on-frame” vehicle. Thus, whether it’s a new F-150 Lightning or possibly a different F-Series model, an Explorer, Expedition or Ranger is unkown.

So, no Ford Taurus SHO developed by SVT or SVT Fusion. This kind of makes sense if one considers that the Lightning was supported throughout SVT’s reign of terror in the ’90s. Hameedi is reportedly extremely excited about the project, saying the finished product “…will blow your mind.”

An Aircraft-style simulator is being used to train Australian Truck drivers.

The hi-tech teaching aids have just been installed at DECA Training with the object of giving drivers more experience; and learning about everything from changing gears to speed management and hazardous situations.

It is expected to make it easier for drivers to enter the transport industry with improved safety standards.

The simulator, called DriveSim, is built in the US but has been tweaked for Australian drivers, roads and trucks.

It is designed to copy the experience of driving a real Truck on a real road. The simulator can reproduce the sensations of acceleration, braking and cornering in a variety of weather, gradient and load conditions in a variety of vehicles.

DECA has bought three DriveSim units and installed one in each of its company facilities and put another in a trailer for mobile training at job sites.

These units will provide a revolution in how Truck drivers are trained in Australia, says DECA Training managing director Ian Bushby. “There is a critical shortage of drivers in all classes of vehicle and it is imperative the industry markets itself to potential drivers of all ages and creates a clear and worthwhile career path,” Bushby says. “We must meet the challenges of attracting and retaining highly skilled drivers.”

He says there are many advantages to the DriveSim system.

“Many inexperienced drivers find it hard to change gears, manage speed and also have problems with hazard perception, following distances, observation and planning and vehicle manoeuvrability,” he says. “DriveSim will help develop their skills in a safe environment and significantly more quickly.”

“The drivers feel as if they are in a real Truck with quality audio and visual outputs that support the vehicle, traffic and road situations.”

“Experience in the US suggests one hour of training in the simulator could be worth up to four hours of in-vehicle training on the road.”

The simulators are suitable for drivers with a range of experience from total novices to veterans.

“DriveSim can simulate any vehicle on Australian roads and can be used to train for any driveline with any combination of engine, gearbox or axle ratio.”

“It can simulate anything from automatic to synchromesh or constant-mesh gearboxes in rigid trucks, semi-trailers, B-double, B-triple and road trains. It is a safe, efficient and realistic way to train drivers.”

Bushby emphasises the advantage of challenging drives in potential emergency situations without putting them, their rigs or other road users at risk in the real world.

The simulator can create scenarios that can’t be produced under normal driving conditions. It can be programmed to simulate road conditions in city or country, on freeways or mountain roads, day or night, rain, fog or snow.

Despite a drop in Truck volumes in the last few months, Truck majors such as Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Eicher have raised prices by about 2% to 2.5%. This is necessitated by a steep rise in the cost of raw materials and installation of expensive safety features in line with mandatory norms.

However, according to sources, dealers of commercial vehicles have not yet passed on the hike to their customers as most of them are stuck with huge inventory. The trend was earlier seen in 2005, when Trucks adhering to the BS3 emission norms were forced to raise their prices by around Rs 50,000 per vehicle.

“Recent government norms have made it mandatory for multi-axle Tractor-Trailers and buses with all-India tourist permits to install anti-lock braking system or ABS, a feature currently seen only in expensive cars. ABS and headrests typically push up prices of Trucks by about Rs 10,000 to Rs 45,000 per unit”, the sources added.

While multi-axle vehicle prices have gone up by Rs 25,000, Tractor-Trailers are costlier by Rs 45,000. Bus prices have gone up in the range of Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000 per unit despite low sales. State Transport Corporations which are typically large buyers of buses, have been deferring their purchase decisions due to low funds.

Truck majors initiated steps last month when they reduced discounts. “We are hoping things will start improving from November. We are initiating a number of measures to boost sales,” said Tata Motors executive director P M Telang. Industry sales have been hit by rising interest rates in the last few months as most of the Trucks are bought through finance. However truck majors are initiating cost cutting initiatives to sustain growth momentum.

In spite of the commercial vehicle industry declining by about 5%, Eicher has registered a sales growth of 12.5%,”said Eicher’s commercial vehicles division CEO A Ramasubramanian.