MAX Payload: News, Rumors, Trends, Stuff

NUTS&BOLTS

• Chrysler is now offering a lifetime powertrain warranty on most of its 2006-2008 cars and trucks for the original retail buyer/lessor, provided the vehicle comes in every five years for a no-charge powertrain inspection. Diesels aren't included.

• General Motors has sold Allison Transmission to Carlyle Group and Onex for $5.6 billion. The Baltimore factory that manufactures hybrid-electric transmissions isn't part of the sale.

• When the 2009 Ram shows up next summer, the base engine should be the 260-horse (265 pound-foot), 4.0-liter V-6 found in the Nitro, Pacifica, etc. The 4.7-liter V-8 will be the 300

• It's reported that GM will eat some of the cost of the 2 Mode hybrid system, which could easily exceed $10,000 per truck. For more, see our drive story in this issue.

• The 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe has been given the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's "top safety pick" designation, with ESP and the top rating of "good" for front, side, and rear crash protection. That makes it just one of 21 cars, vans, and SUVs.

• We hear there's a 3.6-liter V-6 turbodiesel (about 225 horsepower) in store for the Audi Q7 and VW Touareg, and the generation following the Touareg 2 will have three-row seating.

• Detroit's on the rebound. In midsummer, the city was named the #1 Sports City by Sporting News, racing returned to Belle Isle for the first time since 2001, and GM reported a profit in the second quarter helped by global operations. North American units posted a loss, but at 10 percent of one-year-ago losses, that's still good news.

IT FIGURES - NEWS BY THE NUMBERS
7-7-7

Up to the seventh month of 2007, the top "truck" sales by division are shown below. The best-selling nameplates for the first half of the year were the Ford F-Series, Chevy Silverado, Dodge Ram, Honda CR-V, Dodge Caravan, and GMC Sierra.

Lincoln Takes Top Truck; Infiniti Wins Brand
Infiniti ranked first in AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Award winners for highest brand satisfaction, with the Lincoln MKX the top-rated truck and the Cadillac DTS as top-ranked car. Here we pair AutoPacific's model winners with J.D. Powers' Initial Quality Survey brand ranking in parentheses.