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Ford F-Series Super Duty earns Truck of Texas award

Texans love their pickup trucks, which you already knew. That means the Texas Auto Writers Association and its "Truck of Texas" award is a big deal. And the latest trophy goes to the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty. The pickup truck managed to snag TAWA's award at the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo. The award marks the 13th time Ford's F-Series has been named the pickup king of the Lone Star State. Roughly 70 journalists converged outside at the Longhorn River Ranch, just outside of Austin, TX, for the 23rd annual Texas Truck Rodeo where a host of Ford's vehicles won awards. In addition to the F-Series Super Duty being named the "Truck of Texas," the 2017 Ford Super Duty won the Heavy Duty Pickup Truck award, while the 2017 Ford F-150 with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine won the Best Powertrain award. The journalists also awarded Ford for having the "Truck Line of Texas." Ford wasn't the only winner at the Texas Truck Rodeo, as Nissan brought home five awards, including one for the 2017 Titan in the fullsize pickup category and one for the Armada in the SUV segment. Ram also won a few accolades with its trucks. The 2017 Ram 1500 won for being the most luxurious pickup truck, while the 2017 Ram 2500 Power Wagon won the off-road pickup truck award. Last year, TAWA named the 2016 Nissan Titan XD the Truck of Texas, but Ford's all-new F-Series Super Duty managed to keep the Japanese automaker's full-size offering at bay. For the 2017 model, Ford placed aluminum body panels into the F-Series Super Duty's body, which not only shed weight, but also make the truck stronger. Scroll down to see the entire list of TAWA's winners from the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo. Truck of Texas: 2017 Ford Super Duty SUV of Texas: 2017 Nissan Armada CUV of Texas: 2017 Volvo XC90 Truck line of Texas: Ford Motor Co.

US Postal Service going Ram ProMaster

Selling cars, vans, and trucks one at a time is business good enough to keep most automakers solvent, but fleet sales are where it's really at. Take this latest order placed by the United States Postal Service from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, for example. The order calls for a massive fleet of 9,113 units of the 2016 Ram ProMaster 2500 cargo van. That number may only be a drop in the bucket compared to the 190,000 vehicles the Postal Service operates across the country, but it's still a pretty large order to place all at once. "While each and every one of our fleet customers is important to us, none command our attention like USPS," said FCA's fleet operations director Tim Kuniskis. "I can't think of another more mission-critical service than literally delivering the goods of our nation on a daily basis, and we are honored that USPS chose the Ram ProMaster to help them meet their challenging duty." Naturally, each of the 9,113 Ram vans will be specially equipped for the purpose of collecting and delivering the mail and packages. They'll also be fitted with 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engines driving 280 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque through six-speed automatic transmissions to the front wheels. It's the latter feature which the post office may find the most compelling, helping the vans get traction regardless of the weather. You know, given the whole "neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night" thing that the service seeks to uphold. Related Video: FCA US LLC TO SUPPLY 9,113 NEW 2016 RAM PROMASTER VANS TO U.S. POSTAL SERVICE - Ram Commercial to supply 9,113 new 2016 Ram ProMaster 2500 cargo vans to U.S. Postal Service - Ram ProMaster 2500 is a highly customizable van designed to exceed the demands of commercial customers - Customized outfitting for national mail and package delivery service - Segment exclusive front-wheel-drive system enhances all-weather operation September 29, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC announced today that it will supply 9,113 new 2016 Ram ProMaster 2500 cargo vans to the United States Postal Service (USPS). The 2016 Ram ProMaster 2500 cargo van selected by USPS features the award-winning, gasoline-fueled 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine rated at 280-horsepower output with peak torque of 260 lb.-ft. The engine is paired with a proven, smooth-shifting, six-speed automatic transmission, upgraded to accommodate the ProMaster's exceptional cargo-hauling capability.

Stellantis won't race to split electric vehicles from fossil fuel cars

MILAN - Stellantis is not considering splitting its electric vehicle (EV) business from its legacy combustion engine operation, its finance chief said on Thursday, as the carmaker presented above-expectation revenue data for the first quarter. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer told analysts he did not see huge benefits in the kind of separations pursued by rivals such as France's Renault and U.S. Ford. "We need to manage the company and the assets we have through this transition," he said. "There are benefits to having the cash flow being generated by the internal combustion business for the investments we need to make." Palmer said the group, formed by a merger last year of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA, was not averse to considering adjusting its structure "but we aren't anticipating any big changes." Palmer's comments came after the world's fourth largest carmaker said its net revenue rose 12% to 41.5 billion euros ($44.1 billion) in the January-March period, as strong pricing and the type of vehicles sold helped offset the impact of the semiconductor shortage on volumes. That topped analyst expectations of 36.9 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. Milan-listed shares were up 0.5% by 1415 GMT, in line with Italy's blue-chip index. The impact of the chip crunch was evident in the decline in shipment figures which fell 12% in the quarter to 1.374 million vehicles. It was a similar story for Germany's BMW which posted higher revenues on Thursday and a decline in car sales. Riding the Recovery Stellantis, whose brands also include Citroen, Jeep and Maserati, confirmed its 2022 forecasts for a double-digit adjusted operating income margin, after 11.8% last year, and a positive cash-flow despite supply and inflationary headwinds. Morgan Stanley analysts said after the results that Stellantis had better management than many peers and benefited from its significant exposure to a stronger U.S. economy and a European recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. They also said it was less affected by a slowing Chinese economy. Palmer said it was important for the group to maintain double-digit margins and keep delivering positive cash flows. "A 12% increase in revenue with a 12% decrease in volumes indicates a very strong performance on price and mix, which augurs well for our margin performance," he said. He said semiconductor supply problems were expected to ease this year with continued improvements in 2023.