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Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, Toyota Tundra flunk IIHS headlight test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety put pickup truck headlights to the test and found that the majority of them were equipped with subpar units. The 2017 Honda Ridgeline was the only truck to earn a rating of "good." The large pickup truck test was comprised of the: 2016 to 2017 GMC Sierra, 2017 Nissan Titan, 2016 Ram 1500, 2016 to 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, 2016 to 2017 Ford F-150, and 2016 to 2017 Toyota Tundra. The Sierra's headlights earned a rating of "acceptable," the headlights found on the Titan and Ram 1500 were found to be "marginal," and the ones on the Silverado, F-150, and Tundra were rated as "poor." IIHS claims the F-150 was the most disappointing out of the large pickup trucks as both its halogen and optional LED headlights failed to provide adequate visibility during testing. The Ridgeline (which earned a "good rating"), is usually considered a midsize or small truck, though IIHS included it in the field of large pickups. The headlights on the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado, 2016 GMC Canyon, 2016 Nissan Frontier, and 2016 to 2017 Toyota Tacoma, which made up the small pickup truck group, all earned a rating of "poor." The IIHS claimed the Colorado had the worst headlights of any truck that was tested, as the base vehicle's units were only able to illuminate up to 123 feet in front of the car. The Ridgeline's headlights, for reference, were able to illuminate up to 358 feet in front of the vehicle. To conduct its test, the IIHS utilizes a special tool to measure how far light is projected out of the headlights in different driving situations. The trucks' headlights were tested in a straight line and in corners, while vehicles with high-beam assist were given extra praise. The headlights on the pickup trucks also mimic the testing that was done on small SUVs and cars earlier this year. Next year, automakers will need to fit their vehicles with headlights that earn a rating of either good or acceptable to earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick+. Related Video:

Danica Patrick hands over keys to first 2016 Chevy Camaro

Alican "Turk" Boyacioglu got more than he expected this weekend when he picked up his new 2016 Chevy Camaro, the very first sixth-gen Camaro to be delivered to a private customer. That's because racer Danica Patrick was on hand for the delivery. The handing over of the keys took place at Texas Motor Speedway – a stop along the brand's Find New Roads trip. The journey is being conducted to introduce America to five new Chevy models: the Camaro and also the new Malibu, Cruze, Volt, and Spark. The road trip kicked off on October 19 and will conclude next week on November 14. Boyacioglu ordered up a red Camaro SS from Huffines Chevrolet in Lewisville, TX, north of Dallas. When he headed from Kansas to northern Texas to take delivery, he was pleasantly surprised to see Danica climb out of the car to hand him the keys. Though she may have raced under Honda power during her IndyCar days, Danica's NASCAR stock cars have always been powered by Chevrolet. She even drove a Camaro in the Nationwide Series. The smile on Turk's face ought to last him the nearly five-hour drive home to Wichita. For everyone else, deliveries are set to commence in earnest in the middle of this month. The first models to be delivered will be V6 coupes. Convertibles and turbo-four models will start shipping early in the new year. Customers will be able to choose between six powertrain combinations, made up of the 2.0-liter turbo four, the 3.6-liter V6, and the 6.2-liter V8, each available with a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic. Pricing starts at $26,695 for the base 1LT trim and extends up to $37,295 for the 1SS. DANICA PATRICK SURPRISES CUSTOMER WITH 2016 CAMARO Huffines Chevrolet delivers first 2016 Camaro to Alican 'Turk' Boyacioglu DALLAS – Racecar driver Danica Patrick helped the team at Huffines Chevrolet deliver the first sixth-generation Camaro to a customer from Wichita, Kan., at the Texas Motor Speedway stop of Chevrolet's Find New Roads Trip today. Alican "Turk" Boyacioglu had been eagerly tracking the build of his 2016 Camaro SS and could not contain his excitement when Patrick emerged from the car and handed him the keys. "This whole experience was surreal," Boyacioglu said.

GM diesel pickups first to undergo extra EPA, CARB testing

The effects of Volkswagen's long-running diesel emissions evasion are starting to spill over to other automakers, but General Motors is taking things in stride. The 2.8-liter, four-cylinder Duramax in the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon is the first engine to get extra scrutiny by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, Automotive News reports. Rather than just the usual in-lab test, it's also being checked on the road. However, the extra evaluation shouldn't have any impact on when the trucks with his mill hit dealers later this fall. "We're in our final stages of the EPA certification, and our launch is on track," Chevy spokesperson Otie McKinley tells Autoblog. The four-cylinder diesel in the trucks makes 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and the automaker is touting low NOx production. In the announcement for the Colorado's specs, the company calls it "the cleanest diesel truck engine ever produced by General Motors." The tech includes exhaust gas recirculation to lower combustion temperatures and improve emissions. There's also a urea tank like on the bigger diesels for full-size trucks, and it gets refilled in time with oil changes. An indication on the instrument panel lets drivers know when that's needed, too. Even with the more demanding testing, the company doesn't seem too worried about the four-cylinder passing. "Part of our development process is on-road and off-road [laboratory] testing," Scott Yackley, Chevy Trucks assistant chief engineer, said to Automotive News. In the wake of the VW scandal, the EPA has pledged more rigorous testing. Before, on-road emissions evaluations were largely limited to heavy-duty vehicles, but the agency has decided to apply the checks more often to other models. There's also now greater cooperation with Canadian authorities.