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Detroit Three's lucrative pickup war intensifies as Ram makes big gains

DETROIT — The battle for profits from sales of large pickup trucks is intensifying among the Detroit Three automakers as sales of small cars in the United States shrivel. For decades Ford has had the single best-selling truck brand in its F-Series trucks. General Motors' Chevrolet brand was a solid No. 2, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram was a distant third. Now, that hierarchy may be in flux. Sales figures for December and the fourth quarter released on Thursday show Ram tied with GM's Chevy for the No. 2 spot, as sales of the redesigned Ram pickup surged, fueled in part by demand for an optional 12-inch (30.48 cm) dashboard screen. Chevy not long ago held second place to Ford by a wide margin. GM executives said on Thursday they are bullish on their new GMC and Chevy trucks for 2019.Related: How the Detroit Three's pickups compare on paper 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie review 2019 Chevy Silverado 2.7L four-cylinder review 2019 Ford F-150 2.7L EcoBoost review "There's no doubt this segment (pickup trucks) is one of the epicenters of the auto wars," said Sandor Piszar, director of marketing for Chevrolet at GM. "It's been that way forever, and we wouldn't have it any other way." On Wall Street, investors give electric car leader Tesla a higher valuation than any of the Detroit automakers. But in the nation's heartland, big pickups remain far more popular and profitable than any electric car — and most other consumer vehicles of any kind. Large pickups generate at least $17,000 a vehicle in pretax profit for GM, the company has indicated in disclosures to investors. By contrast, many Detroit Three sedans are so unprofitable, their manufacturers have decided not to build them anymore. 'Hotly contested' Sustaining sales and pricing in the large-pickup segment will be critical in a year when most forecasters expect overall U.S. car and light truck sales to fall. Ford's U.S. sales chief, Mark LaNeve, on Thursday called the F Series "the backbone of our franchise" during a conference call, and added the "segment will continue to be strong, but hotly contested" in 2019. Automakers are banking on pickup truck sales to stay strong even if U.S. interest rates continue to rise. Rising interest rates translate into higher monthly car payments and are expected to deter some buyers in 2019. GM has said 27 percent of Chevrolet and GMC trucks — which can haul trailers by day and substitute for a luxury sedan by night — sell for more than $55,000.

Ford, Chrysler and Mazda expand scope of Takata airbag recalls

The scope of the Takata airbag inflator recall is ballooning once again across the United States. Where Honda has elected to take its driver-side airbag campaign nationwide, Chrysler Group and Ford have now announced expanded regional actions to cover some passenger-side airbag inflators. Mazda is adding more regions, as well. For Chrysler Group, the campaign covers the inflators on 149,150 examples of the 2003-model-year Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups. The recall is limited to vehicles sold or ever registered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. The company will begin notifying affected customers on January 19. According to Chrysler's announcement of the action, the passenger side inflators in these trucks "are of a type that is not used in any of the other vehicles affected by Chrysler Group's regional field action." The automaker says that it's not aware of any actual failures or accidents in these pickups and even claims there are no "observed failures in laboratory testing of its airbag modules." The company is continuing to study the problem, though. Ford is taking a similar step by issuing a recall of inflators for 38,500 examples of the 2004-2005 Ranger and 2005-2006 Ford GT. The campaign only affects vehicles originally sold or ever registered in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Certain zip codes of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa are also covered. There's already precedent for passenger-side airbags to be covered under the Takata inflator recall. When many automakers announced campaigns in June, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota all included that side in some of their repairs. Subaru subsequently did, as well. In addition, Mazda is expanding the scope of its recall to add Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Saipan, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to the affected areas. The company estimates that it has a total of 86,773 vehicles in need of repair. Mazda is also teaming with Toyota to begin independent testing of the Takata inflators. Scroll down to read all of the automakers' announcements of these newly expanded recalls. Statement: Air-Bag Inflators December 3, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich.

2019 Ram 1500: FCA design boss discusses truck's 'well-dressed' new look

The Ram pickup may be FCA's linchpin vehicle. It is the brand's bestseller in America, by far. In 2017, more than 500,000 of these full-size trucks rumbled off of dealers' lots, outselling FCA's second-bestseller, the Jeep Grand Cherokee by a 2-to-1 ratio. Even in an American automotive market in which sales were down by nearly 2 percent, even in the last model year of production for the truck's current generation, sales were up by more than 11,000 units over 2016. "The Ram pickup is exceptionally important. Especially since the last one was so popular," says FCA Design Head Ralph Gilles. "We're in the middle of a truck war. And the public wins." No small part of the Ram's success has been derived from its sneering appearance, its more carlike ride, and its potent Hemi engines. Sales have nearly tripled in this generation, and many of those sales are poached from competitors at Ford and GM. So, when unveiling an all-new Ram pickup, many considerations have to be weighed. It has to fit in with the heritage of the vehicle, it has to offer significant advances, and it has to capitalize on its slight underdog status in comparison with the bigger players from Ford and General Motors, whose pickups sell over 800,000 units a year. "The Ram was designed as an honest truck," says Gilles. "But with our Longhorn and Limited, we are staring to look at how far we can push the luxury end of things. And with Rebel, we are looking at how far we can push in a sporty direction. So it's kind of a dual personality thing." Gilles says that the distinctive, unique selling proposition of the Ram is based in no small part on its looks. "I think we are the most well-dressed," he says. "The truck is sleek and smart looking, and will age well." Safety features are also key, especially when creating a smoothly holistic appearance, like the new Ram has. "We want to integrate all the safety features consumers want without making the truck look like it has the measles," Gilles says. Although the automotive market overall was down in 2017, pickup truck sales were up by nearly 5 percent over 2016, a rather stunning increase. But one that is reflective of contemporary tastes. Nearly two-thirds of all vehicle purchases in America last year were light trucks (this includes pickups, SUVs, crossovers, and vans.) In an era of intense technological change, this seems somehow retrogressive.