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Winnebago Trend, Travato are first ProMaster-based RVs

While Ford has been the dominant supplier of chassis, engines and platforms for the recreational vehicle industry in modern times, its market share has been eroded by the increased availability of new commercial vehicles on the market. In the days of Daimler-Chrysler, the Sprinter was Chrysler's alternative to the Ford E-Series as a basis for Class B and C motor homes. But then Daimler split and the Sprinter went back to being a Mercedes product in the US, though it still continued currying favor in the RV world by offering diesel power with a smaller footprint. With the marriage of Chrysler and Fiat, though, the Pentastar brand once again has a foreign-sourced commercial van alternative - the Ram ProMaster - and Winnebago is the first RV manufacture to make it into a motor home.
Actually, Winnebago has unveiled a pair of ProMaster-based RVs: the Trend and Travato. The Trend is a Class C motor home, which generally means it's based on the chassis cab version of a van and features a bed over the cab and larger body for living space behind the B-pillars. Available in a tidy 24-foot length, the Trend can be had with two floor plans, both of which include large sleeping areas, a bathroom, kitchen and a dinette. The Trend also has some unique touches, including seats in the cab that swivel around to face the rear and three-point seat belts for the dinette.
The second ProMaster-based Winnie is the Travato, a Class B motor home, which is basically the full van model with as many amenities for living crammed into its quarters as will fit. The Travato measures in at just under 21 feet in length, but packs the full RV experience into the ProMaster's tall body, including a double bed, full bath, kitchen and dinette. The rear bed can even flip up and out of the way, allowing stowage of larger things likes bikes through the van's rear double doors.

Will Nissan's Cummins deal upset Ram's marketing mojo? [w/poll]

Ram has used Cummins engines in its heavy duty trucks since 1989, and it is the only pickup truck brand to use products from the Indiana-based engine maker. With the announcement that the next Nissan Titan will also use a Cummins powerplant, and a Nissan spokesman having already said "We will definitely leverage the Cummins brand name," a piece in Automotive News wonders whether the deal will affect the way Ram markets its tie-up with Cummins.
The question really is, how intense is this competition? While it is the first time that trucks from two different brands have used Cummins engines, they'll be two different engines in two different kinds of trucks; Nissan is going to put a 5.0-liter turbodiesel in a non-heavy-duty Titan, Ram only uses its 6.7-liter, inline six-cylinder turbodiesel in heavy-duty offerings. The diesel that Ram will offer in its light-duty, half-ton 1500 is a 3.0-liter V6 EcoDiesel with 240 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque - compared to about 300 hp and 550 lb-ft expected from the Titan's Cummins - and its marketing so far has focused on the fuel economy gains.
If Nissan was going to prove its commitment to the segment, it had to do something compelling. If we're talking about sales competition between Ram and Nissan, Ram has sold 201,633 trucks as of July this year, up 24.2 percent, 31,314 of those sales coming last month; Nissan has sold 10,020 Titans through the end of July, down 21.1 percent, and just 1,168 in July itself. Nissan's new truck boss - who hopped there from Ram - said that buyers have asked for a powerful turbodiesel in something other than a heavy duty pickup, and from what we've read on various comment boards, the pickup truck crowd is excited about Nissan's move.

2014 Ram 1500 named Truck of Texas, Chrysler Cleans Up at Truck Rodeo

Trucks are king in Texas, so the annual Truck of Texas awarded by the Texas Auto Writers Association gives automakers big bragging rights. This year's Texas Truck Rodeo featured 63 trucks, crossover and SUVs, and the 2014 Ram 1500 took home the prestigious Truck of Texas, giving the pickup back-to-back wins for this award. The good news didn't stop there for Chrysler Group, as Ram, Dodge and Jeep dominated most other categories, accounting for 14 of the possible 24 awards.
Ram also was named the Truck Line of Texas winning seven individual awards - including Best Powertrain with its 3.0-liter EcoDiesel, Best Technology with the new Heavy Duty rear coil suspension and Best Commercial Vehicle with the 2014 Ram Promaster. The Jeep Grand Cherokee won two individual awards to be named the SUV of Texas, while the Hyundai Santa Fe was named the Crossover of Texas, and Nissan picked up three awards, too. Scroll down for the full list of categories and winners.