Trucks

Here's a fairly rare pickup truck, a 1951 F-100 Styleside with an integrated bed and cab, a model offered by Ford for only three years, 1961-1963. It's just one of the restored trucks that were on display at a recent F-100 Supernationals in Knoxville, Tennessee. A few of the trucks in the gallery have aftermarket wheels, but most are stock restorations. All have been brought back to life by owners who are passionate about their trucks.

Restored F-Series Gallery

_{Photo © Dale Wickell}

Knoxville, Tennessee is home to the F-100 Supernationals, an annual event that draws Ford trucks (and performance cars) from around the United States. You'll see a little bit of everything at the Supernationals, like this 1956 Ford truck. What kind of engine do you suppose is under the hood? You might be surprised by the answer.

Our Supernationals photo gallery focuses on some of the 1953-1956 trucks on display at Knoxville, including a '53 that's been converted to 4WD, trucks with tilt front ends and lowered suspensions, a heavy-duty '56, a couple of panel trucks and more.

_{Photo © Dale Wickell}

Ford will recall a small number of 2012 F-150 trucks to replace a sensor that may not detect which seats are occupied. If the software driving the module is defective, the side airbag might not deploy during a crash, or it could deploy when it shouldn't. Affected trucks were manufactured between November 6 and November 15, 2011. Notices should go out by about May 21, 2012.

NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V198000
Ford's Safety Recall Number: 12S31
Ford Customer Relationship Center: 866-436-7332

The new airbag recall is not related to Ford's previous F-150 airbag recall to replace a wire that wasn't properly installed in the steering wheel.

EPA fuel economy ratings for 2012 Ford trucks cover one model, the F-150 pickup. Some versions of Ford Rangers have historically captured the best-in-class slot for small trucks, but they've been discontinued and aren't available for the 2012 model year, and so far, Ford says it has no plans to sell the new 'global' Ranger in the United States.

F-150s outfitted with Ford's 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine have the best fuel economy ratings in the lineup, and Raptor sits at the bottom, with everything else in-between.

2012 Ford Truck Gas Mileage Estimates
2012 F-150 Features & Options

_{Photo Courtesy of Ford}

Tacoma outsells all of the other trucks in its segment, and appears to be part of Toyota's long-term production plans at a time when other manufacturers are eliminating compact trucks. Maybe Ford and the others should look more closely at Tacoma's success, and then build a truck that buyers want to drive.

Get the facts about features and options you'll see when you shop for a 2012 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.

_{Photo ©Toyota Motor Corporation.}

The workhorse Tradesman 1500 HD is one of the many Ram trucks in the manufacturer's 2012 lineup, and at the other end of the spectrum you'll find the feature-packed Laramie Longhorn. As always, there are plenty of configurations to choose from in-between.

Ram will become far more fuel efficient in 2013, but this year's trucks offer enough perks to make them a good option for fans of the brand. Kentucky loves Rams -- the truck received a third year nod as official truck of the 2012 Kentucky Derby.

2012 Ram 1500 Truck Features & Options
2012 Ram 1500 Photos

This is an older story about Dave Nichols, who modified his 1989 F-150 truck to run on wood, wood pellets, construction site debris and other waste products. The truck gets about 1.5 to 2 miles per pound, with a top speed of 75-85 (versus 90 when running on gas). The bed-mounted system isn't Dave's first version of the biofuel apparatus, which resembles a trash can. Dave's Web site describes it:

This is not a glorified woodstove on wheels. The processor is actually vaporizing the wood and capturing the clean gaseous fuel that the engine can use directly. This fuel burns so efficiently that it leaves no harmful emissions.

More About the Wood Burning Truck
Dave's Web site

Starting with the 2013 model year, new trucks, cars and other autos sold in the United States will carry a revised EPA window sticker that provides more detail about fuel economy than the current version. The stickers attempt to give buyers a better idea of how a specific vehicle compares with others in its class, a projection of potential fuel costs, plus other info that can help when you go shopping on dealer lots. Take a look.

_{Image Courtesy EPA}

Chevrolet will end production of its Avalanche pickup with a special edition of the truck, the 2013 Black Diamond. GM is hoping that Avalanche fans will opt for the final version of this truck/SUV combo. Take a look at some of the equipment you can expect to see when the Black Diamond lands on dealer lots.

Gas is expensive and the economy isn't the greatest, and now that we're accustomed to paying more for gasoline I doubt there will ever be much motivation to bring fuel prices down. Will people who don't truly need a truck still drive a truck?

We lost the Chevy El Camino and Ford Ranchero a long time ago, and the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck project was scrapped, but the ute has been going strong in Australia since the 1950's.  Include me in the group of drivers that thinks there's a place in our market for a traditional ute or two -- as long as their price tags aren't too high (and the fuel economy ratings aren't too low).

_{Holden HG Photo © Holden}