that should be a good show mike, keep us posted. i'm interested to hear of announcements............... i wonder what Ram has cooked up this time.

I'm looking forward to next week. Keep us posted.

Cool.
Could Ram's announcement have to do with a "baby diesel" or rebadged Iveco medium to HD trucks?
My other hunch would be Iveco vans to replace the Sprinter.

@Lou,

It's going to be the new Tradesman Package or perhaps a New Work Truck Package.

Looking forward to the review.

Thanks!

@Frank -
The Tradesman package and HO Ram HD were unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show.
Nice to see news from Ram.

@Lou,

Oh yea that's right. I hope I did not offend Mike L as he is always doing extensive coverage.

@Lou,
IVECO and possibly the FWD Ducato as Vans to the US. Both are motorhome bases for small to medium motorhomes in Europe and here(23-29ft).
27ft Ducato Motorhome.
http://images.gizmag.com/hero/fiat-ducato-based-motorhome.jpg
IVECO Daily Cab Chassis towing a Heartland Sundance, 3 slideout 5th Wheeler somewhere in a desert ragion of Australia
http://www.tradingpost.com.au:80/is-bin/intershop.static/WFS/Sensis-TradingPost-Site/Sensis-TradingPost/en_AU/UserImages/volume1/IMPEX_IMAGES/20110208/pats/T000419990/Resized/Resized640x480_T000419990.jpg
The Powerstar conventional HD truck is only sold in Australia(not great numbers), using a cummins or IVECO engine.
IVECO basically sells Cabover trucks in Europe, outside of the Powerstar no conventionals. That goes for most of Europe where 99.9% of all trucks are Cabover.
http://truckwallpapers.net/data/media/5/provincial-iveco-powerstar.jpg
Fiat have not as yet produced any large 15-16 Litre engines

@Frank: No offense at all.

I can not wait to see the report.

I wonder if any foreign brands; besides Freightliner, Isuzu, and Volvo, will be there? This is an area that is dominated by domestic companies, isn't it?

wish I had Mike's job

@ Buy American Japanese and all the other European brands do not make Conventional MDT or HD trucks.

@Robery Ryan, Buy American: Hino will be there with a new hybrid powertrain.

That is a tough looking Ford F-450?/550? in the picture. I bet that it corners like it is on rails!

@Buy American

I wonder if any foreign brands; besides Freightliner, Isuzu, and Volvo, will be there? This is an area that is dominated by domestic companies, isn't it?

Isuzu and Volvo are domestic???

Bert-

Isuzu and Volvo are NOT domestic. They are Japanese and Chinese, respectively.

@Mike Levine , thanks. for that.@ Buy American Mack is owned by Volvo.
Hino sells a Cabover Hybrid in Australia.
http://www.hino.com.au/Models_Hybrid_Landing.aspx?TabID=3

Hino converts their cabovers to conventionals in their US assembly plant. They do not sell their full range in the US, heaviest truck being a 33,000lb GVWR conventional medium in the US. No Hino tractors or heavier MDT's

@Buy American Volvo is Swedish. They own Mack and the Japanese Nissan UD, or now just UD trucks.

@: Buy American or say Bye to America
We have two '08 f-450's and it is amazing how short you can turn with those, they turn shorter then any other truck we have had

Bert Might want to work on your reading comprehension there bud. See the word "BESIDES" in Buy American's original post.

Robert Ryan-

Geely did not acquire Volvo trucks when they bought Volvo (cars) from Ford? The two Volvo brands are separate?

I was not aware that Volvo/White acquired Mack Trucks.

So when are they going to actually ANNOUNCE THE ADVENTURER from last month? I'm all set to buy one. Hemi 4X4 3.92 gear option for cheap with those looks, I'm in. And I love Regular Cabs. Annouce it already!

@Buy American. No Volvo it sold their car division to Ford. Pretty hard to make a profit if you have BMW, Audi, Mercedes just up the road.
Volvo is a very large corporation:It is into trucks.buses, marine, aircraft, earthmoving and agricultural equipment and finance.
http://www.volvo.com/group/volvosplash-global/en-gb/volvo_splash.htm

I know Volvo and Isuzu are not domestic and I did read it right what Buy American wrote.

@Buy American, VW who basically now owns Scania(think of a Volvo on steroids) wants to try and get MAN(5th largest global truck builder) to merge with it to create the biggest trucking corporation globally. Then VW is looking at either PACCAR or Navistar as takeover targets. VW would be trying to have the combined operation operating in the US, like Mercedes(Daimler Trucks) and Volvo( Volvo, Mack and UD trucks.

Bert: You clearly didn't understand what he said.

This is what he said:
I wonder if any foreign brands; besides Freightliner, Isuzu, and Volvo, will be there? This is an area that is dominated by domestic companies, isn't it?

This is what you said in response:
Isuzu and Volvo are domestic???

So obviously you didn't understand his original point and the word BESIDES. And now you've started a whole slew of meaningless threads about what countries trucks come from. As if anyone really cares :-)

Okay, I apologize to Buy American and put this to rest now.

Very interesting, can't wait to read about it. I wonder if GM will have anything to announce........

Is it really relevant to discussions as to who owns what?

Is it unpatriotic to eat Chinese takeout?

Man... this gets annoying.

I am suspecting that Iveco will surface as rebadged Ram trucks.

@ Robert Ryan - thanks for the pictures.
The Ducato based motorhome looks good.
The Iveco PowerStar reminds me of a Mack truck.
A Hino hybrid would be a good idea.
If they brought it to North America - would it be sold as a Prius? LOL
Put a pickup box on it.
That would confuse the greens.
Toyota does have the technology and international expertise to enter the 3/4 to 1 ton market.
That would get tongues wagging.

"...Is it unpatriotic to eat Chinese takeout?

Man... this gets annoying..." -Lou

Almost as annoying as picking up a product off of the shelf, at the local department store, and always seeing: "Made In China".

@ Big Bob
GMC is considering re-entering the the medium duty market. Makes you wonder why they killed the TopKick/Kodiak line in the first place.
We'll probably see a 4500 and 5500 based on the Silverado/Sierra cab layout.
They will need come out with a new frame before they re-enter the market.

Well, the story that I heard is that the new 3500HD cab and chassis frame is strong enough for a class 4 or 5 (F-450 or 550 Super Duty) truck. So, GM may not need to offer a Silverado/Sierra 4500. The rumor is that GM is working on a medium truck more like the larger Topkick/Kodiak 6500 and 7500. It will be interesting to see if these rumors are true.

@ Big Bob -
Aftermarket upfitters seem to prefer C-channel frames. Ram chassis cabs are C-channel for that reason. Ford has yet to box their HD frames. It will be interesting to see if Ford goes the "boxed" route with their next generation SD. The aftermarket could figure out a way to work with GMC's frame but it could mean a more expensive aftermarket unit.
If that is the case companies will probably rule out a GMC truck right off the bat.
Most of the chassis cab units I see with service decks, bucket lifts, wrecker bodies, dump bodies etc. are Ford or Ram. That would be the 350/3500 to 550/5500 size trucks.

@ Buy American - you can do 1 of 2 things : stop looking or stop shopping at Wallmart ;)

Mike,
Be sure to get lots of info on the CAT trucks. I think that will be interesting to learn about.

Thanks,
BT

@ Lou The boxed frame draw back is in that it takes longer (thus costs more) to mount the equipment. With a C channel you drill a few holes mount the equipment bolt it on and done. With the boxed frame you must fish a bolt through the frame to your hole. It can be hard to do depending on how far away the holes are. Or you can drill a hole through both sides of the frame. then drill the inside hole larger so that a spacer can be installed in the frame. We had a customer bring his 3/4 ton Hemi in. Guy installed his own 5th wheel hitch. Drilled through both sides of the frame, put a long bolt through and tightened them up. Crushed the frame in. Brought it to us to see what we could do to fix it. Not good.

The 2011 3500HD cab and chassis models do feature a C-channel frame aft of the cab. Only the pickups are boxed the whole length.

Its too bad the Ford Ranger recall story was shut down before I could post this. A little off topic so sorry but this is the BEST RECALL EVER http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/03/mazda-recall-spiders_n_831109.html

Not exactly a work truck, but definately HD..
http://www.hino-global.com/dakar/team_sugawara/racing_trucks.html

Lou-

I avoid Walmart like the plague...I shop at K-Mart. :-)

I take it GM is not going to have a big presence there since they basicaly dont make work trucks anymore .

Looks like 'Ram' will be introducing new vans:

http://detnews.com/article/20110305/AUTO01/103050332/1148/Chrysler-targets-commercial-van-sector

Big Bob-

You hit the nail on the head.

@ Lou: I'd love to see GM come out with some Sierra/Silverado 4500/5500 models. But I was also pretty partial to the good looks of the Kodiak/Topkick.

@ Robert Ryan: I hope that PACCAR is doing well enough to run off any company that would want to take them over. I like Kenworths & Petes. But, I'd hate to see another German company come in, either "partner" or takeover PACCAR, & ruin them (like Daimler did to Chrysler). Needless to say that Daimler trucks are my least favorite.

@Keith VW is trying to arrange a "shotgun marriage" with Scania and MAN. The problem is both are doing extremely well and have bitter disputes over MAN trying to takeover Scania in the past.
PACCAR has a good performer in DAF in Europe. The new PACCAR MX engine is a DAF engine, now also built in the US.
VW wants to become No.1 by 2018, part of that plan is getting into the US Truck Industry, so watch what happens in the next couple of years.

@ Jordan L - that would be a nasty problem with a crushed frame. Did the guy have to replace it?
I've heard many guys say that C - channel was better for mounting accessory decks, now I know why - thanks.

@ Bib Bob - I din't know that GM made a chassis cab truck with a C - channel frame. Thanks for the info.

@ Kieth - competition is good for the consumer. I wonder how long it will take for GM to get back into that market?

@ Jordan L - spider recall.... that is a funny one.

@ Lou We refered him to a body shop. Haven't seen the truck since. I laughed my a$$ off about the spiders. Can't beat nature I guess.