U.S. Auto Brand Sales Results - April 2015 YTD: Almost As Good As Expected

It's not almost like a sliding scale it is a sliding scale, increase the footprint and the required MPG goes down. The heavy light duty trucks class 2 & 3 will benefit even more from the reduced weight, drop the curb weight and the payload and GCWR go up by the same amount. Plus the many of the Class 2 and 3 truck buyers do use their trucks more both in terms of miles per year and amount of time they are used loaded near or at capacity.

@BigAl - MPG isn't usually an issue with HD pickups but capacity is. Currently HD pickups are capped at the class 3 and 4 limits. They don't want to move into class 5 or they will have to be built to different standards. If the F450 for example drops 1,000lbs that means it can be rated to carry that much more and still be a class 4 vehicle. Price sensitive operators who drive on paved roads can save a ton of money by using a HD dually pickup as opposed to a commercial variant. If Ford keeps the cargo ratings the same then that amounts to a performance increase at max load i.e. overall the truck is 1,000lbs lighter.

@Lou_BC, Then from your comment price sensitive operators will like the Euro style of truck and it will win out over the US style of trucks. The larger "HD" 250 Transit with a flat bed and the 3.2 PowerStroke or as we call them Duratorq will be a far more efficient and cheaper vehicle for a business to operate than a HD. HDs do have fantastic towing ability, that is about all they can offer. That would be the only reason to buy a HD over a flatbed Transit. I'd expect a boom in Transit style trucks then.

@BAFO - Your logic is stuck in reverse. You should have that checked. But do really you expect a fullsize pickup to attain the fuel economy of a car? As as in 'same' CAFE standards? Beside weight working against them, unloaded of course, the aero drag is horrendous! There's no getting around that. If they did, they'd no longer be what we refer to as "pickups". So please explain how the EU would do it? That's right, they're more lenient on heavier vehicles. Imagine that!!! Otherwise, they'd just ban larger vehicles. For work, play, commute, holiday, wouldn't matter one bit, right? Riiiiight!

@DenverMike http://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/WPM25-ProductionSharingAgreementsAnEconomicAnalysis-KBindemann-1999.pdf

@BAFO - Yes BOF pickups are ugly expensive to build. But what does that have to do with the F-series being obscenely profitable? #1 most profitable car in the world, btw. So it does take massive profits to offset those horrendous costs of building pickups. This has little to nothing to do with MSRP. High volume is absolutely vital in this segment.

@DenverMike Thank you DiM, Then there is no reason for the Chicken Tax according to the statement you just made. Increased competition will force the US manufacturers to reduce the price of pickups. Who is getting ripped off? The consumer.

@BAFO - It’s stup!d to think the Chicken tax creates 25% profits for pickups, since importing OEMs easily get around it by something we like to call “loopholes”. 25% is just an arbitrary number. It could just as well be 2,500,000% But if it guaranteed 25% profit, the Tundra, Titan, Frontier, Ridgeline would enjoy that too. And we’d still have every pickup ever sold here, STILL SOLD HERE!!! Why would they go away? Some ran away screaming actually. People reward BMW and Mercedes with something pushing 50% profit. Is there a Double Chicken tax involved?? Various BMW and Merc cars (S-class, 3-series, etc) are in close formation, following Detroit pickup's wild profitability, while only selling a tiny fraction of the those 3 pickups.

@DiM, What drugs do you need to become like you? End of conversation, it appears you've has another hit.

@Big Al from Oz - there are many jobs you cannot do with a cargo van. I don't see any loggers with vans. All have HD pickups or class 4-6 service bodied trucks. Same can be said for mining, oil/gas, and agriculture. The only place where vans make sense over pickups are in towns and cities were secure storage is needed. Pickup design has become as complex if not more complex than that of cars. Pickups (1/2 ton) regardless of end use need to be designed for work but provide ride and comforts of a car. Ram has chosen the car end of the spectrum and Ford and GM have the work end better covered.