Kodiak, TopKick production to end by August

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General Motors announced June 8 that it has decided to wind down its medium-duty truck operations after four years of working with multiple potential buyers, including Navistar International Corp. GM, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the previous week, says production of the Chevy Kodiak and GMC TopKick medium-duty trucks at the company’s plant in Flint, Mich., will cease by July 31. The factory also makes Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, as well as medium-duty trucks for Isuzu Motors.

While sudden, the announcement hardly was surprising given GM’s severely troubled financial situation and the fact that it previously had tried to offload the business. In December 2007, Navistar tentatively agreed to buy GM’s medium-duty truck business, including certain assets and rights to manufacture GMC and Chevrolet brand vehicles. Navistar had planned to sell those vehicles and related parts through GM’s North American dealer network.

GM and Navistar never finalized the deal, however, and on Aug. 20, 2008, the companies announced that owing to “significant marketplace and economic changes” they had decided not to renew their memorandum of understanding. At the time, GM vowed to continue the medium-duty business as it had in the past, including providing sales, service and marketing support to GM dealers for its medium-duty trucks. Meanwhile, the company said it would continue to review strategic options for the business, including continued discussions with Navistar.

CCJ Test Drive:
Roush Ford F-150 Propane Pickup
Livonia, Mich.-based Roush is better known as an aftermarket supplier of high-performance powertrains. But now the company has turned its attention to helping fleet owners realize lower fuel costs with the introduction of its propane-powered Ford F-150 pickup truck. Roush says fleets running propane pickups realize cost savings from 5 to 30 percent compared to gasoline models, depending on the application. And that’s before recouping government tax credits, which can run as high as 50 cents a gallon burned.

Livonia, Mich.-based Roush is better known as an aftermarket supplier of high-performance powertrains. But now the company has turned its attention to helping fleet owners realize lower fuel costs with the introduction of its propane-powered Ford F-150 pickup truck. Roush says fleets running propane pickups realize cost savings from 5 to 30 percent compared to gasoline models, depending on the application. And that’s before recouping government tax credits, which can run as high as 50 cents a gallon burned.

Driving a Roush F-150, it was surprising how unremarkable the experience was. I don’t mean that in a bad way: Simply put, the propane conversion kit under the F-150′s hood provided power and performance virtually indistinguishable from a conventional gas-powered F-150. In fact, apart from a 3-second wait when cranking (to pressurize the fuel injection system), you’d be hard-pressed to tell any meaningful difference performance-wise between a conventional pickup and the Roush version.