New pickup trucks fuel competition

Detroit, Mich — The competition for full-size pickup truck customers in the U.S. is as rough-and-tumble as ever, with Ram and Chevrolet rolling out brawny-looking new models that are larger, lighter and more efficient than their predecessors.

For the first time in recent memory, two Detroit automakers are introducing new big trucks at the Motor City’s auto show at the same time, in a hot sales market that U.S.-based automakers have dominated for years.

Last year, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler and General Motors combined sold more than 2.2 million full-size trucks, controlling 93 percent of the segment.

Big pickup truck sales are important to automakers, which make huge profits on them. Sales rose nearly 6 percent last year to almost 2.4 million, even though total U.S. auto sales dropped 2 percent.

One in every seven vehicles sold last year was a big pickup, up from one in every nine in 2009 in the midst of the Great Recession.

Ford’s F-Series pickup is the country’s top-selling vehicle, followed by the GM’s Chevy Silverado and Fiat-Chrysler’s Ram.

GM unveiled the Silverado Saturday night, while Fiat Chrysler is to roll out the new Ram Monday at the North American International Auto Show.

Both are meaner-looking and bigger, but much lighter. Each has sophisticated engine or transmission improvements that give them better gas mileage as they go after the F-Series.