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Most Dangerous Trucks and SUVs – CTV Autos

CTV Autos looks at Forbes‘ list of Most Dangeorous Trucks and SUV’s.

(It’s important to note that all of the trucks on this list exceed US federal safety standards, and are safer than new cars made even a decade ago: They are the “Most Dangerous” only in the context of similar new models):

PHOTO: scottnj, via flickr.com under a Creative Commons license

There’s good news for automakers this summer: Domestic sales of cars and trucks were up almost 15 per cent in July, and are on track to reach 11.8 million units by the end of the year.

The biggest gains came in the truck and luxury SUV segments. But some trucks and truck-based SUVs still posted declines in sales for the month, including the Chevrolet Colorado and Hummer H3.

Why didn’t they do as well as the rest of the segment? Perhaps because they have some of the lowest safety scores in their class — making them among the most dangerous new trucks on the road.

Read the full article, via CTV Autos.
Look at the full list of Most Dangerous Trucks and SUV’s, here.

2010: 08/09
POSTED BY: calgarycarguy
CATEGORY: Cars
Driving
TAGS: chevrolet
CTV
forbes
hummer
stats
suv
truck
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Mazda pickup mixes work and play | Canada.com

Alan McPhee is the weekly automotive columnist for the Nanaimo Daily News, and a contributor to Driving.ca. This week he reviews the Mazda B Series pickup trucks. Originally posted June 30th, 2010:

Mazda‘s B-series pickups must feel a bit like Rodney Dangerfield. They just don’t get the respect — or attention — lavished on the company’s Zoom-Zoom sports and passenger cars.

The B-Series may not have the sex appeal of the Miata or Mazda6, but it meets the needs of a large segment of the buying public. In fact, six of the top ten selling vehicles in Canada are trucks.

It seems that many people need a vehicle capable of “multi-tasking” for the whole family . . . able to do the heavy lifting on workdays and still provide a recreational escape on the weekends.

And for those who don’t need the extra size offered by large and mid-size pickups, the B-Series is one of the few remaining compact pickups on the market.

PHOTO: A7design1, via flickr.com under a Creative Commons license

And trucks aren’t what they used to be. Many of today’s trucks feature space, comfort and performance approaching the luxury car level and the comfort gap between a compact pickup and compact sedan has been pretty well closed.

In addition, compact pickups are generally more affordable to buy and cheaper to insure. The Mazda B-Series pickup is a case in point.

The 4×2 Regular Cab B2300 equipped with the basic 143-horsepower, 2.3-litre DOHC four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission is priced at just $15,795.