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Budd Stanley photos
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Budd Stanley photos
Yes, Nissan will continue the PRO4X trim with the new Titan.
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Budd Stanley photos
As will Toyota, with their TRD Off-Road Tacoma.
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Budd Stanley photos
Here is a name that needs no introduction, and yes, the angry Ford will live on.
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Budd Stanley photos
The Raptor won’t have things all its own way as Ram rebels with a desert runner of its own.
Story & photos by Budd Stanley
4WD’s Headline the North American International Auto Show
The surprise introduction of the next generation Ford GT most certainly made the biggest splash at the 2015 North American International Auto Show, however this year would be the year of the 4WD in Detroit. Yes, if NAIAS is any scope of the current state of the automotive market (and it usually is), the truck is king. With no less than nine 4WD vehicles having the sheets pulled off them for the first time, we were left scurrying about in a mad dash to try and cover all the new 4WD candy on display.
The NAIAS is one of the three largest and most prestigious new car auto shows on the planet, but while fancy supercars, luxury sedans and economic runabouts garner most of the attention at Frankfurt and Geneva; the 4WD is the darling in Detroit.
This year would prove one of the biggest on record for our chosen field, and it was a good thing we were on hand to cover all the big name launches. Going into the first media day, there were only two vehicles we knew we wanted to be in attendance for. Nissan were pulling the wraps off the long awaited second generation Titan, as was Toyota showing their third generation Tacoma. We knew both Ford and Ram were up to something and our dreams came true as both manufacturers surprised us with high performance off-road specials, one due to hit the market in a mater of months.
However, it wasn’t just production vehicles that were monopolizing our attention. Several truck, off-road and AWD concepts also made us stop in our tracks and take a second look at what untraditional truck maker’s thought of the genre and what its future may hold. GM showed their ZR2 concept Colorado, hoping to gauge public opinion on the aggressive trim level, while Hyundai also want to judge what people think of their unibody pickup concept. There was no shortage of interesting vehicles to capture our attention and keep us on the run to the next big reveal. So with that, we give you 4WDrive Magazines full in depth coverage of all things 4WD and off-road at this years NAIAS.