Hot Truck Trends For 2016
With new truck models rolling onto showroom floors and the performance aftermarket blasting out a dizzying amount of new products (some of which you can read about here), 2016 is looking to be an exciting year for truck and off-road enthusiasts. Many of the 2016 trends and new wares we got a glimpse of at the SEMA Show. Good, bad, and ugly, we’ve put together the top five trends we expect to see in 2016.
Despite Volkswagen’s dieselgate scandle, diesel engines are making a comeback. In the fullsize truck sector, you now have new offerings from Nissan with its twin-turbo 5.0L Cummins-powered Titan. For the midsize market, there’s the all-new Chevy Colorado fit with the 2.8L Duramax diesel. There’s even talk of a small diesel engine to be shared between the Range Rover and Ford F-150. Consumer demand for power and fuel economy has sent a strong message to the truck manufacturers. It sounds like they are finally listening.
Not all trucks are built for thrashing off-road, and that’s OK. If we’re using the 2015 SEMA Show as a benchmark, it looks like big suspension systems are back in style. We’re not talking about your average 6-inch lift, but rather 8-inch-plus lifts that make even monstrous 40-inch-plus tires seem tiny. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a great indicator that people are getting back to spending money on their trucks, which is always a good thing.
We know stanced cars are wildly popular, but could stanced trucks become a thing? The low-rider truck market hasn’t brought a lot of wow factor as of late. This new wide-wheel, big fender trend could be thing it needed to get people excited again.
Performance suspension systems have been on fire for the past couple of years. Whether it’s the result of brilliant marketing or a more engaged consumer, people are willing to pay a little more for a suspension that’s actually designed to increase off-road performance, rather than simply raise the vehicle’s ride height. We were surprised to see such advanced suspension systems making their way into more show oriented vehicles. Typically, you’d see a trailing arm setup with coilover and triple bypass shocks on a go-fast desert racer, not a super bling pavement pounder. While show trucks make not take full advantage of the performance potential of a long-travel suspension system, the more saturated the market becomes with them, the more affordable they components will inevitably be.
A major trend that continues to keep momentum is overlanding. This type of camping/exploring vehicle build is trickling over to the mainstream, with companies such as Kia even getting in on the action. Since overland movement crosses over with the vast outdoor enthusiast crowd, we’re seeing more crossover and light-duty SUVs joining the party. Many trails can be traversed with modestly modified vehicles (we’ve even done some light desert exploring in a Subaru), so there’s actually some merit to this trend. If anything, this should break up the sea of look-alike small SUVs that cover mainstream America.
No matter what, 2016 should be an exciting year for all things automotive.
