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From ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com:  Isuzu Commercial Truck of America Inc. celebrated the 35th anniversary of Isuzu trucks in the United States.

Isuzu Truck of America Inc. was founded on March 21, 1984, and the first Isuzu truck arrived in the United States in November of that year. The KS22 model had no tilt cab and was powered by an 87-hp engine.

The KS22 was quickly embraced by American truck buyers who were looking for durability, dependability and low cost of ownership in a medium-duty truck. In 1986, a little over a year after its stateside launch, Isuzu became the best-selling low-cab-forward truck in the United States, a position it has maintained ever since — an unprecedented 32 consecutive years.

Today, Isuzu trucks command 73 percent of the class 3-5 U.S. LCF [...]

Melbourne, March 15, 2019: For the upcoming F1 season, beginning March 17, Marriott International is revving up and expanding its marketing partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The big winners will be the members of Marriott’s newly renamed travel program Marriott Bonvoy, which replaced Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG).

“Our marketing partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team will give Marriott Bonvoy members, many of whom are fans of the team, the opportunity to pursue their passion for the sport,” said Karin Timpone, Global Marketing Officer, Marriott International.

Among some of the money-can’t-buy experiences on Marriott Bonvoy Moments – the travel program’s experiential platform – that members will be able to bid on with their Marriott Bonvoy points are:

• Spending the night on the exclusive Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport luxury yacht during the Monaco Grand Prix and enjoying full hospitality during race weekend.
• Being [...]

From www.autocar.co.nz:  The AMI Safety Award recognises the safest car released during the past year. This is based on how the vehicles fared in local crash testing, reviewing the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) results. And this year the winner was the Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

They were many cars scoring excellent safety marks in 2018 but for cumulative score, taking into account child protection (91 per cent), safety assist features (73 per cent) and vulnerable road user protection (92 per cent), it was the Mercedes A-Class that produced the best overall performance. With a total of 352 points it edged out the Corolla and T-Roc by reasonable margins.

As James Goodwin, the Chief Executive of ANCAP commented, the A-Class “achieved the highest ever Vulnerable Road User Protection rating, and equalled the highest [...]

JCB skid steer loaders, built at the company’s North American headquarters in Pooler, have received a 2019 EquipmentWatch Highest Retained Value Award.  The award recognizes JCB machines for commanding higher resale values than competing skid steers after five years of ownership.

Garrett Schemmel, vice president at EquipmentWatch, explained that the annual awards help buyers understand the best performing machines.

“The program is also designed to recognize manufacturers for building these higher quality, durable, and cost-friendly machines that power our industry,” said Schemmel.
Richard Fox-Marrs, president and CEO of JCB North America, credited the company’s 600-strong, Pooler-based workforce for the recognition.

“It takes skilled and dedicated people to build and support construction machines that excel on tough construction projects and in harsh conditions, and then command high resale values. This award is testimony not just to the JCB team’s expertise, but to the care and attention they put into every skid steer that [...]

From www.automotiveworld.com: Suzuki GB PLC has been ranked as the best car brand in the Institute of Customer Service’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) for January 2019. A national measure of sentiment across the country, the research asks 45,000 consumers to rate their experiences of dealing with nearly 260 different companies across 13 sectors, including those in the motor industry.

With an improved overall Index score of 83, compared to 81.5 last year, this allowed Suzuki to climb 29 places versus the 2018 Index to 15th position across the 259 Companies measured and to 1st place for any of the 24 vehicle manufacturers listed. The average Automotive CSI score was 78.9 placing Suzuki way ahead and it is also Suzuki’s best ever result since the customer satisfaction barometer made its debut in 2008.

From www.AutomotiveWorld.com: The Mercedes-Benz A-Class has won two prizes at the 2019 Company Car Today awards. The new A-Class was named the ‘Car of the Year’, as well as the ‘Premium Lower Medium Car of the Year’.

The A-Class was praised for its interior comfort, innovative technology and low running costs.

Paul Barker, editor of Company Car Today, said: “The A-Class will break new ground in the company car marketplace this spring when the tax-busting efficient new RDE2-compliant engines join the range, but they build on the foundation the new A-Class has already established in terms of classy design, high-quality cabin, advanced technology and top-line residual values.

“It’s a powerful combination that has set new levels for premium small cars, and the fact that Mercedes is the first company [...]

From www.usatoday.com:  DETROIT – Shortly before the North American International Auto Show opened to the public Saturday, Chevrolet gathered a crowd of local students for the unveiling of its first LEGO Silverado.

The students clamored around the Chevrolet space on the auto show floor, curious about the surprise hidden under a black sheet. "We want to see it!" a student from the excited group yelled out.

The sheet was lifted to reveal a bright red LEGO replica of Chevrolet's 2019 Silverado 1500 LT Trail Boss.

"We are thrilled to reveal the LEGO Silverado, said Sandor Piszar, the marketing director for Chevrolet Trucks. "This is a totally realistic replica of our all-new 2019 Silverado LT Trail Boss, and it's the first time that a full-sized Chevy vehicle has ever been made with LEGO pieces."

He also announced Chevrolet will be featured in a cameo role in the upcoming film, "The Lego Movie 2: The Second [...]

From www.topgear.com:  Now, we love the new Suzuki Jimny – we gave it a Top Gear award and everything. But it looks like Japan really luuuuurves the adorable off-roader. For this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, every tuner and their dog seems to be modifying the titchy SUV to be either bigger, butcher or a tiny bit faster. Sometimes they’re doing all three at once. Being cheap to buy and a doddle to strip down, it’s not hard to see why the Jimny’s homeland has gone potty for them. Saying that, we never thought a Jimny monster truck was possible. Or a two-seat load lugging pick-up. Then again, Japan never ceases to amaze.

So, go forth and get drunk on Jimnys, then tell us what you’d do to modify one if you had the opportunity.

Photography: Mark Riccioni

From Top Gear: Just when Santa’s gone and plopped all the presents on our Christmas list down the chimney, Suzuki comes along and teases us with this: the Jimny Sierra Pickup Style.

It’s one of two rugged, adventure-based concepts that the Japanese firm will be taking to the Tokyo Auto Salon next week and, as we’ve missed Christmas, has rocketed straight to the top of our birthday present list.

Based on Suzuki’s adorable 4x4 (a Top Gear Magazine Award winner, no less) the Sierra Pickup maintains the same boxy silhouette but has had the back seats ripped out and an angle grinder applied to the roofline to make room for a practical bed. More than that, they’ve swapped out the front grille and stamped an old school Suzuki logo on it, [...]