Call it leapfrogging, one-upmanship, outdoing, or just plain competitiveness. The Big Three builders of commercially oriented pickups-FiatChrysler, Ford, and General Motors-continuously improve their products to try to make them better than the other guys' versions. Meanwhile, the fourth player, Nissan, soldiers on with milder betterments to its vehicles while trying to attract customers' attention. All this in a market that's softening on the consumer side but still strong and growing among commercial customers. "Fleet business is still growing," says Kevin Koester, Ford's medium-duty truck and SuperDuty fleet marketing manager. "Last year, our total SuperDuty fleet volume was record-setting for us. We're still seeing those types of numbers in the first part of this year. It's very strong for SuperDuty pickups and chassis-cabs. Construction and segments of industry that support infrastructure are really strong."
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