Las Vegas, NEVADAMopar or Chevy? Diesel power or electric energy? Battery versus brawn? Old rivalries were made new again at the 2019 SEMA show in Las Vegas, as GM and FCA each breathed new life into a couple of their old trucks.Dedicated to the automotive aftermarket, the SEMA show is jammed with modified vehicles showing off new products. Some of the major automakers get in on the action, creating or commissioning their own builds for the show. This year, that included transforming two trucks a 1962 Chevy C-10 and 1968 Dodge D200.Both drew the crowds, but they were as different as they could be. The Chevy had a couple of electric motors under the hood, while the Dodge went old-school with a diesel. See how they stacked up and which do you prefer?1962 Chevrolet E-10 Chevy changed C-10 to E-10 for what the company dubbed its E-Crate motor, and its basically made by stacking electric motors together and with components from the Bolt electric compact car.The E-10 has a dual-stack system, and GM claims more than 450 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque at the wheels. Zero to 96 km/h is about five seconds, and the truck is estimated in the high 13-second range for the quarter-mile. But dont expect it to do it silently: theres an emulator on board that churns out the sound of V8 induction and exhaust.A custom truck is more than an engine, and the E-10 has an adjustable air suspension, 20- and 22-inch wheels, illuminated bowtie badges and a digital instrument cluster. The hood and tailgate have been smoothed out, the drip rails have been shaved, and the 62 grille has been replaced with one used in 1964. The E-10 isnt just for show. GM says the E-Crate is a concept but its also a fully-functional prototype that could one day be available to drop into anything that is currently set up for a Chevy LS engine currently (no pun intended) the engine of choice for most hot-rod and custom-car conversions.These next-generation electric motors can be stacked three-high for more than 1,000 horsepower. Right now the E-10s box is taken up with the battery, but the E-Crate can run on a range of 350 to 800 volts, so the battery can be sized for practicality or performance.Mopar Lowliner Concept The Lowliner also has a battery, but its just there to turn over the trucks 5.9-litre Cummins engine. The inline-six is considered legendary by diesel fans, and was first put into a Ram truck in 1989; the Ram brands current 6.7L diesel choice initially appeared in 2007.The 5.9L started with 12 valves but went to 24 valves in 1998, and its the 2-4 thats in this truck now. And heres the best part: the transmission has to be manually shifted through its six gears.The designers started with a 1968 Dodge D200 Sweptline heavy-duty Camper Special that they found in Ohio. They boxed the frame, and in addition to extending the wheelbase, pushed the front axle forward 76 millimetres. An adjustable air suspension on both axles gives it low, driving height, and driving height-plus positions.But while the trucks been lowered, the bed heights been raised by welding in the box floor from a new Ram 1500 and that was done to accommodate the air suspension and the fuel cell.Just about everything on the outside has been customized: the front end flips forward electrically, the handle-free doors open with electric poppers, the badges and chrome have been shaved off, the headlights and taillights are LED, the fuel fillers now mounted in the bed, and the Candied Delmonico red paint has the Mopar M subtly ghosted into the fenders.Take Our Poll The wheels are styled on the smoothie stamped-steel design that was popular in the 1960s, but while those were usually 15 inches, the Lowliner rides on 22s, with wide enough tires that the rear wheel wells have been widened. The interiors done in distressed-look leather, the shifter ball has a Cummins logo, and the original 1968 steering wheel is still in place.Unlike the E-10, which could potentially spin off a production aftermarket conversion, the Lowliner is all about the show. But we like em both, and really like that two old trucks that were already cool have been made even
Origin: Trucks at SEMA 2019: Chevy’s electric vs Dodge’s diesel