Lapko

Lapko

SexCpotatoes

I do have the goddamn always engaged frontend though. take out the front driveshaft and I pick up about 3 mpg.

RamV10

But be careful with that "M" word. Apparently the mustang is hated around this site.

TKWarrior

retox

SpudMills

SpudMills

KVHnik

KVHnik

lemondriver

SexCpotatoes

POweЯ-a tribute

42Fordtrucks

and

LET THE MARKET DECIDE!!
If that 2500 ram is makin you money
or costin you money
business users are the least driven by the reptile brain in thier choice of transport...

but

its $1.50 a liter here in sydney...
thats USD$5.10 a gallon...
and still the idiot soccer moms drive their V-8 toyota land barges/cruisers, and their other SUV's...

so, being that suburbanites the world over think alike, i reckon that gas will DOUBLE AGAIN in the usa
and people will still be driving their lame-ass ford expeditions...

call me crazy, but they do it here... reptile brained soccer mom's gotta have that SUV to be SAFE!
damn the torpedoos! and the petrol tank that costs $100 to fill!

wheels OF satan!

when ford puts a boat style windshield on a F-150, i'm buyin!!
otherwise i'll stick to sawzall fun...

wheels OF satan!

<*IMG SRC="(direct link to image)"

Take out the astric before IMG, and then put the direct image link between the quotes. For what ever reason, on Jalopnik if you try closing the script, the image doesnt appear... Atleast for me.

wheels OF satan!

NovaloadMissesPolar

newport413

NovaloadMissesPolar

Fitty7lax

I can tell you any serious sports car or sport bike guy has a truck, because they tow a non street legal vehicle to and from the track. Also, if you're like me, all those hobbies make it impossible to afford another more economical ride. Not that every truck owner is a weekend racer, but they do have a purpose.

Also, trucks haven't changed much because they do their job well, and have always done their job well. They feel crude because the stresses that their components are designed to take force higher tolerances, leading to more slop. It comes with the territory.

Fitty7lax

Triborough

The 86 CRX-HF got over 50mpg.. the new civic hybrid only 40 city and 45 highway..

I know it's apples to oranges.. but so is comparing these trucks to old ones.. they are better in every way..

now throw in all the nannystate gadgetry they have to carry around, plus crash standard requirements, and epa restrictions.. i'm amazed they get as good of milage as they do.

WheatKing

UDMan

That truck gets 10-15mpg on a good day, <10 if you're hauling or getting on the gas much.

New trucks get 15-20 most of the time, 10-15 if you're hauling (cargo or ass).

From 15-20 is a 33% increase, 10-15 is a 50% increase.

They do this while polluting a fraction of what the old model does, making near double the power, with better driveability and reliability.

This is coupled with dramatic increases in handling and safety.

These improvements are real. I've driven both old trucks and new trucks. There's a huge difference in chassis improvements, not just creature comforts (which I don't really care for).

To be honest, I'd rather have that linked F100 than a new truck, but that has a lot more to do with intended use and cashflow.

Mad_Science

The situation is a lot more complex. For some, it boils down to the problem of only being able to own one vehicle, and selecting the vehicle that satisfies the peak demand. For others, the total cost is the bottom line. In many cases, a fullsize truck is cheaper (vehicle + depreciation + fuel + insurance) than other vehicles. And in other cases, it has to do with what's available—a coupe utility (that is, El Camino) may be best, but they're just not available. For most truck buyers, all of those factors were at play, as well as others that I didn't think of.

All this is not to say that you're wrong; there are indeed many people who only need a Vespa but drive an F-350. But be careful about painting broad strokes such as "no one needs ..." That is fallacious.

stu-rock

@Maymar: Trucks are cheap to insure because on average they do not cost as much to fix. Easier to swap out body panels or just the whole bed if you're ever rear-ended. Most of the time trucks don't sustain too much damage, but they do cause other to have more damages. If you pit a Corolla against a Ram, guess which one is going to fare worse in a head-on collision? The oil companies are not screwing us, but rather we have been spoiled. Prior to 9/11, we were paying less than $2/gallon, while rest for the world was paying $3, maybe $4. Believe me, at $3+/gallon, we still have it good.

@Squablow: I admit I was out of line for stereotyping in my first post, and I apologize. I do agree full-size trucks have their purpose. They're handy if you do haul heavy equipment to job sites or if you own or work on a ranch. But if you live in the suburbs like most of us do, you do not need a truck.

For the record, I never menat to condemn full-size pickups. They do have a purpose and they do suit certain population. But as many have mentioned, trucks are being marketed to the LCD (Lowest Common Denominators) recruiting spokespeople such as Toby Keith. Nothing wrong with country music, but Toby Keith is the last person that should be representing any commercial product.

BMRFILE

No major advancements since the 70s? Trucks have become FAR more fuel efficient and offer more power than they have in the past. This new 5.7L Ram puts out 380hp and gets better fuel economy than ANY of its predecessors (5% better than the old 345hp 5.7L). If people want even better economy, a smaller V8 and V6 is offered. For 2010, there's a bunch of new small diesels coming and even a DSG transmission for the Ram, and they'll get 20mpg.

Go take your narrow minded opinions somewhere else.

Torqahontas

Are those reefer boxes in the floor wide enough to use for small subwoofer enclosures? Two 8" subs sunk into the floor would be sweeet.

badco/LoJ

@bmrfile: I bought a full-sized truck because from the quotes I could find, the only thing cheaper to insure was a smaller pickup (and there was next to nothing in the beater price range when I was looking). Since the oil companies rip everyone off equally, I'd rather waste money on them than insurance companies, who're more selective about who they screw over.

In regards to the F-150, what's that plastic hump on the floor? Does it do anything useful other than get in the way? I mean, the Silverado's got a flat floor, and the Ram's floor hump is useable for storage, right? Is Ford preventing buyers from getting truely monstrous televisions?

Maymar - now with 37% less anonymity

POLAЯBEEЯ

We plow snow with them, farmers haul hay wagons and chopper boxes around with them, lots of veterenarians (sp?) in dairy country moving cattle trailers around, in addition to the construction workers and utility companies and whatnot.

And for those people who don't have access to 2 cars, sometimes the truck gets pressed into service to get groceries or take someone to work. I have a 3/4 ton truck, but I only use it when I need to haul something.

No need to have one if you live in downtown Los Angeles and work at a dentist's office maybe, but trucks do serve a legitimate purpose. It's really in poor taste for someone to stereotype all pickup truck owners like you do. The world needs less of that close-mindedness.

squablow

Trucks haven't advanced since the 70s? Not true. Variable cam timing, cylinder deactivation, small diesels on the way, coil-sprung rearend, lighter drivetrains...it goes on from there.

Part of the issue is that a lot of trucks get used as trucks on the weekend, and it's not economical to have an extra commuter car unless it's really cheap and you have a really long commute.

Gotta tow a trailer on Saturday (ever Saturday), what else are you gonna use?

Besides, if you want to be all draconian and restrict people's vehicle use to "what they need," we're back to Honda 600s or taking the bus. Taking the bus sucks ass.

Mad_Science

BTW, I do travel to work on a motorcycle as much as possible, the F350 is for towing, and legally required for most of the trailers I pull.

monkeyboy04

Neener

No one really needs that much power and very few people need that much truck. An exotic is mostly for show and will never be daily drivers. However, a lot of people drive Rams and F-150s to and from work everyday.

I'm all for heavy taxation for gas guzzlers and excessive GVWR. A gas company utility truck has to pay for a commercial operating fee, why not impose the same tax on an H2, since they weigh about the same?

BMRFILE

mikedrawcar is back! (limited time only)

that ford grille is hideous

now here is a REAL ford truck....

wheels OF satan!

rlj676

om nom de plume

Is their a most ignorant statement of the day?

rlj676

om nom de plume

SierraSurfer

F-150 = non-medicinal male enhancement
Ram = Strap-on with 4 wheels

BMRFILE

Indiana Bento and the lost Temple of Citroens

SpeedWagon

bmoredlj

TampaRon

Damn that image didn't work...

This blue Sport Ram is really nice:

[www.allpar.com]

Torqahontas

Actually...it must pretty much suck to be Toby Kieth in general.

Mad_Science

Ford instantly loses because of their shitty powertrains. The new Dodge gets 380hp and 404tq with variable cam phasing, active length intake manifold and MDS. That puts it in the same league as the Toyota's 5.7L. Ford's 5.4L is the lame duck of the entire half ton segment.

Torqahontas

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there!

Best in show!

Dr.Danger is in Denial

Again, who the hell is this Toby Keith person?

Triborough

Indiana Bento and the lost Temple of Citroens

Advantage Dodge.

Mitsubishi Lancer-esque nose treatment which doesn't look like it was drawn by engineers with severe ADD using ransom note newspaper cutout leftovers...

Advantage Dodge.

Positioning vehicles, of multiple colors no less, in a fashion so as to allow pictures of the rear...

Advantage Dodge.

Still not including separate turn signal lamps for the tail end, resulting in one burned-out bulb rendering both a brake light and turn signal useless...

Advantage Europeans, though Chevrolet did have amber turn signals on their trucks the past few years.

Kelly

but id much rather have a diesel dually of either one.

civicdrivr

newfmike