You're right Tim. Honda has a game changer on their hands, but the exterior design has put off a lot of buyers.

And I also second, or third, a dead pedal for my left foot. Too much space in there not to have something at least.

 

I'm not saying we haven't eveolved as car builders. I'm just speaking from personal experience. The Car I was in that was not totalled but unable to move under its own power after the accident was acutally a 2004 model.

As I stated in an earlier post, I think I could learn to accept a unibody F-150 if it was done right. (A Ridgeline in my IMO is not right). An early 1990s Jeep Comanche on the other hand is what I would consider a Unibody done right.

 

i think you missed my point. i never said they dont protect the people inside. on that front they do a very good job.

my point was it normally takes less damage to total one out. they also have a harder time repairing them correctly after a wreck. this being compared to a body on frame car/truck.

 

Hmmm kicked the door open?

Gets @ 1 mpg better in real wold driving, costs nearly the same and is the fugliest thing on the read outside of some other Hondas...

Progress... ? Next time your walking by, shut that door will ya.

 

I always liked the 97-04 looks. Take that truck, make it a little bit longer(no more straight up rear seat) then make a small diesel that would do the same job as the old 4.6 and get 30mpg

 

You guys asking for the bed boxes like the Ram has should go read about them and look at the bed of one that has it. You lose roughly 1/3 of your bed - a sheet of plywood won't fit in there. Also, Dodge had some significant issues with the lids on those things and problems with them leaking though the drain plug was in.

I would like to see more storage. Rams have storage in the floorboard under the truck. I personally like not having a huge compartment under the seat but a little more would be nice.

Drink holders need to be deeper and the front ones should be moved behind the shifter and made side-by-side..

Console a little bigger. Redesign the little storage area beneath the USB port - pretty useless when you have a USB in the port.

Heated steering wheel on the Lariats.

Driver side grab handle.

I like the size of the my '11 so I have no complaints about it and wouldn't change it.

Lights on the 4wd drive **** would be nice.

Change the vent cover design - let's be honest, they look silly.

 

I did accomplish my goal, the thread is still going.

Two areas that I think we've all missed concerning maintenance items would be a drain plug in the transmission, an external transmission filter and a drain plug on the rear axle large enough to allow the thick oil to drain.

I would also like to see grease fittings on the on ball joints and and U-joints. I'm no fan of the lube for life joints.

I think Ford has most definitely moved in the right direction with in tank gas filters, 5 year coolant flushes, 150K trans service, 150K rear axle oil change, 10K oil changes, 30K air filters and 100K plug changes. I know, I know, these are all guides that should not be exceeded and exist in perfect conditions. But, the fact of the matter is, Ford is trying to lower our cost of ownership and I for one appreciate that.

 

I vote for a new body style, that doesn't compromise on comfort or headroom, hydraulic hybrid that we have read about in combination with the EcoBoost engine. A rear locker that is an LSD in 2wd, and locked in 4wd with a manual lock mode for 2wd.

 

When i park my 96 next to a 2010 truck my 96 looks like a ranger, and my old pushrod 302 gets the same MPG as his 5.4, Thats pathetic Ford !

 

Your exactly right sir. The 302 should have been able to get better mileage from a smaller lighter truck.

 

Excellent thread; hope someone from Ford is listening. Here are a couple things I didn't see mentioned above:

1) Put a timer or a cancel button in the chime circuit -- it bugs me. Military and commercial airplanes have done this for more than 50 years -- it ain't rocket science.

2) Since the 1950's, every car I've bought has had an under-hood light, a glove compartment light, and some sort of interior courtesy floor lights (not just a dome light). Ford apparently removed all of these lights from the 2008 Lariat to save a few bucks. Put them back, or make a lighting package an option -- some of us liked all those lights.

3) Since Ford has failed to install daytime running lights, I always turn my headlights on when driving during daylight hours. Turning the lights on during the day, makes the system assume it's dark outside -- so it dims all the dash light, including the GPS map (if left in the "auto" mode). Consequently, I can't use the map auto mode; and I have to turn off the headlights, if I want to see any of the dash readouts on a bright sunny day. This is a poor set-up. Day-light running lights should be offered; and the dash lights should go to full bright (day or night), when selected. I don't like these auto systems that keep forcing me to adapt to them -- it should be the other way around.

 

Canadian F150s have DRL's. Probably buy the part to add to yours...

We have to if we import them.

 

I love the way you managed to "spin" your answer. Exactly what I was thinking...

 

It wouldn't be the first time Ford has made a unibody truck.



I don't necessarily think it's a good move, but I'm something of a purist, like Tim mentioned.

(Also, I really love this photo.)

 

I don,t think the F150 will ever be unibody but if they do make a unibody truck it will be a F100.I would consider one.Imagine one with the 5.0 engine.If Ford continues with the large fits all concept they will begin to lose sales to a new 2012 or 2013 redesigned Tacoma that will most likely be the size of the first generation Tundra.I would consider one of these also just because of the size.Ford needs a mid size truck and a lighter weight and smaller unibody truck would fill that need.