Then everybody will complain about all of the creature comforts and how they are unnecessary.

 

Such a closed minded comment.

 

Personally, I think that would be the major issue.

If they offered the terrastar with a dt engine, 6 sp manual tranny, 4x4, and a truck box, for anything close to big 3 diesel pickup prices, they would really sell.

 

I think you mean reentering. They had a light/medium duty truck until '75.

 

You know who I'd buy a pick up from?

Oshkosh.

 

There you can see one next to another truck sort of...

Small cute little thing....

The worst thing is that I think it would be way harder to disable the emission stuff than on the ford 6.4.

 

Very true! These only have up to 13.5K rear axles too.......

 

The international sales guy told me that the new 4x4 models will have 10k front and 20k rear axles.

sales guys have been known to be wrong before, though...

 

Forgive me, but you have posted more like a sales guy than an interested buyer. I don't see these things running around in the private market anytime soon, or ever. Everything from maintenance, insurance, registration, and probably even licensing, will be more expensive. I can't imagine how bad the fuel economy would be.

The reason you don't see private F-650's running around town in great numbers has very little to with price. It's just too big for most people. Most PSD owners probably don't need the PSD, but they choose to buy it anyway for whatever reason. I just can't see making a jump to a chassis truck with pickup bed (or whatever else you decide to put on the chassis) unless you need to. Those folks are already driving around in their F-650 or equivalent. Dropping the price to somewhere close to a SD won't have much effect. Not to mention the fact that you don't get something for nothing so comparing a truck they are now selling for $85,000 to $95,000 to one that they will sell for $60,000 is about as useful as asking Lady Gaga to actually act like a lady.

 

The current terrastar prices are not that high, it is an entry level small truck. From everything I gather, when the 4x4 models come out, they will cost more than an f350, a few thousand more.


I am certainly not a sales guy.

 

The "TerraStar" is not really anything new, International has been making trucks like this for years, calling them "Low Profile". This is just the first that they have made an effort to differentiate them from the rest of their medium duty line, I suppose in an attempt to draw sales away from Ford, GM, and Dodge.

About 10 years ago I worked for Trugreen fertilizing lawns, and the trucks we had there were Internationals. These were roughly the equivalent of an F-550 but they didn't look any different from the rest of International's trucks other than the fact that they had 19.5" wheels rather than 22.5". I don't remember the exact GVWR on these trucks, but it was right around 20K. I believe the F-550's GVWR is 19,500.

The one I drove looked exactly like this:



Here's a little newer one:



There are lots of these used as flatbed tow trucks too.



Compare those to the truck I drive for work now and there doesn't appear to be much difference. This truck has a 26K GVWR and 22.5" wheels.

 

I think it's more than a "few thousand" more. First of all, It looks to me like you're thinking is that the people who currently drive a F-350 are going to make a jump to something like a Terrastar. Correct me if I'm wrong but the inside of the truck itself would be equivalent to a F-350 XL in terms of options. I can go out right now and buy a F-350 DRW XL with a 6.7 PSD brand new out the door for between $35,000 and $38,000.

A Terrastar would be in the neighborhood of $60,000 depending on what I put on the back of it. That is a significant increase. A 36% increase, and that's best case. If you're comparing truck prices, you have to go apples to apples. I just simply don't see the guy that paid $60,000 for his F-350 DRW King Ranch jumping ship to a larger truck that is more expensive to operate and insure while taking a significant hit in options just so he can drive a baby semi-truck.

Perhaps I'm wrong but I think that once you put on all of the options that are equivalent to at least a Lariat, the Terrastar would have to be 5 to 10 grand cheaper in order for many folks to even consider it. That means $45 to $50 grand out the door. If International could pull that off, then the Big 3 have their trucks priced too high and, in the face of competition, would lower their price which would put International right back at square one.

If you want one. More power to you. Enjoy it. I just don't think too many people are going to follow in your footsteps.

 

I realise there are some differences.
I think the terrastar will be marketed to the HD pickup customer, and the reason I think so is the price, and features.

Right now (or in a few months) , with diesel pickup type cash in your pocket, what else can you get other than a GM, Ford, Dodge, or terrastar?
They all will have 4x4, crew cab, huge towing ability, etc. I'm not aware of any other trucks that have similar options at this price range.

Like so many other things, everyone likes different things, so what works for me, might not work for you. The terrastar is definately behind in terms of luxury and comfort, compared to the big 3 pickups. It is also more industrial, so for a business truck, it might end up making more sense. The engine is more easily accessed, so that might make a big difference over the ownership term. The cab, fram, etc are mougher that pickup grade stuff, so I think it's fair to say it might get more miles on it than a pickup without rusting away or falling apart. Maybe, maybe not.

From what I understand so far, the new 6.4 isn't all that bad on the highway with fuel, but it sucks in town. Apparently there is also a switch or button to disable the truck from going into regen in town.

 

I sincerely appreciate all your thoughts.



I was speaking in canadian dollars though. (just to add confusion, apparently, lol)


I looked into this already;
Cheapest diesel reg cab XL f350 with the least options, after incentives and stuff, 44,900$ purchase price. That is the cheapest ford diesel available, that I can find, anyways. (F250 might be a few hundred less?)

A reg cab terrastar, is 48,900$.

So a 4000$ difference going from plain jane F350 diesel, to a plain jane terrastar.

I would say for feature VS money, they are right on par with ford.

This is what I've found anyways, and this is canada, so you're mileage may vary.

 

The TerraStar doesn't cost $60K.

Here's an apples to apples comparison.

2013 TerrraStar Cab-Chassis - $44,700

2013 INTERNATIONAL TERRASTAR for sale in Cleveland, Ohio - Commercial Truck Trader

2012 F-550 XL 4x2 6.7 Cab-Chassis - $43,515

2012 FORD F550 for sale in Columbus, Ohio - Commercial Truck Trader

So we are looking at a price difference of roughly $1200.

Being the owner of a Super Duty and daily driver of an International truck, (I've put 250K miles on the one in the pic I posted above) I would almost certainly go with the TerraStar if I was in the market for a truck of this class. If for no other reason, just because of the cab. The International cab has so much more space that a Super Duty cab, and the visibility is WAY better. The International cab will comfortably seat 3 people, and the driver's seat has air ride. The Super Duty will seat 3 people, but not comfortably. Go with the crew cab and the International will comfortably seat 6 people. Again, the Super Duty will do this, but not comfortably.