Remind me why I like Ford...
 

Ok,

So i started to look at the Chevy and Dodge fullsize lines and comparing them to the Fords.

I can't speak for long term build quality or durability, but from the just the specs, ford seems a little behind... especially since they just completely re-did their Superduty's for '08, you thought they would be ahead...

The biggest issue for me is side-curtain airbags... (maybe I'm a little biased because they saved my dad's life) but still IMHO, Ford really dropped the ball on this one. The dodge's and GMC's got 'em, and Ford should have put them in when the redesigned...

The dodges also come with a factory option remote start, AND the cummins diesel.

I love Ford and its the only truck I've driven, but seriously, I'm beginning to question my loyalty, especially with the airbag thing...

Somebody please remind me why I like the Fords so much. Sure, IMHO they look the best, but I'm just trying to think safety too :)

I'm not bashing Ford (or anyone for that matter) but some objective info would be great) Yeah, its a ford forum, so it will be biased, but hey, thats fine with me, I LOVE my ford Excursion :)

Thanks!

Isaac

good for you, you shoudl know that ford can still out pull all of them,

Which is all well and good...if that's what he cares about. He blantantly said safety...which the Ford is definetly lagging behind in, along with many other things.

There are a lot more Dodge work trucks around here now...and it's not too difficult to see why.

All we can do is hope for a redesign to catch up with the others, they're quite behind now.

If airbags saved your father's life and you can't have peace of mind with out them, then don't buy a Ford. I can see why you would want to have the side curtain airbags.


However, I, like probably the majority of buyers, (evident by Fords lack of standard side curtain air bags in a lot of their cars) don't car. The only safety feature I like to have is ABS, and even that isn't a deal breaker for me.

Safety is a legitmate concern. I love the cummins engine that Dodge uses as well as Ford and GM in their bigger truck lines. The problem with Dodge was that everything else is light duty when compared to Ford or General Motors in their heavy duty work trucks. To the best of my knowledge, 12,000lbs GVW was the biggest Dodge you could buy until now. If I was looking for a new truck, I would look long and hard at what Dodge has to offer with their 4500 and 5500 series out. Of course this being the first year for them you might want to hold back a year or two and let them work out the inevitable bugs that they will have. As for the cummins engine, I wish they'd stayed with the 5.9. It truely had stood the test of time, but I know they had to go with more cubic inches to get the power with the ever more stricter emissions controls. Not that I would do this, I have seen people swap both duramax's and powerstrokes for the 5.9. I've never seen anyone put a powerstroke in a Dodge, or a GM. Nor have I ever seen a Duramax in a Ford or a Dodge.

the ram 4500 and 5500s mhhmmm I have seen them plenty of pictures theres a ton of comercial fords, dodges want in, bottom line Ford is Superduty, set the maximum load. dodge coudl take it they all get abused, but one one gets used more, for the Tough stuff

Don't go taking this as anything substantial...but as far as I can tell, the SD is built much stronger than the other trucks, sturdier, with more girth. Just because there is an absense of airbags doesn't mean they aren't as safe. I'll try and find some safety tests to comapre between the bunch. I may be completely wrong, but i'll see if I can prove myself right.

Are you for real?

The 4500 and 5500 just debuted last week. I doubt you've even seen one yet let alone one that has fallen apart due to tough work and abuse.

I would have to agree. I couldn't care less if my vehicle had any airbags. Just need seatbelts to satisfy me. Nor would I really care if my superduty didn't have ABS. The only time I needed the ABS, it didn't do anything, and that tree stopped me faster anyway. Always seems to pulse when I don't need it though.

I wouldnt look at anything but a Ford for a work truck. What people see in Dodges is beyond me. Cummins maybe I dont know. Stick with Ford you wont go wrong. Theres one reason Ford outsells Dodge there just better overall truck.

yeah,

I still think ford makes an excellent truck, and IMHO, it looks the best, and based on the specifications, it can hands-down out-tow any other truck.

But, around Dallas/Fort Worth, where I live, It may just be me, but it seems like there are a lot more dodges than there used to be, but that may just be becase I'm paying attention now. There have always been TONS of Fords. By the way, at least in my case, what I'm talking about wouldn't be a work truck, just a daily driver, with recreational towing.

But here is some interesting stuff to consider:

On Dodge's website, in '06 the Ram did seem to get some pretty good reviews:
•Truckin' Truck of the Year
•Peterson's 4-Wheel Off Road 4x4 of the year
•IntelliChoice best overal value - full size pickup

But ford's not doing to shabby either:
(I couldn't find exactly what they were)
•Best use of technology in a production pickup
•Truck of Texas
Its gotten several awards, and it hasn't even come out yet!

I'm not bashing Ford at all, I just wish they would have put some more time, money, and thought into passenger safety/airbags when they re-did an otherwise excellent truck.

Just something to gnaw on :)

Thanks for all the replies!

Isaac

yeah and Ford had for years. Now they got a 450 with bed. I proborly never well see a Dodge 4500/5500 lol but I well see about 20+ 450/550s a day

Oh yeah? Well I just got done driving our GMC 8500, which totally PWNs every little thing that Ford has so it must be the toughest truck in like the whole world!!!!1111oneoneone It has to, it says 8500 on the side!

All the while my 2000 5.4 with 84K is in the shop getting new head gaskets because a design flaw with the intake gasket caused it to leak coolant into the intake and subsequently blow the headgaskets from rust and overpressure. Remind me why I like Ford again. Reliability what?

Mike

yes Fords got one to compete, as for your 2000 with a problem at only 84,000 is nothing to complain to me about it, I just recently put all new brakes, drive shaft, i hit a pile of wood so its dented, the batterys from 1998, and its has 223,700 kms its had no problems to over strees about, its a 400,000 bond truck.

Around 1500-2000 dollars worth of engine work before 100K miles? That's rediculous. If that's considered normal for a Ford, count me out. It also needs some new ball joints and the power door locks are worn out.

Those last two aren't really that big of a deal, but all within around 5-10K miles combined with the engine work isn't acceptable as far as I'm concerned.

Mike

Head gasket at 84000 is nothing to complain about? What world are you from? I would be disappointed in my truck if it had all the problems yours has had.

No engine problems, always starts, 84,000 is low but its gonan happen to some trucks mabe you loved your ford to much and you blew it out, when im towing scrap metel I know I cant be passing other cars, its not good for the motor but I do it anyways, cause its a ford, If my trucks does not make 400,000 kms on the Original Tranny and Motor, If this truck breaks down before 400,000, Im gonna be a upset ford fan but it wont stop me from getting my hands on a 99-03 F-250 with a Diesel.

Loved his Ford too much and blew it out? He wasn't asking about your last date.:-offtopic

400,000 km's? If you keep hitting those wood piles and driving up those "nice' hills you might be lucky if it will last you till the summer!:-roll

I dont see how that matters? My truck started this morning no problem so im good for a run to 400,000, My trucks gonna make it. if not I got the 300 and it well be time for Diesel. I well keep climbing and I well c ya in the simmer.

I want to help you out here.

It's not "it well be time"...or "I well c ya"...
It should read "it will be time"...and "I will see you"...

I'm not trying to criticize or make fun of you...just trying to help.

Tim:-wink

Mike,

Have you checked into a recall on this? I know my 99 the headgaskets were done at no charge to the previous owner.

Is there anything you could link me too with more on this? I'd love for Ford to pick up some of this. But I had an independent shop do the work, so I'll probably have to fight them tooth and nail. It's worth a shot though.

Mike

You can look through this website, at the top of the screen there is a Recalls/TSB tab.

I know the previous owner of my truck and he stated the passenger side was done for free but he never elaborated wether it was a recall or warranty. I would google it also and see what you come up with.

I know I have a service record from the dealer on the truck so I will see if I can dig it up. We just moved so I might need some time......:-X22

This is the biggest Bunch of B.S. that I have EVER read.:mad: If you knew how to DRIVE a vehicle properly you wouldn't NEED these things you call side curtain airbags!!:confused:






[just kidding i really couldn't resist that:-missingt ]

:-X15 :-X15 :-X15


Ummmmm.........leave the comedy to Smiggs.

Yeah, I'm not worried about keeping myself on the road, I'm worried about what happens when the other crazy people yakking on their cell phones hit ME! ;)

I can keep myself out of trouble, but sometimes its harder to stay out of other people's trouble. But so far so good. I'm 17 and have been driving for almost 2 years alone, and no accidents/tickets/etc... But then again I drive a 2000 Excurision with 98000 mi and a 7x16 enclosed trailer, so I think most people would rather not me lol :)

But in all seriousness, when is Ford gonna catch up and put some decent airbags in their trucks? I can't think of any reason why they haven't yet. Just lazy i guess. I thought they would have done it when the redesigned for '08.

Oh, well, I've still got a few years before I'm looking for a new truck, so hopefully by then, they will have gotten with the airbag program lol.

Isaac

You can drive as properly as you want, but side curtain airbags prevent injuries from side impacts.

Ergo: Someone T bones you. Bags inflate to protect you against head and upper body injuries.

btw, if you are looking for airbags for your Ford truck, there's a couple of two legged ones here I can suggest.

Oh wait, sorry, those are windbags.

I wouldn't base my decision on buying a truck on the "tests" done by such car magazines.

I think Truck Trend does a good job of comparsion but 4wheel and off road sucks.If u ever read their reviews u would know why.
Their out testing a truck for its 4WD capability and they complain about the dash or the cup holders,come on who buys a truck because it has nice cup holders and a place for ur cell phone,PLEASE.Most of the writers and editors are chevy lovers anyway.

But thats just my opinion I could be wrong,
Dan
:-X06 :-tap

I really liek the cup holders in my 1998.

In all fairness to Ford, they didn't completely redesign the 08's. The new dash is just a tweaked F-150 dash, they slapped on a new grill and turned the lights upside down while changing some of the front frame a bit..stetched the rear springs and popped in a new diesel.

It is still the same ole cab. Maybe that's why they couldn't engineer side airbags for it. I'm sure when the do a real redesign they'll be there.

Side-curtain air bags in an SD?

For what? When you drive it into a wall sideways? Or get t-boned by the occasional semi?

Rollovers, I can see...

If they saved your father's life, what kinda of vehicle was he in in the first place?

hahhah,, spoken like a true prodigy. J/K

People should spend more time trying writing about the topic and not correcting other people's grammar. If you know what he saying, why are you waisting time and space writing this junk. GET OVER IT ALREADY.

Just trying to get him to make his self more readable.

And your post is wasting more space than mine. So you can GET OVER IT.

Tim:-wink

Sorry, I've been busy with school and haven't had time to get on recently.

At the time, he was in an audi A6, so yeah it was a much smaller vehicle than an SD. :)

The side curtain airbags, at least from what I understand, are not only used for a direct impact at driver level but are also used to stop the driver's head from hitting the glass in the event of an accident like a t-bone. Because the 'whiplash' effect of the driver's head hitting the glass is the same no matter how tall the 't-boning' vehicle is, they still help. Also, depending on the design, some are big enough to actually provide protection and limit ejection in the event of a rollover.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason not to have airbags, so what can it hurt?

so far, I know the ridgeline (not really a truck), the titan, the ram, and i think even the GM trucks have side curtain airbags available. Its fords turn :)

Isaac

On a side note, and I live near dallas, Tx, and I'm kinda suprised, but it seems like there are a lot more dodges than there used to be, relative to Fords. It kinda makes me sad, because I'm a Ford guy, but man, it seems everywhere I turn is a new dodge. I say new because, like y'all have said, I see a lot of old fords and almost no old dodges, so that says something about longevity :)

Just a seat belt?
 

Well to chime in here a bit. If you have ever been in a wreck with an airbag you will understand why they area good thing. It is a safety feature and you may not care one way or the other but I've been in a head on and the airbag helped out alot! I can't claim it saved my life but It sure made a bad wreck less damaging on my upper body. I have also been in a rollover in the 70's offroading and just a seatbelt pretty much just flung you around but did nothing else. To each his own. On the second topic I have a 2003 F250 5.4L that only has 60K on it and so far I have a cracked intake, just replaced the rotors and pads, and I have a transmission noise. I do like my truck and will keep it. But Im not impressed with Ford's reliabilty. My wife has a 2000 sable and the rear springs broke, WTF! I have owned older cars from the 60's ansd 70's that were over 20 years old and NEVER lost a coil spring. So I'll just fix it and keep going.

Rick

It's because they practically GIVE those Rams away. The almighty $$ strikes again...especially when it comes to folks who like trucks but actually don't "need" a truck. IYKWIM. :)

Side curtain airbags are a great safety addition to help control any flying/broken side glass, too. Let's hope Ford (who claim to want to lead in safety) get's on the ball with airbags in their most popular and most profitable vehicle.

[QUOTE=Monsta]It's because they practically GIVE those Rams away. The almighty $$ strikes again...especially when it comes to folks who like trucks but actually don't "need" a truck. IYKWIM. :)

Haha very true! Now that I am thinking about it, I haven't seen many that weren't washed, waxed, and polished and within a year or so old. :)

Isaac

That's the problem here, genius, we DON'T KNOW what he's saying (or sometimes you for that matter), and if it's unlegible, it is THOSE posts which are waisting time and space.

Back on topic...

How about a power adapter (cigaret lighter socket) in the rear seating area for powering-up cell phones and various other gadgets for your passengers? Do any of the models have this?