I thought this was worth posting. Thought it was an interesting read.

How Ford Motor Company Will Fight Back Against Chrysler's Ram (F)

 

When the 2015 F-150 comes out it will end up being "Truck of the Year" and people will run out and buy it because it is new. A lot of grey hairs that have no real need for a truck are going out and dumping $40k+ on a truck. Why? Because they have disposable income and want one. Some never had one before so obviously a 4 door/crew cab is a must. They are drawn to the latest and greatest with the plush ride, something a fully coil sprung truck is good at. Something I also would never own. The new F-150 looks like it will be a low plush riding truck, right up the grey hairs alley.

 

I guess we will see.
I'm one of those old grey headed men & I wouldn't buy a new truck if it was the last thing on earth.

 

Your gray hairs have brought you wisdom.

 

Its kinda funny (IMHO) that for decades when GM used coils on the rear, everybody and their brother hated them because they provided poor handling and weight carrying capacity reduced over time as the coils "settled" over time...which by comparison to the leafs....were much more resilient. I must admit, I would really have second thoughts about purchasing a truck with a coil rear suspension.

 

Great article Craig, thanks for posting.

I don't think Ford will come close to Ram's advertised 28 MPG's for the ecodeisel but in Ford's defense, they've yet to advertise ANY specs on the 2015 F-150 models.

The F-150 is the heavier duty and better built truck. The GM and Ram are about 500-700 lbs lighter than the current F-150 and they are of the same steel / aluminum make up as the F-150 is. This means they've lightened the frame by using lighter materials or less materials, IDK for sure.

The F-150 will debut in 2015 with an all aluminum body and a similar frame that remains fully boxed and stronger than the current.

No matter how it shakes out, it's good to remember that Ram is gaining so much ground because it lost so much in the crash. I hope Ram does well and I couldn't give a hoot about GM.

 

I love reading the comment sections on articles like that. So many "experts" out there with insider knowledge that no one else could possibly know.

 

The bottom line is they all have their pluses & negatives.
I think that the every day truck buyer will still be influenced buy price, ride, features. How many trucks today even the heavy duties haul much more that the kids & groceries from Walmart. Maybe a boat or TT a few times a year.
Will the Ram diesel be a selling point? only time will tell. If it gets 28 mpg & the gas get 23 mpg it might but will the cost of diesel vs gas enter the minds of soccer moms & dads along with us old farts?

 

I'm influenced by waiting several years from a new model introduction to see what works and what doesn't.

There are plenty of very prosperous Americans who sell clean late-model trucks and can afford to eat the depreciation. I help them by buying used.

Everyone other than myself should buy a new truck, preferably two or three.

If a buyer can afford a new truck they can afford to fuel it generously.

 

Great post. I'm with you completely. I will never buy a new vehicle ever. I'm too much of a Conservative to waste my money on NEW. When you can buy used. I buy used cheap. In all my years I have only bought one used that really cost me but it was my own fault right out of the gate.
But I have lost plenty of money with every new vehicle I ever bought, even if I drove it 5 years.

 

I like how you worded that!

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