My opinion:
I feel that the 97 up F150's are poseur mobiles. I very rarely see one doing any real work.

I see many dodge diesels, and feel that they are the best diesel trucks. But, ford superduties seem to have the least amount of problems as far as the truck goes, dodge engines seem to hold up better. GM, trucks, I can't say that I really like any of the newer ones. I have seen many older ones used and abused still chugging along, but have seen problems with the new ones.

 

Wow. 4 to 1? Not doubting your numbers, per se, but where did you get them?

 

I heard about 5 years ago the auto makers are killing off the 1/2 tons making them so you can't tow anything (less springs in the rear to make them ride more like a car and less like a truck this is to replace the caprice/crown victoria market) not so much ford(that 5.4 got some power) but I know chevys are. I havn't seen any dodges with this problem yet don't know anybody who owns one and tows with it.

 

How about mini's?

When I bought my Ranger, I checked out the S10 and Dakota because I had to. I knew I was getting a Ranger anyway, so here's what locked in my vote:

The S10, while nice looking on the outside, the inside left much to be desired. Typical GM fit and finish, cheap plastic that fell off if you looked at it funny, couldn't get the seat to adjust so it fit me just right. Had a nice stereo, though.

The Dakota, the dealership didn't have the cab configuration I wanted (Short bed extended cab) but showed me the two extremes. Long bed standard cab V8 plain jane cloth seats manual windows, no power locks, too expensive. Short bed standard cab power everything, v6 4x4 sport model, leather heated seats almost 40 grand!!! I got the heck out of there.

I picked out my 3.0 auto 2 wheel drive 4 door Ranger with manual windows, manual locks, manual mirrors, CD player, sliding rear window with comfortable, properly adjusting seats not because it was cheap (it wasn't) but because I believed it was quality I was buying.

It FIT me as a person.

It works when I want it to work. I helped the future father in law bring home a full load of fire wood, and a HUGE 4x6 dog house that almost got blown off my truck, takes me and the missus camping, moved us twice (first into storage for 2 months, then into our townhouse) moved my cousin from his 4plex into their new house and much more than I can think of right now.

It looks good when I want it to look good. It was in a wedding convoy in August. Gets washed about twice a month

It hauls when I stomp on the go pedal. (Just kidding)

 

Hmmmm you again. Nice to see you Jeb.

In Montana, all dealers are required by state law to present sales figures to the Montana Public Service Commision. They are a matter of public record. I don't know about other states, but I know that both companies are required by federal law to report sales figures to the Federal Trade Commision. They are also public record and are published each year.

Have a nice day Jeb, those are the facts, and regardless of what you think, they do apply to real life.

 

Right on bigrigfixer a 3.9l ranger is the way to go, the best truck for the buck. It can get the job done , lots of power torque. 207 and 2something, anywayz beats chev and a dodge, well have fun at the gas station. That 3.0l won't be there as much! lol Ford trucks are simply the best when you come don to it. The super duty 325hp and 560lbs of torque...the best. The new f150300hp and 365lbs of torque....the best right now as well. And the lightning, well I don't have to tell you 380 hp and 450lbs of torque the fastest pickup in the world and watch for the new 2005 with 500hp and 500lbs of torque plus, cuz its got a built in cooler for bosst of 50 -75 hp and torque. Watch out Chev and Dodge yoour gonna get it!

 

Derek the currant horspower war is great, except I can't and won't pay that kind of money for a vehicle. But chevy and Dodge aren't snoozing. I think Dodge is coming out with a limited production 1/2 ton with a juiced up V-10, it might even be closer to the Viper engine. And the general has a hotrod 1/2 ton in the making too. I can't wait to see a shootout of all 3.

 

Again, I'm not doubting your numbers. Can you direct me to a Montana or FTC website where I can get that information? You say it like it's a fact so I'm just looking for the source of the information. I did some searching but couldn't find it. I'd love to see those numbers state by state. I know Ford F150's are the #1 selling vehicle in the USA (world?) so them outselling chevy in Montana doesn't surprise me. 4 to 1 does though. That's amazing.

Thanks

 

Jeb-

I searched the FTC website but I could not find numbers, the book that I read was at a car dealership, I am sure that if asked nicely one of our members might be able to post a selected few.

I guess the public service commission doesn't like to answer the phone, when I called they told me to go here : http://www.discoveringmontana.com/default.asp and look there.

 

I did some searching but couldn't find the info. Thanks for the link, anyway.

If the GM commercials are to be believed, GM trucks outsell Fords in the Southern MN and Northern Iowa area where I live. It'd sure be interesting to find an accurate record of sales by state/region/etc.

 

In some parts of Oklahoma the chevys outnumber the fords by quite a bit it seems. Whenever I am up there visiting my friend I look in all the classifieds and it seems at least 3-1 for chev. I also always watch for older ford pickups and it is the same, all checys. I think a good dealer network has a lot to do with it. I grew up in an area that was almost all chevys because we had a good dealer that had outside salesman. My dad never even went to the showroom to buy a car or pickup. He would just call "Ike" and tell him what we wanted and in a couple days he would show up with it and do the paperwork on the kitchen table then drive our old car away.

 

Nothing closer about it.....the SRT-10 Ram is getting a Viper aluminum block V-10....probably have different covers over the heads but will be identical in all other aspects. 500hp/500tq figures are awesome and I'm willing to bet those will be understated numbers. The 2005 L trucks will bring the same numbers to the table and I'm sure those will be understated with the supercooler probably closer to 600+ on hp/tq. Chevy's SS truck will never shine in the sport truck market unless they lower the price or give it a serious boost in power. The AWD is a good idea but a 345hp 6.0 Vortech is nothing to get excited about.

 

The facts are that on most job and construction sites around a city there are way more Ford trucks at the site and very few others. Look and count the Ford trucks next time you see a construction area. This is because Ford is a better work truck than Chebbie or Doge. Where I'm from the middle of the show Me state (columbia) there are more chebbies in the citydriving around with soccermoms in them and more Fords owned by farmers and hicks outside of the city. The only people who have a Chebbie are those who don't know any better or those who have too much money. That is just my two cents

 

Again, I think this varies by region. Here in SE MN, I see way more GM's at work sites than any other truck. Dodge would be 2nd, Ford last.

 

A lot of construction companies use Ford trucks because ford is the only company that offers a "work grade" truck. Its considerably cheaper than anything the competition has to offer. Chevy and Dodge have both gotten far to fancy, they have raised their prices, and not really raised quality, but features. Some people say that fords lack refinement, if you want refinement, buy an SUV. If you want a truck then buy a truck and stop complaining that it doesn't have this feature or that feature and then complaining that the price is too high.