Ok, now I just gotta throw my 2 cents in.
I have owned nothing but Fords trucks/vans for the last 12 years which have included, 93 F-150 4x4 5.0, 95 F-150 4x4 Off Road 5.0, 97 4x44,6 Off Road, 99 E-350 V-10, and currently 01 E-350 5.4. I am a Ford guy through and through but nobody in a family is perfect and neither is Ford.
Up until 97 Ford's front ends were total junk! Ball joints aren't even greasable and are toast around 50k, still aren't on the E-series! That's right, the Ford vans still use the 1993 platform including the sorriest of front ends, the "Twin I-beam" eesh. I had my ball joints replaced with greasable ones but that's only cuz I'm in the know. Lot's of people have no clue and they start replacing tires, ball joints with oem ungreasable ball joints, etc... Weak springs, I mean how many pre 97 Ford's do you see with the front end tow out of whack (knock knee'd) and wearing out the insides of the tires? Answer, all of them. The 302's and 351's were total dogs,my 93 and 95 302's were rated @165hp! My 97 F-150 with the 4.6 fealt like twice the truck compared to the those two.
Ford now has the strongest and quietest truck on the market, about time!! Pre 97 F-series were the weakest frames and the loudest interiors on the market. Just take a look at the body lines from the cab to the bed and about 4 out of every 5 you see are misaligned due to a tweaked frame.
So, when Dodge introduced it's new Ram in 94 it was WAY ahead of the competition. Granted Ford and GM have answered the call but it did take a while and frankly, I think it was just the kick in the a$$ they needed.
As for current model trucks, I honestly feel that this is the closest they have been in 15 years. This is what we want, competition, it brings out the best. I really feel that Ford got complacent in the early 90's with it's best selling truck/vehicle year after year. Heck, the main reason they redesigned the F-series was because their precious "best selling truck" award was in serious jeopardy. If it wasn't for competion we would still have ungreasable ball joints.

End of part one, lol, Bruno

 

True to all of that, your previous trucks frames were so weak because they were basically unchanged since the early 80's as were the engines. Dodge came out with a stronger, stiffer frame, the largest cab available, a more car like interior and ride, and more powerful engines than the competition (remember I'm talking about 94 here). Ford did answer with THE MOST carlike of rides and interiors, smoother body lines, bigger cabs, stiffer stronger frames, and even more powerful engines, then chevy followed suit as well. I think its great that these trucks are soo close in comparison now because either way you choose you are getting an incredible machine!

 

Bruno: Yo do offer up some good points, but I will have to dissagree with you on the twin I beam suspension comments. I prefer the twin I beam design, even though it does seem to wear out ball joints, I really liked mine and it wore the tires even all the wall across with 125K on the ODO. Personally, I felt that the ride of my truck was much better than any 97 up f150 that I have driven.

Big blue: I have to commend you on some very good posts. In 1994 Dodge redefined the truck segment. While thay still didn't outsell their competition, they did take a big enough bite of the market for the other companies to notice.

 

Thanks for the compliment, its very appreciated.