I am a die-hard ford fan for life, and one thing that really does not make sense is all the new chevy and gmc trucks coming out that are half plastic. They try to make these new cool trucks to beat ford, but all they do is humiliate themselves. Like that Chevy Avalanche, truck that turns into an SUV? Who are they kidding? Those are plastic trucks, and it does not even go from a truck to an SUV, it goes from an ugly truck to and even uglier truck.
Anybody else annoyed buy too much plastic in these trucks, and the new features that are unneccesary, and just make it cost more? like the retractable roof on the GMC SUV. I mean who really hauls around 6' tall Vases in the back of thier car, standing up?

 

To much plastic in general in vehicles these days...

 

Couldnt agree more. I saw a commercial for a car with dent resistant sides. I wonder how much they would hold up in a crash, my bet would be not well.

 

Also, what's with Ford using the plastic on the front of the XL Superduties? Or even on the front of the Navigator? I'm sorry, but if I paid what those cost and they gave me something with black plastic, I'd go off. I agree, I don't know what's up with rubbermaid body panels.

 

You (btw I do to) think they are uugly now, just wait for a few years when the plastic is discollored and cracking. Then it'll be BFU! I have to chuckle when I see one of those, whatever they are!

 

With all the plastic, what would you replace it with.....and keep production costs down?
Tuff call for the design team, with intricate shapes they now employ today.

 

I don't think the plastic is the problem, I think it's HOW you use the plastic.

My FX4 has plastic fender flares and it also has plastic for the lower half of the front bumper and the top of the rear bumper. Personally, I really like it because I've hit the front bumper on brush and rocks while off road and it scratched up the plastic a bit and a few times I've even had to pop it back into place. But the point is, if the entire bumper was metal it would have just bent and then I'd have to replace the whole thing. The plastic fender flares can help with dents and dings too. So I like the plastic accents.

The problem with GM trucks is they use too much plastic and their trucks are UGLY to begin with. Even with no plastic, the Silverado and Avalanche would be hideous.

 

You seem to have a real ax to grind here but I don't think GM uses anymore or less then Ford or Dodge.

 

Oh, GM uses a lot more plastic then Ford or dodge. While Ford and Dodge are using plastic on things like Flare Fenders, and Bumpers, they are still making the side panels of the truck out of metal and stell. GM trucks have the side panels either half plastic or more. So, if you get i a car accident with just the front or rear bumper-not much damage...but if you are in a GM truck and get side-swiped-your truck is gone, and the person in that seat probably is too.

 

Do you honestly think that a 1/16" thick piece of steel sheeting is really going to make much more of a difference than a 1/16 piece of steel with a 1/4" thick piece of plastic covering it in an accident vs a 3000+ pound car going 40 mph. The truck isn't made of plastic. It's the same sheetmetal as any other truck with plastic over that. Which I can see as a real dent beater in parking lots. It's not what the door is made of, it's what's in the door that counts.

 

Not only that but my mom and dad have always bought Chevy and I always buy Ford so I have first hand experience with many models of both brands. Well, the paint on the Fords seems to be tougher than Chevy. Both look great from the factory but chevy had the big primer incident a few years back and now all of the 90 models have a chance to bubble and peel. It seems like the paint for a Ford has a different quality level for it than Chevy. The sheet metal used to stamp the bedsides out with is also thicker on a Ford. I am not being bias but this comes from my own personal experience with 10 plus vehicles of both brands.

 

I am disapointed with all the plastic these days. There is nothing like a all metal truck like my 66! You push on the door and it doseant bend in and flex like new trucks it is SOLID. Way back when trucks were very cheap and yet they had solid steel everywhere. My mom hit a huge bird one time (crow?) in a jeep and it broke the grille into pieces and put a large dent in the radiaotr. My 66 wouldnt have been stached because the grille is steel.

 

GMC = Generally More Cladding

 

Good one

 

It really doesn't matter what kind of material is there in an accident on one's car, what matters is what the other person's car is made out of. Case in point, my new Crown Vic is now in the shop for 3 weeks because an idiot in an early 70's Mercedes ran a stop sign. I bought the crown vic to plow through other cars if need be, I didn't anticipate running into another car that was made of steel. But, I must say, I am truly grateful ford makes a 2 ton car filled full of metal, for if I were in a Honda or Kia or some other tiny little piece of work, I wouldn't have been able to push my car to the side of the road (f.y.i.: I hit here at 45 mph without hitting the brakes because she "punched it because she couldn't see" around the econoline next to her).

As for GM's plastic problem, it's not just limited to body work and interior. My friend used to (key words: USED TO) have a 96 GMC Sierra with the Vortec v6. I went to tune it up for him and I realized that his distributor housing was broken. It turns out where the screws that hold the cap down go into the housing, it was made of plastic, not metal. I guess there's not better place for plastic than the rear of an engine compartment where metal screws would go into it.