A few threads got me to thinking tonight. No ...it's not a new experience ... but still a fun thing to do sometimes.

Looking at the new trucks Ford is building... no choice in engines, to speak of...especially if you want a manual tranny, no choice of TRANNY now that I mention it!

It used to be that you could get a big block or a small block in any size truck you wanted. Now Ford wants to sell us a generic truck and give us no options.

If I wanted a generic truck, I'd buy the one that says "TRUCK" on the front of it, has a plain generic grill, plain truck wheels and no character....or snort. I don't want a generic truck. I want choice. I want the same amount of choice other brands offer. I want a choice of manual or auto, horsepower or torque ... I want choice!!! Is there something wrong with wanting choice?

I know...it's all the bean counters' fault. Gimme money and give da customer what we say they want. Eventually they'll believe it. ... NOT!

End of Rant. Grrrrrrrrr.

 

Well, Ford does offer many more varieties than any other manufacturer as far as I'm aware. For instance here's one;

One ton SRW regular cab 2wd manual transmission - you cannot get this truck from GM or Dodge.

With Dodge you can only get the one ton SRW with a quad cab and diesel engine - , no regular cab but it is available in both 2wd and 4wd, and with manual or auto.

With GM you can only get the one ton SRW with 4x4, but can get it in both regular cab and ext/crew cabs - no manual transmission though. In fact, I don't think you can get a manual transmission in any GM truck with the top trim levels anymore.

Here's another configuration which only Ford offers that I'm aware of - though I don't see the sense in it myself - short bed DRW.

These are mostly cab configurations and model designation variances though - I know what you mean regarding engines and transmissions - no HEMI like motor in either the Super Duty or F150, and no manual transmissions in the F150 at all - well at least nothing in a truck worthwhile anyway.

Ford is missing the boat on both these issues IMO. No big breathing N/A grumbling pushrod V8 in any truck, and no heavy duty 5 or 6 speed granny manual to go with the HD package in the F150 - which is a very nice beefy truck BTW when it's in it's truck form, meaning 8'ft bed and regular cab - the supercrews all look like bigger sport tracs to me.

The new mega cab ram is going to be a VERY VERY serious threat to Ford - much moreso than most people realise. It's not the HD Ram mega cab to be feared - it's the 1500 version. It is going to completely outclass the Supercrew. Much higher GVWR and payload, (1650lbs or so vs 2300lbs -supercrews don't get the HD GVWR package option) much larger interior, longer bed, 5 speed auto transmission, 5.7 Hemi standard, 6.1 Hemi option (440 HP), and talk (though just that) of a manual six speed with the 5.7 Hemi being available - DC seems to be the only manufacturer to even care somewhat about manual transmissions anymore, I only very rarely see a Ford with a manual transmission, and I havent seen a new GM with a manual in more than 5 years.

 

Alot can be be blamed on the bean counters but you forgot the Governement in your rant. Trucks, 1/2 tons now get included in the manufactures gas mileage figures. Those are a federal mandate. I feel all the manufactures would offer more choices if they could. Once you get in the 3/4, 1 ton vehicles the selection magically reappears.

 

Well, government regulation aside ... my main point being ... I don't have a need for a 3/4 or 1 ton. I want choice in my 1/2 ton. Just to clarify..and I understand your points, relevent as they both are.

 

I agree with you choice is good. It just my feeling that the government is more to blame than the companies. If they bring our a car/truck that gets worse mileage than the previous model it means they have to improve the milage on a different vehicle. They have to meet there marks. I think most of anyones anger should be focused on the government.

 

Nah, it's called stingyness. For whatever unfathomable reason - they simply won't offer a heavy duty manual transmission in a half ton truck. That's far and away beyond ridiculous. GM and Dodge both offer manuals in their half tons - Ford can too. And they can one up them - make it a heavy duty manual with granny gear. Neither of your explanations (with all due respect) can adequetely explain why they won't. Certification can be made on the 5.4 with both the ZF6 and ZF5 speed. Just up the price of all trucks sold by 10 bucks. Or contract GM to supply the NV4500 (Manual transmissions of Muncie - owned by GM) - again simply charge 50.00 more for every truck sold. They're lazy. Best explanation I can think of.

 

Yeah I agree, kind of

But you need to think of the other side of the equation.
Why isn't Ford offering different engines/transmissions in their 1/2 ton trucks?

Because they cannot see a need for it.
If lots of people started complaining, and they felt there was a viable business case for a manual, or a "big block" (which isn't really an accurate way of reffering to a high capacity Ford gas engine, but I digress...) they would include one.

The feel that they would loose money for a truck that only a few people would purchase, and if they loose money, they have to make it up else where...

I hate to say this, but if you want Ford to include a stick, and a larger gas engine on their F150, you are going to have to get a lot of people to want it, and unfortunately prehaps purchase a competitors product equipped like that, until they realise they are loosing sales.
Sad, but true.

For the record, all my vehicles have the largest capacity engine available when I purchased it (even my 1963 MINI, with its 1.3l "big block"), and I point blankly refuse to ever own a vehicle with a slushbox, I can drive, I don't need the car to drive for me.

 

I have often wondered how many it takes

 

I am sure you understand it depends on a lot of things, market posistion, marketing strategy, component availablity, engineering of components, and it makes it very frustrating for the end user.

The unfortunate result is the average user votes with their feet - and finds a manufacturer that will give them what they want.

Sometimes by then its to late.
There are people within large motoring companies (read: Ford, but others are the same) that don't understand brand values.
A lost sale is more than a lost sale, it is a lost opportunity to show the consumer how good their product and potentially make that consumer a loyal purchaser of that product.
Everyone on this forum purchased a Ford truck because it had what they wanted, and have - mostly - been so impressed with their machine that they spend every spare hour on here talking about their beloved vehicle.
Few people on here would purchase a truck that didn't have a blue oval on it, and thats because at some stage Ford made a vehicle that they liked/wanted, now Ford has a customer for life, until at some stage it stops making what people want.
Ford, and the like, spend so much money on trying to get customers in by bringing out exciting new products, 05 Mustang for example, when if they had stayed true to the values of that vehicle, and the brand, they wouldn't need to "reinvent" the Mustang, it would have reached the 05 Mustang level as a gradual progression, not as a complete design overhaul.
Porsche 911, BMW M5, Mazda MX-5 (Miata)
are all fine examples of this, each model has stayed true to the core design intent, and while the vehicle may have changed, the purpose of the vehicle hasn't.
Porsche for example are selling record numbers of 911's.

The F-100, and F-150 used to be the workhorse of the everyday man, and it is still more than capable of that (in numbers terms, it is more than capable), but its design intent is now more of a grocery getter.
I would like to see a more "truck like" F-150 with the Ford badge on it, and the current F-150 being sold under the Mercury brand, as I feel it suits the Mercury brand more appropriately - quite, comfortable.
A solid front axle on 4x4's, a stick option etc.
A REAL truck.
Fords trucks are "Built Ford Tough", and they are advertising about being the quietest pickup???
I don't comprehend.

A lot of smaller automotive companies understand what their customer wants, TVR for example, they don't give a damn about refinement, as long as it goes like .... of a shanghai the customer couldn't care.
As the company gets bigger, its product generally gets better, higher quality, better support etc. but they loose touch with the customers which they originally targeted. Their obsession becomes immediate sales, and not long term improvement of their vehicle, and ultimately sales go down.

I am yet to see a large automotive company that is really in touch with its customers.
When there is one that is, they stand to make a lot of money.

And breathe in...

 

Your prolly see a lot fewer 'real' options from manufactures in the future. You you make something modualar such as they are trying to do you make the manufacturing process becomes leaner and meaner and id GM or Ford still sells at the same price their margin is higher. It's another case of less for the consumer more for the company.
The upside is that when something becomes more modular and less configurable the quality on the product usually goes up.

 

I believe that it's options that are thriving the truck sells. The new F150s have by far the most options available on them. That's a good reason why it won Motor Trend's truck of the year. I believe that it's also a good help at making the F-Series the best selling.

If you look at the entire F-Series line, you can get single cab, extended cab, crew cab, short bed, long bed, stepside bed, duallys, different grilles, v6, 4.6L, 5.4L, 6.8L, or 6.0L, etc.

Now look at the Titan: extended cab or crew cab. That's it. No engine choice, no bed choice, nothing. If you get one, you will look and perform like pretty much every other Titan owner. That's why the introduction that was supposed to take away sales from the F150 had little, if any, effect even though it has the edge on acceleration.

The new Ridgeline is even worse. You get no choice. You get an AWD Chevy Avalanche. That's it. Not even a cab configuration.

People like choices. Until manufacturers figure it out, they won't understand why vehicles don't sell. Ford is making this mistake with the 500. They should at least give it the option for a bigger engine.

 

without quoting the entire post i don't think the same truck can get motor trend's truck of the year 2 years in a row am i correct on this i know they say they all are in contention but can they be it consecutively?

 

The 6.1 isn't confirmed for trucks yet. They still have to make the engine suitable for the truck. As it is now, the 6.1 is geared towards performance. 425hp, and 440 lbs/ft. Its available in the 300 SRT-8, and Magnum SRT-8. Soon to be available in the Charger SRT-8, and Jeep GC SRT-8. All vehicles that it is slated for are performance versions. You'd think that they will be in the Ram soon, but I havn't heard anything that lerads me to believe that it will be in the Rams before 07. I do expect, and hope, for it to show in the Rams soon enough. They need another option in the HDs besides the 5.7, or 5.9 Cummins.

 

Options or not you will never get everything that everyone wants. If you tried it would be a manufacturing nightmare. Ford does offer options that should meet the majority of the people. And it must be working or they would not be the best selling vehicle (not just truck) year after year. Besides if you could get everything on the truck you wanted where would the fun in modding go? The F150 has definitely became domesticated and probably is not the workhorse it used to be but that is why there are the superdutys. The work horse has also changed and in most cases people are asking a truck to do more and more thus the 150 has become less capable to carry the demand of the new work force.

 

How has the F150 become less capable? It is bigger, heavier and stronger than ever. It has more power than any F150 has had before. Just because trucks are getting nice on the inside, doesn't mean they are less capalbe. More expensive yes, but not less capable. As far as engine choices, the 5.4 has 55 more HP and only 30 ft-lbs less torque than the last 460 used in F250/350's. It has more torque than the 460 in my 76 Mark IV (202 HP @ 3800 & 356 ft-lbs @ 2200.) You'd have to go back to before emmisoins standards to find a more powerful stock 460, and back then they used the inflated SAE gross HP rating, making the specs seem better than they actuall were. So basically what I'm getting at is that todays "small blocks" do as much or more than the old big blocks. I agree that they should offer all engines with a Manual Tranny, and it would be nice to be able to get 4.10's without having to opt for the Payload Package. But all in all, they really do offer a wide range of options and good powerplants.