Good for you. Many of us seem to, is that okay with you? Or because we find the asthetics of the '09 Dodge better than the '09 Ford can we not graze the same message board you do?

 

I'm thinking with a history of 2 Pontiac Aztec purchases, your opinion on anything car or truck related shouldn't count.

Also, I see a lot of discussion about HP outputs and fuel economy ratings on the various offerings by the manufacturers. My thoughts on that are as follows.

Toyota Tundra Lots of HP but very little low end torque. Toyota compensates for this with a 4.10 rear end, the idea being that it will have good off-the-line accelleration having the more adventageous gear ratio that causes the RPMs to raise at a faster rate than the other trucks. The 4.10 rear end is then countered by the 6 speed transmission. The extra 2 gears make the final drive ration acceptable for economy, despite the 4.10. The problem with this is that if you load it or pull with it, the top gears really wont come into play. At this time, the shortcomings of the 4.10 rear end are exposed and economy plummets. The Toyota engine is a fine car engine. Not much of a truck engine though.

Chevy and Dodge use the ole displacement on demand system for their large, high output gas-guzzler engines. It's a great system for getting decent EPA ratings, but in the real world, how many miles are you really going to log on cruise control? Unless you do a lot of cross country driving, the system is actually detrimental. Part of the cost of that truck goes to cover the expense of the system, which wont even come in to play very much.

Nissan has a very good truck engine. Too bad about the rest of the truck.

Ford has a simple approach. They do not care one way or the other about winning a horsepower war. They make a fine, fairly efficient 5.4 V-8 that makes loads of low end torque. It is adequate to tow, haul, commute, offroad, whatever you want to do. The last rise in its fuel economy happened when the went to the 3 valve heads. It's time for further improvements. I doubt very seriously if they will go for a displacement on demand system. I also doubt they will go for a bigger engine that makes higher hp numbers so the can brag about having the most horsepower. Ford isnt really much for gimmicks. They will definately offer a 6 speed transmission, though. That would be a system to increase MPG that actually does work, and the transmission has already been in service on the Expedition since the 07 model year.

 

MDS does not need cruise control on at all, there was a test done with a scanner hooked up to the computer, and for a suprisingly large portion of highway AND city driving, MDS was activated and running.

Anyways, I thought dodge was really fighitng that they made junk in the late 80s and 90s. I thought they had pretty solid engines and transmissions back in the 70s?

 

Not so much. For a couple years, I drove a patrol car with the "440 magnum". It was great until you got to about 120mph, at which time the belts would fly off. Same problem on our entire fleet of them.

 

......then again, I guess that was better than the 318 I had in my 89 patrol car. It went 65 mph wide freeking open. I had to drive that heap until 91. After 2 years, the drive shaft fell off while I was going down the road, so I was issued a 91 Chevy. The death of my Dodge was pretty much the highlight of my life.

 

So it should be fine in day-to-day driving lol...

And don't complain about the 318 in a patrol car...imagine a 318 in a 3/4 ton van...a buddy of mine picked up one of those for free thinking he could pull the engine out and drop it in a Mitsubishi Eclipse (I didn't say he was mechanically intelligent...). That van couldn't get out of it's own way, I can't imagine it hitting 65 floored going down Mount Saint Helens.

 

The Dodge looks nice. I do like the rail boxes. I think maybe Ford should add some extra storage places. Mine is a 97 s-cab and storage room is limited. Maybe some rail boxes and you could make the rear bumper a storage area. Maybe a little deeper front to rear and the top could be hinged. We made some for a few utility trucks about 15-20 years ago. There are lots of storage places on trucks thats not being used.

 

I also think the new Ram looks very nice. I also agree that it looks better than the F150.

I haven't had a lot of Dodges in the past, except a '98 Durango. I loved the style, but it was downright scary to drive in the wet.

I think the new Durango also looks very nice. I HATED the last version with the grossly bulged front fenders - for lack of better words.

I have no experience with Dodge pickups, but there are a lot of people who say they are the worst of the domestic pickups.

 

I must say I went to the detroit auto show, and looked both at the new F-150 and the new Ram, and I honestly liked the F-150 better. The Ram doesn't look as aggressive in real life as it does in pictures imho, where the F-150 looks even better in person than in pictures again imo.

 

Wow,

At least dodge and the whole chrysler corporation for that matter is headed in the right direction.

In my opinion the new ram is a good looking truck. I own an '04 and I love it. I will say that it has much to be desired though when compared to an F-150.

Dodge has always been the "younger" guys truck. More agressive styling, high revving V8 motors, stylish interior.

Where as Ford is the accomplished business mans truck. More sophisticated styling, business first interiors, just more practical.

Thats why there is more than one manufacturer, it makes things interesting.

I'll still Stick with my '06 f350!!

 

that dodge has a fridge int eh glovebox?

i like that dodge ccrew cab extend cab with the cumins diesel

Ray

 

how you get your fishing poles out with a topper on?

Ray

 

Put your polls in the bed :-P

 

While I still think that the Super Duty is the best heavy duty truck out there, the Dodge sure looks good as a half ton model. My 93 F150 is starting to get a little rusty, and its soon time for a new one. If I don't go with a Super Duty, and end up looking at a half ton again, I am going to take a hard look at the Dodge. I think its much nicer looking than the F150. The factory dual exhausts are really neat, and I bet they sound good too. More importantly, I see a 6 speed manual transmission option too. Lots going for it.

 

well i give the dodge a thumbs up i hear that the dash has a built in beer fridge! A+++

Ray