New Ford truck concept.

[mjncad]

The manufacturers like decked out vehicles because they make more profit on them. A simple and rugged vehicle that is easy to repair doesn't have a high return-on-investment for the manufacturers, and the Gummint regulations for safety and pollution have also killed the KISS principle of vehicle design.

As for the Atlas concept; the designers go for shock-and-awe so to speak, and then the features that make production models are dialed back for manufacturing efficiency and to leave something to upgrade to in subsequent model years before the next total redesign is scheduled.

 

[jejeosborne]

The old 5.4l Triton?
Just about any truck engine can "run circles" around that. :laughing:

As for styling, I always felt Ford was lacking in style. They seemed square to me unlike the 97-03 style which was much better.

I see you must have been bored and had to start a thread just to piss people off. What a guy!

 

[Red Horse]

The manufacturers like decked out vehicles because they make more profit on them. A simple and rugged vehicle that is easy to repair doesn't have a high return-on-investment for the manufacturers, and the Gummint regulations for safety and pollution have also killed the KISS principle of vehicle design.

As for the Atlas concept; the designers go for shock-and-awe so to speak, and then the features that make production models are dialed back for manufacturing efficiency and to leave something to upgrade to in subsequent model years before the next total redesign is scheduled.

good points-but I've always been curious- what is that big axle picture you post out of- 966 or bigger???

 

[mikehaugen]

aside from maybe the hood, it appears to be more of a titan knockoff to me, especially the cab. I personally like the looks of the superduty, it looks more truck-like to me. I also like the the way the front windows drop down in the front. I really would never buy based on looks though, with the exception being I would not buy something that I thought was butt-ugly. I personally hated the new gms when they came out (current style) but they are starting to grow on me a little. I have liked all Dodges since the early nineties. Come to think of it, I like most domestic trucks since the early nineties (with the exception of the late nineties f-150's). What I can't get used to are the foreign full size trucks.

About the apps... I am younger and still think some of the gadgets put in trucks now are not necessary. I can see where some people may get use out of them... but still not necessary. If you need navigation, get a $150 tom-tom and when it breaks get another. I don't even want to know what it would cost to replace a factory navigation system in a new truck. Or better yet, get a map. Reliability ranks high on my list of things to look for in a vehicle, much higher than "what new technology or gadget does this truck have." I am not even that excited about the factory brake controllers they are putting in now, they are cheap enough and easy enough to install I would rather use aftermarket. I don't have one, but can anyone say that they perform any better than a good aftermarket?

I gotta say, whichever brand you prefer, all of this current competition is only for the better for us.

 

[Diamondpilot]

aside from maybe the hood, it appears to be more of a titan knockoff to me, especially the cab. I personally like the looks of the superduty, it looks more truck-like to me. I also like the the way the front windows drop down in the front. I really would never buy based on looks though, with the exception being I would not buy something that I thought was butt-ugly. I personally hated the new gms when they came out (current style) but they are starting to grow on me a little. I have liked all Dodges since the early nineties. Come to think of it, I like most domestic trucks since the early nineties (with the exception of the late nineties f-150's). What I can't get used to are the foreign full size trucks.

About the apps... I am younger and still think some of the gadgets put in trucks now are not necessary. I can see where some people may get use out of them... but still not necessary. If you need navigation, get a $150 tom-tom and when it breaks get another. I don't even want to know what it would cost to replace a factory navigation system in a new truck. Or better yet, get a map. Reliability ranks high on my list of things to look for in a vehicle, much higher than "what new technology or gadget does this truck have." I am not even that excited about the factory brake controllers they are putting in now, they are cheap enough and easy enough to install I would rather use aftermarket. I don't have one, but can anyone say that they perform any better than a good aftermarket?

I gotta say, whichever brand you prefer, all of this current competition is only for the better for us.

I would say you are in the minority of buyers. Most tractor guys like us like simple but we are the minority. Now for me I love the Tundra and Titan. I own a Titan. I have owned about 25 vehicles from Ford, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Dodge, GM, ect. They are just as is more capable then the big three. My Titan has the nav and backup camera. My F350 and it has the factory brake controller and it works better than the 30 or so aftermarket ones I have used in my 20 years in the trailer business.


As for aftermarket nav systems they work fine. I have one in my F350 but I like things clean and all the wires with phones, navs, ect clutter up things.

Chris

 

[Dmace]

I see you must have been bored and had to start a thread just to piss people off. What a guy!

Those afraid to step on someone's toes will never speak freely, I have no problem with that.

I started the thread to show a new concept truck, if someone's pissed off I really don't care...

 

[mikehaugen]

I would say you are in the minority of buyers. Most tractor guys like us like simple but we for the minority. Now for me I love the Tundra and Titan. I own a Titan. I have owned about 25 vehicles from Ford, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Dodge, GM, ect. They are just as ir more capable then the big three. My Tutan has the nav and backup camera. My F350 and it has the factory brake controller and it works better than the 30 or so aftermarket ones I have used in my 20 years in the trailer business.
Chris

I wasn't referring to the capabilities of the foreign trucks, merely that I have not accepted their looks very well yet. Now smaller trucks are a different story.

 

[scrappy isb67]

umm, you do realize that the f150 has not had a solid front axle since the 70's?
they had the TTB in the 80/90's and went to a twin a arm ifs in 97.
the truck is a concept F150 replacement.

 

[mjncad]

good points-but I've always been curious- what is that big axle picture you post out of- 966 or bigger???

That is a Clark BD-100000 (100,000 pounds capacity for two axles) front-rear axle from a Kenworth Super 953-S that I did in Autodesk's 3DS MAX a few years back. I was going to do a 953-S in MAX; but MAX is better suited for the entertainment industry than doing precision modeling. I may try again with Autodesk Inventor. Thanks for asking, and you're the first to inquire about it.

About the apps... I am younger and still think some of the gadgets put in trucks now are not necessary. I can see where some people may get use out of them... but still not necessary. If you need navigation, get a $150 tom-tom and when it breaks get another. I don't even want to know what it would cost to replace a factory navigation system in a new truck. Or better yet, get a map. Reliability ranks high on my list of things to look for in a vehicle, much higher than "what new technology or gadget does this truck have." I am not even that excited about the factory brake controllers they are putting in now, they are cheap enough and easy enough to install I would rather use aftermarket. I don't have one, but can anyone say that they perform any better than a good aftermarket?

I would prefer an integrated sat-nav system as the Tom-Tom's, Garmin's, etc are prime targets for thieves who capitalize on people forgetting to put them out of sight when they park somewhere. A buddy had his Garmin type stolen within a week of getting it.

Now I keep maps in my vehicle's as I'm too cheap to have sat-nav; but have you tried buying a road map lately? The last good map I got was in 2007 at a Colorado visitor's center station in the piss-ant Western Slope town of Naturita. It's not like the good old days when I was a kid when there was a real gas station on every corner, and maps were common and free, or at low cost. Also I like the idea that a sat-nav system is constantly updated (in theory), unlike a paper map.

I like the integrated look of a factory brake controller; but more importantly, I like to delude myself into thinking a factory controller designed for the tow vehicle is going to work better than an after market unit that plugs into anything and everything.

From what little I've played around with in-dash touch-screen systems at the auto-shows; I've found them to be distracting and far from intuitive in their use, and I've been using computers since 1979.

 

[aczlan]

I like the integrated look of a factory brake controller; but more importantly, I like to delude myself into thinking a factory controller designed for the tow vehicle is going to work better than an after market unit that plugs into anything and everything.

IMO, the big difference with an onboard one is that it can tell exactly how hard you are pushing the brakes rather than guessing based on g forces. That helps if you are on something slippery enough that ABS kicks in. Make sit harder for your trailer to pass the truck that way.

Aaron Z