Motor Trend truck of Year

[_RaT_]

I would say as far as television dollars go, it's well represented by Chrysler, Ford, GMC and Toyota. As far as magazines which is what I thought was the media we were talking about, I would not know. I don't read many magazines, auto magazines to be sure. I do know that leading US newspapers refuse to run negative stories on a company when they are well supported with the respective companies advertising dollars.

 

[rdln]

GM's advertising budget is more than engineering budget.

 

[BigDave]

Oops, I didn't know you had an ES. Have noticed the resemblence on the newer models? Couldn't Lexus have tried to make some noticeble changes like different headlamps, or maybe give it say an extra 15 horsepower?

Anyway, Lexus has been number one in initial quality, I fully agree. Toyota and Scion brands are not. Toyota has been moving downward despite zealots (not you) claiming their perfection. Also, I never claimed Dodge was number one, but to claim dominance over 0.2 defects per car is laughable. If that's the case Hyundai whipped Toyota good. I guess if people didn't care about 0.2, then Consumer Reports would be out of business. Funny the difference between above and below average is only 0.01 problems per car, which probably is not statistically significant, but JD Powers doesn't reveal that data. Too technical for the their customers, I guess.

My Dodge out the door cost me thousands less than a comparable Toyota. Yes, I priced them all. I have never had car repairs totaling more than a thousand bucks except for my Toyota. In the past, I kept cars for about 100K miles. My car history is with: Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Chevy, Suzuki, Lincoln, Infiniti, Audi, and Dodge. The last three are all new, but the Dodge has been the best of the new class. Will it remain perfect? I doubt it, I already got two $45K autos in the driveway that aren't perfect. Infiniti and Audi are both in JDPowers top ten. What does that say? Will the Dodge self-destruct as the Toyota zealots chant? I doubt it. I've got a 7/70 warranty safety net, and a few thousand dollars that I saved by not buying a Toyota that has me betting that I'll save money in the long run, and have a nicer truck to boot. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

So where's J in all of this discussion? I'm wondering what he would think about supercharged Dodge Rams. A Paxton unit puts out about 500hp on the Hemi. That's a new truck with 500hp that you could get for $22-30K. On the SRT10 the Paxton is sick: 670hp.

 

[RobertN]

To put a real twist in this, which pains me a bit, but... So far, I think the cars you talk of are made in the US... The company may be Foriegn owned, but they are made here, no?

This is rumor, but I had heard a while back that one or two of the foriegn owned but US built brands had better quality than thier Japanese made bretheran. I have no proof to substantiate it, so it may have just been rumor...

 

[gsxr1100]

I know that the Lexus RX is made in Canada and the quality is the same as overseas. The problem with this country in relation to auto, and auto only is that the complete structure is a total mess. The Philosophy alone is 180 degrees different along with mentality. Our auto people worry about today and they worry about 5 years down the raod.

 

[gsxr1100]

That emplains the wonderful quality!

 

[Barton]

Okay, let me see if i have got this straight.

It all depends upon what you, or a family member, or a friend, trusted or not, or maybe even a total stranger, may have, or have not, experienced or just thought they have experienced according to their own reality, considering their needs, or perceived needs and useage.

Yep! Uh huh. I thought so.
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Y'all have a great day!

 

[JDgreen227]

126 replies to this subject in less than a week...

Maybe someone should start up a new website and title it:

TrucksByNet.com /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Phred]

Well.... I recently (with in the last year) looked at all the trucks out there and bought a dodge 3500 SRW.

For me it was a no brainer. Most of the imports, and I use to own one, are designed for a couple of bags of mulch. Fill up the bed and your headlights will be pointing at the sky.
The dodge is designed for the whole skid.

The dodge tow ratings are 2x of the import. Almost 15K lbs for the dodge, and they will pull much more,
The other day I saw a guy pulling a dozer with a 2500, and he was not struggling. Do not try this with the toyota.

Power: 340 hp 600 ft-lbs. The toyota? Do the lug nuts on the dodge require more torque than the toyota creates?

Reliability: Some people claim that toyota will run for ever, but I will be tired of this cummins long before it dies. Also look at all the space around it when you open the hood up. I can work on this one and still have some skin left on my knuckles. The import I had was an ordeal just to change the spark plugs.

I get 15 mpg in the city and 20 on the highway if I take it easy. Towing a heavy trailer is still far better than a gas engine.

Price: All this (the dodge) for just under 30K.

Different people may have different priorities, but for me motor trend would not know a real truck if it bit them on the ....

Fred

 

[isucrazy]

Kinda like compareing a handgranade to a firecracker aint it? 2 completely differant units designed for 2 completly differant task.