Motor Trend truck of Year

Durbob · Jan 14, 2005

If memory serves me correct, i believe that the Vega and Corvair both were "Car of the year" at one time at Motor Trend. I get Motor Trend, Truck Trend , ( same people ) and Car and Driver.
Car and Driver is by far the better magazine. Also one of the the mags a while back tested the Dodge, Chevy, and Ford diesels truck by pulling some heavy weight with them and ranked them in this order. I have that issue buried around the house here somewhere i'm sure.

1-Ford
2-Chevy
3-Dodge

rozett · Jan 14, 2005

( I thought Ford was going to come out with a smaller diesel (like a 4.XL) for there F150? )

Ford is still working on it. The problem is that the gross weight of a Super Duty puts it outside of the EPA standards. But the F150 and Expedition are required to meet much tougher standards. All of the light truck mfrs. are having a hard time developing a diesel that has enough torque to pull a 8 or 9k pound trailer and still meet the EPA requirements.

_RaT_ · Jan 14, 2005

I have yet to drive the Chevy diesel, but your post by Car & Driver seems accurate based on my observations with a Ford and Dodge. I recently drove a 2004 Dodge 3500 2WD from Reno to Las Vegas. Pulled a 24' covered car trailer. The rear end was 3:?? according to the owner, not 4:10's. 6 speed manual. The fuel economy was about 13 mpg. The power to me was OK. I expected more, but then, I must admit, it was still more then suitable and I have never pulled a trailer with that much air drag either. I have also driven the newer Ford PSD. I must say that the Ford diesel without question appears to have more power, at least in the stock version. The new quiet Cummins though was certainly a great improvement and the cab has finally gotten rid of the wind noise from the door windows where they seal. I tip in favor of the Dodge because of the Cummins, I still like the body and interior of the Ford. The Chevy, I'm not familiar with. The little trucks like Toyota and that includes the Tundra, are a whole different classification and will appeal to completely different needs. We can compare them as some seem to always want to do, but that won't change what they can do.

Rather then buy a vehicle on what Motor Trend says, I suggest you also look at other sources like Edmunds. Your going to get a little different version of a "truth" there.

Dargo · Jan 14, 2005

Rat, I'm like you; I really like the Ford better, but I don't think the PowerStroke competes with the Cummins. I've had both, and I like the Ford truck much better than the Dodge, but the Cummins has sooo much more low end torque that it's not close. I assume that it is the inline 6 design. The last time I looked, most all large semi's had huge inline 6 cyl. engines.

I'm waiting for Ford to come out with a Cummins. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Then, I'll happily jump from my old Dodge to a Ford! By the way, last year I did drive both the new Dodge and the new Ford 1 ton diesel 4X4's. After having my old '96 Dodge with a Cummins that puts out over 400hp and 1100 ft. lbs. of torque, they both felt weak! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Bird · Jan 14, 2005

Don, I think you'll find that the engine in the Sprinter is a 5-cylinder, 2.7L, Mercedes, and you can get the passenger van, well equipped with options, for $35,000 MSRP.

_RaT_ · Jan 14, 2005

I must admit complete ignorance in the after market bump in performance you can give these diesels. An old friend of mine got a Ford F350 and bumped it to the extreme. I think he was talking in terms of 1200 ft lbs and 50,000 HP or some astronimical figure. It's what he does with everything, must have something to do with his being a Navy pilot launching off carriers. Anyway, the truck is ridiculous, he doesn't just spin the rears, he ignites them. Way more then I would ever want, but then, he rides his Ducati motorcyle at speeds and takes curves that some Cessnas don't go either. I have more faith that in the long run, the Cummins will outlast the Ford PSD and cost less in repairs. Thats just a gut feeling and we will know more about the Ford PSD down the road. If I was buying a truck today, right now it would be a Dodge, but since I won't be buying new, I'll have to wait 3 or 4 years when the "quiet" Cummins are available used. By then, we may be running on di-lithium crystals.

Youare · Jan 14, 2005

I noticed in Europe there are many small diesel powered pick-ups and passenger cars that are not offered for sale in this country. I would guess the reason is EPA restrictions and emission standards.

Before I purchased my Toyota I looked for a diesel powered 1/2 ton version but found none that I could afford. The prices for a diesel powered pickup in this country are pretty high. It seems that 3/4 ton is the lightest truck where diesel engines are a standard option. That is more truck than I need and can afford new.

Used trucks in that class here in the northeast are hard to find in decent shape, most of them have been plowed to death.

Randy

_RaT_ · Jan 14, 2005

I would guess the reason is EPA restrictions and emission standards. 

You nailed it! Diesel is very popular there for several reasons. They tax diesel fuel less as I understand and as you mentioned, quite a variety of diesel powered vehicles to choose from.

8NTX · Jan 14, 2005

I bought the Motor Trend 2004 Truck of the Year, and am quite happy with it. Ford F-150. I bought it because my previous F-150's (2000 and 1996) were virtually problem free. My 2000 was the best truck I've ever had, and I've had a few.

Steve

Dargo · Jan 14, 2005

Rat, you actually hit exactly the reason I bought my Dodge with a Cummins in it several years ago; longevity. You can still do a search on "Cummins diesel" and on "PowerStroke" on eBay, and you will find dozens of Cummins powered Dodges with 500k, 600k, 700k, etc. on them with the ad reading that they still run great and that they have never been worked on. For the PowerStroke search, you'll generally find ads reading "newly rebuilt" on the PowerStroke powered pickups when they have over 200k on them. I realize that there are exceptions to this, but there is overwhelming evidence that the Cummins will far outlast the PowerStroke; and that is besides what I mentioned earlier about the torque. Fast and strong are great, but if one will hands down outlast the other, I'm going with the one that will likely never cost me anything on repairs.
Since I do like the Fords, and currently own two Ford vehicles, I often hear the debates about which can be made faster. Although it is up for debate, looking at the speed records for diesel drag races, it seems that the Cummins wins in most areas as well as in diesel truck pulls. However, when it comes to longevity, few of even the true Ford nuts will try to claim that a PowerStroke will last longer.