New pickup trucks and utes

[broadrun96]

Also keep an eye out for the Jeep Scrambler, announced for 2018 but not yet on Jeep's site but in FCA's order system, albeit incomplete. But the EcoDiesel 3.0L is attached to it with stop-start tech, and the CJ-8 style fully removable tops are listed. Sounds like the 4 door Wrangler frame but elongated by 33" (205" chassis) and possibly 6' bed. If I could make a truck like that work for me, I might be tempted. And likely to be a Ram version of the truck released 2020/21.

[Akrapovic]

Question for the Americans here (Broadrun and JHamilton especially seem to know their stuff!) - I know absolutely ZERO about pickup trucks, and in the UK they're relatively rare.

Why are pickups important in the US, and what features are considered the important ones? And why am I so skeptical over the Tesla pickup, despite supporting the electric car movement. Is that a viable option?

Genuine questions from someone who has never sat in a truck.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Question for the Americans here (Broadrun and JHamilton especially seem to know their stuff!) - I know absolutely ZERO about pickup trucks, and in the UK they're relatively rare.

Why are pickups important in the US, and what features are considered the important ones? And why am I so skeptical over the Tesla pickup, despite supporting the electric car movement. Is that a viable option?

Genuine questions from someone who has never sat in a truck.

Our roads are wide and so are our asses, so we like big vehicles!

Seriously though, what began as something that was purely utilitarian for farmers to use for work all week and drive to church on Sunday, without having to own a second vehicle has morphed into what it is today. It was long Innovative process that was consumer driven where now many people use them as a passenger vehicle that can carry large toys, pull campers(Caravans) and other things while being extremely comfortable.

From a performance standpoint, they are absurd. From a comfort standpoint, they are absurd. It's really surprising how comfortable they are to ride in and how powerful and quick they are.

I've yet to get mine , but last year I did have to rent a 2016 F250 Super Duty Power Stroke turbo diesel. Outside of the difficult nature for the family to crawl up in it, it was awesome especially the 440 BHP and nearly 900 pound feet of torque that gets you 0 to 60 in less than 8 Seconds. That's with a family of 4 inside and in a vehicle thay weighs almost 7,000 lbs. Im 2nd gear when the turbo is spooled up, your head is planted into the headrest. It's crazy in something that large.

Most important features? Really depends on what you're going to use the truck for. But as you stated, J Hamilton and Broad Run can expand quite a bit for you. I've heard these to talk more about trucks and vehicles in Turn 4 at Road Atlanta then I almost care to so I've avoided this thread for a minute


Edit:
As for the Tesla truck? This is the first I've heard of it and I'm not sure how I feel completely about electric vehicles. However there's a growing market for them and there's a huge market for trucks in this country so it will probably work out.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Question for the Americans here (Broadrun and JHamilton especially seem to know their stuff!) - I know absolutely ZERO about pickup trucks, and in the UK they're relatively rare.

Why are pickups important in the US, and what features are considered the important ones? And why am I so skeptical over the Tesla pickup, despite supporting the electric car movement. Is that a viable option?

Genuine questions from someone who has never sat in a truck.

For me personally a truck is a starting point as a vehicle but I am kind of an exception. I am 6'7 (2m) and 300 lbs (136k, 21.5 stone) so most cars are right out. I tried driving a friend's Toyota tiny 'SUV/crossover' thing and holy tiny car, I barely fit and could not have driven it for more than 10 min. And I grew up always having a truck, or two, in the family. Learned to drive in an 85 Suburban, manual everything and full vinyl interior. Rode like the Flintstones car but could pull anything with wheels under it and carry at least 5,000 inside the truck. It didn't go fast and was full front to back with a distinct lean to the rear. But then I'm also a guy who wants to squeeze his giant self in to an old British convertible at some point so maybe my opinion isn't worth much. Or distorted by all the fuel/exhaust fumes in the truck.

That used to be the selling point of trucks. Vinyl, bare metal, fix it the Clarkson method and drive until the frame actually rusted to dust. Jump from the early 90s to now and oh how things have changed. The old F-series 350s and up were a mix of frames without much value placed on anything beyond work, comfort wasn't even considered. Ford and Chevy both set out to comfort their 150/1500s and made dedicated HD (really trucking wise medium duty but who's going to advertise we're the mediumest truck?) frames and packages. Hence the birth of the truly SuperDuty F-series trucks and the HDs from Chevy/GMC. Although GMC stuck with their own line of GREAT medium duty trucks for a while longer. As the trucks improved in the 150/1500 lines and became more car like, softer ride, improved interior, hvac systems that actually worked, the fleet buyers and HD buyers wanted similar things in theirs. My family it was 4 kids, add in 6 people, camping gear and food for a week, trailer, etc you end up blowing past the 150/1500s payloads quickly.

Now, well you can get a top of the line F350/Silervado 3500/Ram 3500 dually diesel for more than a base 911. Believe the Rams and Fords top out at close to 100k after all is said and done, now no one actually pays sticker so guessing it's closer to 80k but that's still a LOT for a truck. But you will get all the usual car bells and whistles. And the ability to tow 30,000 lbs all day if you feel the need. Sadly this has made getting a truly 'stripper' work truck harder and harder. And even the middle of the road trucks have exploded, to replace my soon to be 4 model year old truck it is close to an additional 10k over the MSRP then.

As for the Tesla truck? For me it's the limited payload you're going to have to end up with for the range to market a truck. Now I doubt that will curb sales in any way unless the Tesla Model 3 buyers all start to dump the 3s in favor of the truck and the value plummets. But they are holding steady for now it seems. But I think that will be a city option truck and will sell all they can make to hipsters who can't work on their old Chevys and Fords I see running around their parts of Atlanta/Decatur.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Our roads are wide and so are our asses, so we like big vehicles!

Originally Posted by broadrun96

For me personally a truck is a starting point as a vehicle but I am kind of an exception. I am 6'7 (2m) and 300 lbs (136k, 21.5 stone) so most cars are right out.

See?

I tried driving a friend's Toyota tiny 'SUV/crossover' thing and holy tiny car, I barely fit and could not have driven it for more than 10 min

Even at 6-0/235+++, most SUVs/Crossovers are worthless to me. I drove a compact car to Savannah and back in one day last month and I think I'm waiting for the circulation to get fully back in my right leg....

And I grew up always having a truck, or two, in the family. Learned to drive in an 85 Suburban, manual everything and full vinyl interior

Everything was manual 'cept the tranny right? I learned to drive in a full manual inline 6, 4 on the floor 71 Suburban with three doors, not counting the rear fan ones...I still miss the "Big Nasty" as she was very lovingly referred too.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

See?



Even at 6-0/235+++, most SUVs/Crossovers are worthless to me. I drove a compact car to Savannah and back in one day last month and I think I'm waiting for the circulation to get fully back in my right leg....


Everything was manual 'cept the tranny right? I learned to drive in a full manual inline 6, 4 on the floor 71 Suburban with three doors, not counting the rear fan ones...I still miss the "Big Nasty" as she was very lovingly referred too.

Nope, 454 with 4 speed tranny with granny gear first. Only assist was power ASSISTED steering, was still tough but when it died you just hoped you hit a ditch not another car.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Nope, 454 with 4 speed tranny with granny gear first. Only assist was power ASSISTED steering, was still tough but when it died you just hoped you hit a ditch not another car.

Ha! "power assisted" = we'll give you a little help

No power steering on the 71 but you had a steering wheel as wide as a dinner table and big enough to lean and put some weight into it.

Check this out. One of the cleanest I've seen in a minute. Same styling, minus the tailgate motor, tranny. My dad's was "Georgia Power Yellow" and a 4x2, but had the same hubcaps

https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0516-24...olet-suburban/

Sorry JH, Hijacking your thread for a moment. ^that is a "like" new truck.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Ha! "power assisted" = we'll give you a little help

No power steering on the 71 but you had a steering wheel as wide as a dinner table and big enough to lean and put some weight into it.

Check this out. One of the cleanest I've seen in a minute. Same styling, minus the tailgate motor, tranny. My dad's was "Georgia Power Yellow" and a 4x2, but had the same hubcaps

https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0516-24...olet-suburban/

Sorry JH, Hijacking your thread for a moment. ^that is a "like" new truck.

Oh the 85's wheel was still giant, think they stole it from old steam ships.

And that's better than that truck ever looked new.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Question for the Americans here (Broadrun and JHamilton especially seem to know their stuff!) - I know absolutely ZERO about pickup trucks, and in the UK they're relatively rare.

Why are pickups important in the US, and what features are considered the important ones? And why am I so skeptical over the Tesla pickup, despite supporting the electric car movement. Is that a viable option?

Genuine questions from someone who has never sat in a truck.

I'd say the most important feature in a pickup is the bed...

sorry.

That's the real answer too though. I hauled a bunch of building materials back to a supplier yesterday and took two clients to lunch today, all in quiet comfort. That sounds like a commercial, but it's the truth! I didn't get trucks until I owned one, but now I can't imagine not having one. How will I get to the race track?

Pickups are an excellent value. If you want a regular cab with a vinyl bench seat, you can have it and if you want a suede headliner and leather saddle bags on the back of the seat, you can have that too. I wouldn't but other people do. You can order pretty much whatever you want and will never see the same truck side by side.

The performance is bananas. Tow ratings from 9-30,000 lbs, payload capacities up to 7,000 lbs, and off road many would dust off a Range Rover for a 3rd of the price. My truck is just over 20ft long, weighs nearly 3 tons and will hurtle to 60mph in 6.5 seconds. The Raptor is now a trim level on the F-150, so now you can just check the box for 'trophy truck'.

They are what American car companies build best. Everyone one of them is tough as nails, including the Toyotas and Nissans. This brings me to a potential Tesla pick up. The impression I have of the Teslas I have been around is they are not built particularly well. If it is to be full size, and it really needs to be, it has to be tough. It's a tough market too, look at Toyota and Nissan. They're very capable trucks but have never been able to put a significant dent into the big 3 because something just misses the mark - styling, interior, etc. I think that would be more difficult to overcome in the immediate future than even the electric technology.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

I've heard these to talk more about trucks and vehicles in Turn 4 at Road Atlanta then I almost care to so I've avoided this thread for a minute

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bore you talking about cars and trucks at Road Atlanta. How careless of me.

Look what Dale Jr posted today! It's a dealer in Minnesota that are painting these as Cheyenne's. The wagon wheels are great.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bore you talking about cars and trucks at Road Atlanta. How careless of me.

I kid with you and I learn a lot from y'all but y'all nerd out really quick on me.

Look what Dale Jr posted today! It's a dealer in Minnesota that are painting these as Cheyenne's. The wagon wheels are great.

Now that's what I'm talkin bout! That's bad ass! The wheels are fantastic!

[JHamilton]

Hmmmmm

[NaBUru38]

Here in Uruguay, if you have a Honda CR-V or a Toyota Hilux, you are reasonably well off.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Here in Uruguay, if you have a Honda CR-V or a Toyota Hilux, you are reasonably well off.

I'm not sure how to respond to that. In many respects it's the same here except the Hilux is quite a bit more expensive than a CR-V.

[broadrun96]

Ram announcement is Monday, but looks like that will be the final look of the 1500. Have to say, I like it. Just sadly the outdoorsman was discontinued in 2016 so no chrome free truck left for me.

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[broadrun96]

Found the schedule, Ford is up tomorrow afternoon. Ram Monday morning and Jeep Tuesday morninghttps://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5a5ab76b...l_WebFinal.pdf

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[broadrun96]

Chevy announcement came this evening, including the early and cross platform announcement of a 3.0L in line 6 diesel for 1500, HD and mid duty trucks. For me offering a non- world moving diesel in a 2500 truck is HUGE. Fuel economy and load rating without more torque than you'll ever use but in a frame that can handle more than a 1500 when needed.

Yeah, that's the fancy pants line of truck but that's an American truck interior.

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[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Chevy announcement came this evening, including the early and cross platform announcement of a 3.0L in line 6 diesel for 1500, HD and mid duty trucks. For me offering a non- world moving diesel in a 2500 truck is HUGE. Fuel economy and load rating without more torque than you'll ever use but in a frame that can handle more than a 1500 when needed.

Yeah, that's the fancy pants line of truck but that's an American truck interior.

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That's pretty cool, I know Dodge used to do that with the Megacab 1500s were built on 2500 frames with 8 lug wheels. I seem to remember Chevy doing something similar, but can't put my finger on what it was.

Agree on the idea though and it's what Nissan attempted with the Xd.

[broadrun96]

Chevy used the HD name, 1500HD was a 2500 frame, 2500HD was the 3500 and the rare 3500HD was a Topkick frame. Was confusing because they made a heavy duty 2500HD, seemed kind of redundant. Ended when Ford made the 'SuperDuty' line and brought the 2500 in to the HD range, and Chevy started selling their 2500/3500/4500 range. Until early 2000s the 3500 was a stand alone unit and the 1500/2500 was shared architecture. But that's also part of what killed the 2500 Suburban, platforms diverged and 2500 Suburbans weren't cost effective outside of a few govt specials.

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[JHamilton]

i guess I should do a little more research before posting.

Here's the 2019 Ranger: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/ford/...t-look-review/



Here's the 2019 Silverado:
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/chevr...train-choices/

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-show...pictures-info/

[broadrun96]

I had looked at trucks back then to replace my old pos bronco II, only problem I had was the GM seats were designed by a Nazi chiropractor and you were forced upright and square. It never made sense to me why not just use the frame with a decent load rating for all trucks, but the old internet was not so helpful and dealerships never give any info. So that was the closest I could find to actual info back then.

I used to read ramforumz a LOT when I was researching my truck and have read a few other FCA background sites. Ramforumz had the advantage of a couple factory guys posting or confirming things when they could but I haven't been on as much. Depressing to read about new stuff not on mine.

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[broadrun96]

I missed it earlier today, Ford confirmed the F-150 diesel but it does not appear to be the Jag/Land Rover engine.

From Ford's press release:

'Full-size diesel truck fans have reason to celebrate this year as Ford*– America’s truck sales leader*– delivers the first-ever F-150 Power Stroke diesel with a targeted EPA-estimated 30 mpg highway rating, a best-in-class 11,400 pounds of towing capacity and 2,020 pounds of payload capacity, plus best-in-class diesel 250 horsepower and 440 lb.-ft.*of torque. The very same Ford powertrain team behind the 6.7-liter Power Stroke for Super Duty trucks since 2011 designed and engineered this all-new 3.0-liter Power Stroke V6 diesel engine to the specific needs of North American F-150 customers who tow and haul frequently.

Arriving this spring, F-150 with 3.0-liter Power Stroke engine provides best-in-class diesel 250 horsepower and 440 lb.-ft. of torque – and makes for a sixth engine choice for F-150 customers.

https://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5a5c1aff...-factsheet.pdf

[broadrun96]

And now for the Ford Ranger return:

Built Ford Tough: Ford answers the call from truck customers looking for an affordable, rugged, and maneuverable midsize pickup that’s Built Ford Tough; torture-tested alongside Ford F-150 trucks, Ranger quality starts with a rugged high-strength steel frame backbone, proven Ford-built 2.3-liter EcoBoost*engine and class-exclusive 10-speed automatic transmission.

Ready for adventure with innovative technology: New features make driving easier and more fun, both on- and off-road; available FX4 Off-Road Package adds protective skid plates, upgraded tires, off-road-tuned shocks and suspension, while Terrain Management System*and Trail Control*help navigate challenging conditions; a suite of innovative technologies includes standard Automatic Emergency Braking to help avoid collisions.

Ranger comes in entry-level XL, mid-level XLT and high-level Lariat trim series with available Chrome and Sport appearance and FX Off-Road packages, and in SuperCab or SuperCrew*cab configurations.

[JHamilton]

Autoweak article on the Ram: http://autoweek.com/article/detroit-...roit-auto-show

E-assist on the Hemi adding 130lb/ft of torque! It looks MUCH better without the camo and with a proper set of wheels on it.

[JHamilton]

Motor Trend with the proper release pictures and a better article. The dash is awesome

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/ram/1...t-look-review/