Automakers wonder why their trucks aren’t selling??..it’s obvious

Exactly. As much as I like pickups I don’t have $60-$75K in spare change jingling in my pocket to afford one. Realistically my budget is under $30K and even that is pushing it nowadays,which means I have to look at the used market. And even then some vehicles are overpriced!

 

That is NOT what that means. It means they sell more than any other vehicle, cars included. The top 3 sellers year on year is the big 3 pickups.

 

Turbo gasoline engines always have a lot of maintenance problems and usually don’t last as long as a normal one .

Normal V8 is better long term than a turbo 6

 

You'll never convince these people. Let's ignore the truck plants for the big 3 are the only plants running 24/5, and sometimes 24/6 and still can't produce enough trucks to meet demand. If they were, they 1. Wouldn't be paying overtime at the assembly plants for Saturday work, and 2.GM won't have just opened a plant just to handle the over flow of trucks that they can't seem to get caught up on orders.

 

Now wait just a minute. Have you seen the new Ford Ranger or Maverick? Most folks don't need a pickup for much more than pulling the fishing boat or taking off the trash anyways. Those are nice trucks. The Ranger is actually about the correct size for a full sized pickup anyways. I dunno why 1/2 ton pickups have to be the size of an aircraft carrier and 3/4 ton + trucks have to be the size of Battlestar Galactica. Most people don't need that much truck.

 

That STILL doesn't mean pickups are selling well. It only means pickups are selling better than any other type of vehicle.

 

So while I am waiting for my Tacoma in I started thinking again and decided to go quadruple check my decision. I took the wifes 4runner to a couple of Ford dealerships today and really got under some trucks and compared side by side. This is the first time I REALLY got under them good and made detailed comparisons. I dare anyone here with mechanical sense and common sense and a budget/long term ownership plan (20 years) to do the same and choose a Ford.

I would not consider a Ranger (but I did look) so my comparison was F150 to Tacoma. The aluminum body and the 5.0 are what I liked about the F150....BUT what difference does a alum body make on a crappy frame!!?? The Tacoma/4runner frame is no joke 25% more stout (welds/cross members/actual thicknesses of steel) compared to the Ford. I swear man one of the 1" square tube cross members on the Ford can be bought at friggin Home Depot!

I am not happy to see/say/report this but it is what it is.

The only thing I would now change about my order with Toyota would be to switch to a Tundra if I could afford one.....even with their recall I still have more faith in a Tundra that anything else out there. And it seems the world agrees.

 

Yeah for most grocery getter F150's (and Tacomas I might add too) it aint gonna make a difference. And for the few that go off road a little bit, it won't either...

 

I live in the rust belt and I have seen with my own eyes what happens to each. I was hoping the Fords with aluminum body would be better but the frames rot out SOOOOOO bad here so why they addressed the bodies but not the frames baffles me.

Now I know and remember the early 2000's when the Tacomas had frame issues ( I saw them in person) but I also know and saw in person how they handled the issue and took care of their customers (my Uncle).

The big 3 just remind me of America and asbestos. LOL. When the rest of the intelligent world was screaming ,STOP!!!, American industry just doubled down with more and more and more and more. No pride and not a care in the world about Americans.

 

Aluminum is great, but can't compete with steel in frames. It's stronger pound per pound, but then you realize aluminum is lower density so that strength comes from more material. It's also not happy about being over stressed. Where steel can flex and come back, aluminum tends to hit plastic deformation sooner and looses strength. Body panels don't really need all that much strength in comparison to frame rails.

It's kind of funny though. They keep making better steel that doesn't rot out, then they keep putting more and more corrosive stuff on the roads for winter. You don't realize how good today's steel is.