Motor Trend Truck of the Year

[95cobraR]

The Ford F-150 won the 2004 Motor Trend Truck of the Year!

MT quote: "The new F-150 represents a huge step forward in pick-up design, styling, and refinement and overall performance".

I wish they would get that '06 Lightning out sooner. It should be a great truck.

The F-150 won over the Cheby Colorado & SSR, the Ram SRT-10, the GMC Canyon, the Titan

:zz:, and the Tundra double cab (whatever that is).

I'd vote for the 2005 Mustang for 2005 car of the year! (The Toyota Prius won it this year). Now what would you buy with your hard earned $$? A new mustang? or a Prius? (I bet that Prius may break 20 seconds in the 1/4!, and I am sure you'll see alot of them on your local race tracks).

Go get 'em Ford. Now get us a great Mustang and Lightning:thumbsup:

[Mystic_Cobra]

That's good to see. I know how much of these mags are swayed by politics and advertising and such, but they were right with this one.

[98banana]

Although I like the new F-150 and am happy they won the award, I would put my money into a Titan. Nissan has their crap together and the Titan is a fantastic truck. The looks are a little off, but with a truck, I'm more concerned with other things (like towing, ride, utility, etc.) My wife and I drove an Armada (same powertrain as the Titan) and were very impressed! We just don't have $35K right now, so it's out of the question. :(

[95cobraR]

Tom,
This isn't a flame. I just wonder why you like the Titan over the Ford F-series, Chevy HD, Dodge, and the Tundra (the best foreign truck in my humble opinion).

I noticed on your website that you are doing some work on Mustangs and may build an AI/AIX car. I assume you'll need a big truck to haul tools, spare parts, tires (rain & dry), car, etc. to race tracks.

I've got a friend who just bought a Tundra, and he brought it by for me to drive. He will not haul anything more than some pine straw and furniture in his truck. I crawled under it and looked at the brakes, rear diff, hubs, springs, etc. It had a nice car-like ride, but I would not hook up a 8000-10000lb trailer and haul in to a race track 1000 miles away.

I've seen a Titan in a parking lot and looked at it's specs on the internet. It just seems to me that it is very similar to the Tundra (although a little unusual looking). I would pick it over the Titan only because Toyota has more experience with bigger trucks and is a larger comapany with a bigger R&D budget. I think the biggest motor of the two is a 5.7. I think that would easily pull an open trailer w/car but not an enclosed trailer full of car, spares, etc.

Last comment before I put you to:zz: :zz: . I've never seen a Ford/mustang racer pull into a race track in a truck from Japan.

Like I said, this isn't a flame. However, I would like to here your reasoning on why the Titan is a fantastic truck (and better than the competition).

Good luck on the race car.

[98banana]

Thanks for the well wishes on the race car. And, definitely, no flame taken.

I have a lot of reasons for liking the Titan over the competition:

1) The standard power beats everybody else, I think (I haven't looked at any side-by-side comparisons.) It has 379 lb-ft which is pretty good for a V8.

2) Towing capacity (with the Big Tow Package) is 9500 lbs. That's plenty to tow an enclosed trailer and right up there with max equipped F150. I think it may be a few hundred lbs. shy of the regular cab F150. But, you get a back seat with that towing capacity with the Nissan.

3) I have to think that Nissan reliability is a little better than Ford. I have absolutely no tech to back up that statement, just a feeling.

4) I drove the Armada and it rides better than any Ford truck I've owned, and I've owned a lot of them including a few Super Duty pickups with V10 and Diesel plus many F150's. If the Titan ride quality is anywhere near the Armada's, then it'll be nice.

5) More on a personal note here: I am thrilled that Nissan is coming into the full size market with more than Toyota did with their lame T-100. Toyota did better with the Tundra, but I still think the Toyota has a mid-size attitude in the Tundra. The Nissan will be a true full sized truck that will hopefully add some needed competition to the "big 3" makers. This will help the buyers of those big 3, indirectly.

Now, all that being said, here's what I have against the Titan:

1) They have absolutely nothing to compare to a Super Duty truck and probably won't.

2) They don't offer a standard or long bed with the crew cab. But, neither does the F150.

3) I can't afford any new trucks right now, so I guess I'm out of luck.

Plus, if all goes to plan, I won't be buying a truck at all. I'll be selling my Ranger (which tows great by the way) and buying an E-350 SD Van with a V10 or diesel. I can tow 10000 lbs AND carry 15 people at the same time. What better race tow vehicle could one ask for? :D

Edit: I just re-read your initial question and I don't think I answered it... I DON'T like the Titan better than the heavy duty american trucks. I'm comparing only to the half-ton offerings. I'd pick a Super Duty over the Titan, most likely. Well, after Ford and Navistar fix the new 6.0L diesel that I keep reading bad things about.

[95cobraR]

All are great points.

I would argue with Ford/Titan et al about their tow ratings. I've been towing race cars for almost 20 years (drag racing, then road racing for the last 13). I just don't agree that a F-150 or Titan will safely tow a 9800/9500 lb trailer with the 1/2 ton equipment (diff, brakes, etc.). If you are headed to a track in a rain storm on the interstate with 18-wheelers blowing by and the wind pushing the trailer sideways, the 1/2 ton truck just doesn't do the job. They don't have enough motor (power) to pull hills with that load, and they don't have the weight and stability to do the job safely. This is with an evenly loaded trailer with load bars and sway bars properly adjusted (I wouldn't tow anywhere without those). I would suggest to anyone that is considering a heavy tow in a 1/2 ton to rent one and try it before committing to an expensive purchase. I race with 2 guys that rent 3/4 ton trucks on race weekends. They just don't want/need a truck otherwise. (my 2 cents)

I thought you were leaning toward a 1/2 ton for a tow vechicle. Of course, that one ton van with the better motors will easily do a great job. I like the oil motor but decided to do the V10 only due to the cost difference ($7500 inc. GA sales tax). Doesn't International make the diesel for Ford? I've also read about some problems with the new 6.0, but I know 2 guys that have '03's and have had great service. They love 'em.

I agree that more competition makes all the manufacturers better.
Ford and GM make a huge % of their profits in the truck/SUV market, and I believe additional players in their market will improve the entire line.

RE: your edit: I was referring to the 1/2 tons. Chevy makes a 1/2 ton HD, and you can option out a F-150 to equal the GM HD's.
As you mentioned the Ford Super Duties and the Dodge/Chevy 3/4 and ton trucks are several steps above the 1/2 tons if you need the load or tow capacities. You will sacrifice ride and gas mileage.

Have you heard about the new Mustang/Camaro challenge races? I understand they will be at NASA events along with AI/AIX. I was told it would be a more affordable series and a good stepping stone to AI. I plan to do some NASA this year along with vintage.


:thumbsup: Cheers! Doc J.

[98banana]

Cool. I'll definitely look for you at the NASA events. You planning to make the SCMC/CMP event?

I used to tow my Cobra, then the Focus, behind my Ranger that is rated for 5500 lbs. I never once felt like it was not safe to tow.
With the trailer brakes, I never had any problems with the tow.

I don't know if I would want to tow an enclosed trailer behind a 1/2 ton or not because I've never done it, but I would be more than comfortable towing a open trailer.

I heard that the CMC will be out there with the AI racing this year. Should be fun. My intentions for AI is to field a car, but not be competitive, yet. I'm doing all the fabrication on the car myself and will take my time to properly engineer the components correctly. That's going to take some time, so I'll start with a safe, stock car at first. I added some more info on my web site for what I plan to start with if you're interested.

Oh yeah, Navistar is International. IIRC, we used to call them Navistar when I worked for Mack Trucks 15 years ago. I'm not sure what the name has to do with anything, if it's still used or not.
See you out there!
Tom

[Black Horse]

You might want to rethink all of that crap about the 6.0L Navistar.....


Try this with that Ricer truck ;)

http://www.olypen.com/bulldog/movies.html/F350Run.wmv


6.0L Navistar Diesel, Automatic Transmission (TorqueShift), 4X4, CrewCab.......how fast?????????

[98banana]

Oh yes! I've had that video in my classic folder for a few weeks now. I'll go back in there now and then just to watch the beauty. :D Are you sure that's a 6.0L and not the tried and true 7.3L?

I had a 2002 F-350 PSD. It was an AWESOME truck. No doubt about it whatsoever! I only sold it because nobody wanted to buy my Ranger and I didn't need 2 trucks, much less 2 truck payments.

I think the 6.0L is a great idea. It surpasses the numbers in EVERY category over the 7.3L. But, I've heard some bad press on the motor (something with the fuel injection) and the new tranny mated to it. They may have the bugs worked out by now, I don't know.

[Black Horse]

Yeah....the 6.0L had a few rocky moments at the get-go with injectors.

Everything I have seen shows it all sorted out, I haven't heard of any unhappy customers.

Early on I drove one with an auto, literally SMOKED the rear duallys through first and second gear, and that was carrying over a ton of steel bars. Frickin incredible!

[98banana]

Originally posted by Black Horse
Yeah....the 6.0L had a few rocky moments at the get-go with injectors.

Everything I have seen shows it all sorted out, I haven't heard of any unhappy customers.

Early on I drove one with an auto, literally SMOKED the rear duallys through first and second gear, and that was carrying over a ton of steel bars. Frickin incredible!

I was happy to see them come out with the tranny they have. They needed something to battle the Allison in the Chevy.

Like I said earlier, I've had 2 F-250 (sorry, I mistyped the F350 earlier) Crew Cab 4x4's. One with the V10 and one with the 7.3L diesel. The diesel had almost as much hp, had much more torque, got way better mileage and of course towed much better. I towed the cobra up to Gingerman and forgot the thing was even back there.

[95cobraR]

Originally posted by 98banana

1) The standard power beats everybody else, I think (I haven't looked at any side-by-side comparisons.) It has 379 lb-ft which is pretty good for a V8.


3) I have to think that Nissan reliability is a little better than Ford. I have absolutely no tech to back up that statement, just a feeling.


Sorry, I was confused. I was talking about enclosed trailers while you were thinking open trailer. I agree 100%. The F150 will pull a loaded flat bed trailer to Calif. and back and anywhere else.

The new F150 5.4 3V has 300hp and 365lbs torque and 80% of the torque comes in at 1000rpm!

I understand your thought on the reliability issue. But no one knows what a new vechicle will do. We'll have to wait 3-5 years to see. The market, supply and demand, and resell will be the final judge. I have my 4th Ford truck. None of them was ever in the shop! 22x,xxx hard miles and nothing I couldn't fix in my driveway. No timing chains and parts are cheap and available at my local discount parts store.

I'm looking at the SCMC/CMP event. I am waiting for all the '04 schedules to come out for a final plan. I'll watch your website for progress on your car. Keep us up to date.

Black Horse---Very cool truck. You can't beat starting with 560 lbs of torque and stepping up from that! What gear does it have?
:thumbsup:

[98banana]

Originally posted by 95cobraR
The new F150 5.4 3V has 300hp and 365lbs torque and 80% of the torque comes in at 1000rpm!

That, I didn't know. That is very impressive!

My wife and I just got back from one of the local ford dealerships where we were turning in our leased Windstar. While I was waiting on the guy to check out the van, I sat in one of the SuperCrew F-150 XLT's in the showroom. I was quite impressed by the room and comfort inside the thing. It's a little pricey, but it was nice. This particular one had the 4.6L so I'd have to add a little more for the 5.4, but overall, a nice truck. The fit and finish looks great!