Midsize Truck?

[jqueen]

I'd gladly take the power of the past with better economy.

[1TallTXn]

Originally Posted by poser

but the power output has doubled or more at that same MPG

This is true. 114hp isn't exactly a hot rod...
But, doubling the power would make my insurance go up and make me make car payments. Not enough benefits for what I need.

[poser]

Originally Posted by 1TallTXn

This is true. 114hp isn't exactly a hot rod...
But, doubling the power would make my insurance go up and make me make car payments. Not enough benefits for what I need.

And really for that power output fuel economy has more than doubled. It's called the Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris

[1TallTXn]

Originally Posted by poser

And really for that power output fuel economy has more than doubled. It's called the Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris

Yeah, but you'd be hard pressed to pull out stuck Jeeps with a Fit or Yaris

[DFW_Warrior]

Originally Posted by el_chupo_

The real kicker for me would be "Why?"

At this point you can get a realistic 20mpg out of a F150 (eco boost or 5.0 engine), Chevy (4.x or 5.3V8), and Dodge with the Hemi. More room, more capabilities, but with admittedly less resale, and decent quality from them all, all for about the same cash outlay.

I would have a hard time passing up a F150 crew cab or the Tundra Crew Max if I were buying a new truck.

This is what is keeping me away from the Tacoma's. Why pay 95% the cost of a full size truck, to get less towing, less interior room, less power, and the exact same fuel economy?

I have a friend with the MDS Hemi and he is getting 22mpg on the freeway. Another friend has the Ecoboost motor and is regularly getting 22-24mpg on the freeway.

[philipbarrett]

On the used market the Tacomas actually fetch more than the Tundras for similar mileage & condition.

[1TallTXn]

Originally Posted by DFW_Warrior

This is what is keeping me away from the Tacoma's. Why pay 95% the cost of a full size truck, to get less towing, less interior room, less power, and the exact same fuel economy?

I have a friend with the MDS Hemi and he is getting 22mpg on the freeway. Another friend has the Ecoboost motor and is regularly getting 22-24mpg on the freeway.

Precisely the reason I'm looking more at Tundras now.
Sadly, can't get any "1/2 ton" in a manual any more.
Need a manual? No, just prefer them.

[DFW_Warrior]

When I looked about a year ago you could still get a Dodge Ram in a manual if you ordered it. You won't find any on the showroom floor since most people value being able to text while driving, but they do still offer it. Or they did....

[poser]

When I bought my tundra in 2008 I believe you could still get a manual with the V6 and maybe the small V8. But like DFW said, you would have had to order it. The tundra with the 5.7 (which is what I have) only had 1 transmission option. The 6 speed auto.

[endoman]

My choice for buying the Tacoma was good MPG in the city, (19mpg most of the time), very good reliability and good resale. Biggest negative is the not so good mpg on the highway, best case is 21 mpg. Also with the 4 liter V6, if you haul or pull anything heavy, the mpg drops big time.

[1TallTXn]

Originally Posted by DFW_Warrior

When I looked about a year ago you could still get a Dodge Ram in a manual if you ordered it. You won't find any on the showroom floor since most people value being able to text while driving, but they do still offer it. Or they did....

I didn't see the option, but it may be only on the work trucks or something. Could have overlooked it too.
If at all possible, i'm avoiding the variable-cylinder-count crud. Loads of complexity for essentially no gain.
So a dodge would get the 4.7, and a Toyota would get the 5.7.
Ford, thankfully hasn't gotten on the MDS band wagon.
Wife hates GM, so they're ruled out

Maybe I'll have to get a slush box truck and a the Toyobaru FR-S/BR-Z for the manual fix

[SL350]

There was a report in the Dallas news today about the 2014 Chevy and GM trucks. I wonder if they are on the right direction with the new engines.

They said it would have all aluminum high compression engines, 8-6-4 style where some cylinders quit firing, and 6 speed transmissions.

I know this is about CAFE and gas mileage but these are trucks. Is this the right direction? I would rather go smaller and have a cast 4 (22r) or I6 (ford) and have a reliable and effecient truck than a big one that can't last under duress.

And these new ones will take a Phd to work on them.

Is this progress?

[MaxxTraxx]

You should be able to still get a Dodge 1500 with the 4.7 and a 6spd manual shift. In 08, the 4.7L got a power bump and is just 20hp shy of the HEMI output with out having MDS, and 2 plugs per cylinder.

[YoDoc]

Originally Posted by SL350

There was a report in the Dallas news today about the 2014 Chevy and GM trucks. I wonder if they are on the right direction with the new engines.

They said it would have all aluminum high compression engines, 8-6-4 style where some cylinders quit firing, and 6 speed transmissions.

I know this is about CAFE and gas mileage but these are trucks. Is this the right direction? I would rather go smaller and have a cast 4 (22r) or I6 (ford) and have a reliable and effecient truck than a big one that can't last under duress.

And these new ones will take a Phd to work on them.

Is this progress?

Yes, it is. It's also just an old idea come back to life.

[ffejtable]

Few problems with my 01 Dakota Quad with 4.7L. Nothing I couldnt fix, with the help of google anyhow.

O2 sensors, resistor pack, battery.... Its at about 115k miles.

I was diligent about keeping track of MPG for the first 80k or so miles, and I consistently got 15MPG mixed use, and I like to excersize my right foot.

[dukey33]

Originally Posted by SL350

There was a report in the Dallas news today about the 2014 Chevy and GM trucks. I wonder if they are on the right direction with the new engines.

They said it would have all aluminum high compression engines, 8-6-4 style where some cylinders quit firing, and 6 speed transmissions.

I know this is about CAFE and gas mileage but these are trucks. Is this the right direction? I would rather go smaller and have a cast 4 (22r) or I6 (ford) and have a reliable and effecient truck than a big one that can't last under duress.

And these new ones will take a Phd to work on them.

Is this progress?

Most 1/2 ton pickups and a fair portion of heavy duty pickups spend almost their entire service life toting around just a driver to and from work. Occasionally a 2x4 is purchased from the big box home improvement center and then it doesn't fit in the abbreviated cargo box . Given this is the bread-and-butter of big truck sales, yes it makes sense to wimpify their trucks to meet CAFE standards and consumer demand for best gas mileage.

The percent sales to farmers and actual truck users is a much smaller percentage especially considering the heavy duty user will buy a truck and keep it 10-15 years whereas the urban cowboy will refresh his pickup every 3-4 years. Follow the money.

[SL350]

I wonder why these same wimpy pickups are still 5000 pounds. My 55 F100 was about 3300 pounds and it was a heckofa work truck.

Those tiny beds make little sense to me. Some can't even fit a midsize Honda in the back.

My ideal truck would be a new version of an 1980 F150 I6 that I put 300K miles on. Single cab and full size bed, 19-20 mpg IIRC. What is closest to that? It was not 5000 pounds like the new full size.

[poser]

Originally Posted by SL350

There was a report in the Dallas news today about the 2014 Chevy and GM trucks. I wonder if they are on the right direction with the new engines.

They said it would have all aluminum high compression engines, 8-6-4 style where some cylinders quit firing, and 6 speed transmissions.

I know this is about CAFE and gas mileage but these are trucks. Is this the right direction? I would rather go smaller and have a cast 4 (22r) or I6 (ford) and have a reliable and effecient truck than a big one that can't last under duress.

And these new ones will take a Phd to work on them.

Is this progress?

Have you seen the pics of the 2014 GM trucks? Uuuuuuuuuuggggggllllyyyyyyyy especially that dash

The tundra is supposed to be all new for 2014. I've very curious to see that one.

[Irishcoffee]

Originally Posted by ffejtable

Few problems with my 01 Dakota Quad with 4.7L. Nothing I couldnt fix, with the help of google anyhow.

O2 sensors, resistor pack, battery.... Its at about 115k miles.

I was diligent about keeping track of MPG for the first 80k or so miles, and I consistently got 15MPG mixed use, and I like to excersize my right foot.

I just turned 116,000 on my 01. What problem did you have that required an o2 sensor and the resistor pack? Second Dakota, first went 176,000 before a teenager killed it. Thanks.

[The Bruce]

Originally Posted by SL350

I wonder why these same wimpy pickups are still 5000 pounds. My 55 F100 was about 3300 pounds and it was a heckofa work truck.

Alot of vehicles are heavier now than their older counterparts. More safety features and more convenience stuff has taken up the weight savings of lighter metals and plactics. A Honda Civic weighs about half againg what they weighed back in the 80's.