Posted on 01/13/2014 8:06:08 AM PST by taildragger
At the 2015 Ford F-150 reveal Bill Ford trotted out what he hopes to be a "tougher and smarter" look for their iconic pickup. With tidy proportions, an imposing face and a glorious panoramic sunroof, that look is good.
(Excerpt) Read more at truckyeah.jalopnik.com ...
We have an 00 GMC Sierra (FS, extended cab, 6.5’ bed) and I just got an 87 Ranger supercab I bought back onto the road.
The GMC is my last GM car. I just put a heater core in it last weekend. It literally took the whole weekend. Had to remove all the control panels, all the pretty dash parts, then all of the plastic structure behind that, then the metal structure behind that along with parts of the wiring harness, then pull the HVAC unit off the firewall (after removing the refrigerant) so I could remove two screws and pop out the heater core. Ginormous PITA. Not even mentioning the stupid quick-connect-impossible-to-disconnect fittings GM decided to use on the heater core hoses.
I managed to fix the HVAC controls myself with some creative soldering - the bulbs are soldered onto the circuit board, so when they go out, you’re basically screwed and etchings on the board are extremely fragile. Another PITA.
And R134 at the parts store is now $13/can - it takes 5 cans to refill the system (I need to build a recovery setup, but that’s another story...).
I’ve had the ABS module die because of corroded solder connections (managed to fix it myself), the HVAC actuator has to be replaced every two or three years, the mirror controls die almost as often. The hinges wore out years ago and since they’re welded on, you basically have to rebush them, and there’s no plug for the door wiring so you have to strip the wiring out of the door to remove it to rebush. It’s now suddenly rusting like crazy from the inside out. I actually put a hole in the bed with a marine cover after I replaced the second fuel pump. That’s not even to mention the multiple intermediate steering shafts I’ve put in as GM as used its customer base for testing revisions, or the same with the noisy driveshaft yokes at $100 a pop. They’ve been making pickup trucks for what, a century? Didn’t they learn anything in 100 years?
I was raised on GM, but I’ll never buy another if this is their definition of engineering. The bankruptcy debacle just sealed that deal for me.
So far my old Ford has been pretty impressive. Very easy to work on, very reliable, parts are cheap. I’m not comparing the same generations of Ford and GM, but any vehicle I purchase in the future will be Ford or foreign. I’ve had late 80s/early 90s GM stuff and it was as bad as the 00 I have now. I guess I’m not a fast learner.
I have a whole separate tirade on Chrysler as I own an 02 Sebring ragtop with the 2.7 that is now DOA (cause as yet undetermined, but the timing chain slipped) after it’s third engine rebuild since I’ve owned it.
If I wasn’t able to wrench on my own vehicles, I don’t know how I’d keep any one of these marvels on the road without a second mortgage for maintenance.
I like the looks of the Colorado and Canyon, maybe the Canyon more so, and I mean the recently released pics of the 2015 models.
Ford seems to always want to put bigger emblems, bigger letters, big bold he man macho “SUPER ME” logos.
If I had a new Ford off they would all go in the first 24hours, even if it requires 5 pounds of bondo, I just like a clean shaved look on a vehicle, no brand advertising.
I do wonder about the future of the half-ton truck. If CAFE regulations cause it to become impractical to build/sell, will people just be forced to buy 3/4-1 ton trucks? If so, will that result in a lower-end 3/4 ton line being introduced?
The UAW guys are probably fine Americans, but their leadership is an money laundering organization to the Democrat Communist Party USA
The F-150 will still exist in 2105? So the Democrats will no longer be in charge?
I will trade this, GM has historically regarded as better than Chevy but not to me, I bought a brand spankin new 2005 Aztek, just had to replace the head gaskets at 80,000 miles, long before that it has lost almost every wheel bearing, its noisy going down the road and the electrical is substandard, but i have managed to have most of it repaired, just two weeks ago I did all the gaskets myself, it still has a Disable AWD symptom that is caused by a corroded connection at the rear axle, but for now its just parked, went and bought the 2012 Equinox, far better SUV all around if a bit smaller.
My wife recently bought a 2014 Ford Escape and I am very impressed. The eco-boost 4 cylinder engine was a surprise..like driving a muscle car again. Lots of electronics...some maybe not so useful like wi-fi Internet access which doesn’t really work, but the voice controls are very useful, though they take a while to completely figure out. I gave up on US cars years ago after driving Chevys for decades and being very frustrated with their poor quality and many problems. I bought my first foreign car, a Mazda, and have continued to be impressed with the lack of problems and reliability. However, I would definitely consider a Ford for my next vehicle.
My 2002 has the 8.1 Vortec, an engine far better than the historical big block 454, its original design was to be a marine engine, its very strong, terrible gas mileage though, and you cannot get it anymore in anything but a 2 ton chassis, RV or in a boat now cause the Feds thought it was too much of an engine for the peasants.
My wifes 2012 Equinox is like my new Galaxy S4 smartphone, I can barely understand all the bells and whistles.
But I like the explosion of new tech, touch screens, radar warnings, smart mirrors that angle down in reverse, auto tint mirrors and anything else.
its really a matter of who can successfully integrate these devices, frankly I think GM is ahead of the game in that context.
I will never buy another UAW made vehicle. They can steal my tax money through their politicians, but I’ll never willingly give them a penny.
With all those damnable stinking diesel powered trucks you need a couple of in cabin filters.
I’ve been in the construction business for a long time now. I’ve owned a lot of trucks (Dodge included). And I’ve used and abused them on and off road in lots of ways. My current F-150 4x4 has 200K on it and I plan to get another 100K on it. Go try and buy a used F-150. They are rare in any condition except farm use. People who really need and use trucks tend to know best.
For what it is worth, Ford builds the best work truck. I expect Toyota to catch up in a few years. They have the durability in the places that count. But even Ford hasn’t had it’s engineering failures in their trucks (90’s brakes, early 2000s spark plugs, etc.). When you get into the fancy frills and crap (Lariat, Platinum, etc.) Ford quality starts to fall off (in my opinion). As the electronics get more complicated more crap goes bad over time. If you want fancy and are going to take it on trips and get groceries for 75K miles, buy a Chevy or Dodge or Toyota. If you want the best value for a truck that you plan to own a very long time, get an XLT F-150 and do the maintenance.
All vehicles suck. Trying to spend as little over time as you can is the best you can hope for. That’s my $.02.
You need to catch up. I poo-pooed Ford's Ecoboost when it first came out too (several years ago now). First, I hated the name. I don't know what these versions are putting out now, but they were doing 285 HP and 300ft/lbs of torque (or something like that. They tow and get good gas mileage too. I drove one and was surprised.
I'd consider one in my next truck. But I haven't used up my 2003 with 200K miles on it yet. I still have about 4 years left on this one. ;o)
Manual Trans available?
Chrysler’s 3.6 V6 puts out 305 HP. I’ll bet the Hemi gets better MPG too, once on the highway it shuts four cylinders off and gets great gas mileage.
www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/engine/
I was wrong. Ford’s 3.5 Ecoboost puts out 365 HP @ 420 ft/lbs. 22 Hwy 16 city Gas Mileage?
My first work truck 1979 Inline 6 300. Manual shift. I loved that truck. I could actually work on the engine.
By then they will have finalized the People's Revolution and will have established a dictatorship of the proletariat.
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