16 Jan 08 Ford, Dodge Pickup Trucks Ride on Cowboy Daydreams
Chances are you don’t really need a pickup truck, never mind the fantasies of chasing stray cattle or dragging home a 500-pound generator from Home Depot.But if you’ve just got to own one, 2008 might be an excellent time. Two new full-size models, one from Ford Motor Co. and one from Chrysler LLC, will be hitting the market just as a softening economy increases the likelihood that deep discounts will remain available in the form of cash rebates or subsidized loans and leases.
Even now a 2008 Dodge Ram pickup comes with a $5,000 rebate; a 2008 Toyota Tundra carries a $2000 rebate; and a 2008 Nissan Titan includes a $5,000 cash rebate.
Ford on Sunday, with fanfare that featured a couple of controlled explosions complete with leaping flames, displayed prototypes of its F-Series pickups, due in dealerships by summer, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The new F-Series features a heavily restyled exterior meant to convey “toughness,” a favorite descriptor of automakers to denote that a truck is worthy. Just watch any Ford (or Chevrolet or Dodge or Toyota or Nissan) commercial about pickups plowing through a muddy construction site or winning a tug-of-war with a locomotive.
Step Up
Not to worry, the new F-Series remains muscle-bound, having changed more visually than functionally. One of its new optional gadgets is a step that slides out of the tailgate, especially helpful for us boomers who can’t hop onto a truck bed as crisply as we might have in high school.
Jim Farley, Ford’s marketing chief, said that about a quarter of pickup owners use the heavy, relatively inefficient vehicles for personal transportation, not for hauling. Thus, fewer motorists may be choosing a truck, at least during the next year or so, due to the rising price of fuel.
The current F-Series ranges in price from $17,500 to almost $40,000, depending on engine and other options.
Chrysler’s Dodge division, not to be outdone by Ford’s pyrotechnics, hired mounted cowboys to drive a herd of longhorn cattle through downtown Detroit to draw attention to its new Dodge Ram pickup. The new Ram will enter production later this year as a 2009 model.
Storage Space
The current Ram ranges in price from about $21,000 to about $40,000. The new model can be equipped with optional “Rambox” storage bins for golf clubs or whatnot along both sides of the pickup bed. The rear suspension has been revamped with coil springs replacing the traditional leaf springs found on pickups, affording what the company says is a smoother ride.
The new Ram’s restyled exterior looks similar to the current model, at least to this reviewer’s eye. That is to say it looks quite (choose from “sturdy,” “robust” or “durable”).
If you’re a rancher, farmer, plumber or the like, replacing a beat-up truck might make a lot of sense this year. Dealers should have a surfeit of inventory and may be willing to grant discounts on top of those offered by the manufacturer.
And for those who love trucks just because they’re cool, impracticality may have just gotten more affordable.
