C&D's 5Best Trucks

[MX793]

This is offensive:

Yuck, that is attrocious!

[The Pirate]

It'd look a heck of a lot better with a body colored grill and bumper, which I would assume comes on higher level trims.  That (other than the wheels) looks like the basic W/T trim level.

[SVT666]

The new Silverado base interior isn't much to look at, but the quality is definitely there. Much nicer than the Ram, at least in my opinion.

I disagree.  The upscale interior is extremely nice and comes close to the F-150 and is much nicer then the Dodge, but the base model interior still looks and feels cheap.  The Ram's interior is much nicer then that.

The outside of the regular cab Silverados is awful though.

[SVT666]

As good as or better than any other full-size truck. I'm more inclined to take their word for it, mostly because they never have a problem letting us know when an automaker has bungled the interior of a new vehicle.

You can believe whoever you want, but I know what I saw and what I felt.  The upscale interior is sweet, but the base model interior is still cheap.  It's definitely better then the previous model, but as far as I'm concerned it doesn't match the Ram's at all.

[VetteZ06]

It's definitely better then the previous model, but as far as I'm concerned it doesn't match the Ram's at all.

And we're at an impasse.

To quote despair.com, "Let's agree to respect each other's views, no matter how wrong yours might be."

[GoCougs]

Yuck, that is attrocious!

IMO, Chevy just has far too much real estate between headlights. Should've stuck with side-by-side configuration.

[SVT666]

I finally saw a GMC Sierra in the metal today.  Now that looks good. 

[J86]

I finally saw a GMC Sierra in the metal today.? Now that looks good.?

It really does.

[SVT666]

It really does.

The Silverado is definitely the ugliest of the full size pickups right now.  In terms of exterior design, this is how I rank them:
1. Dodge Ram (although the 2006+ trucks are not as nice as the 2002-2005 trucks)
2. Ford F-150
3. GMC Sierra
4. Toyota Tundra
5. Nissan Titan
6. Chevrolet Silverado

[The Pirate]

The 2002-2005 Dodge (and to an extent the 1994-2001 Rams as well) were the best looking pickup trucks, followed closely by the GMT800 Sierra, IMO.  I do like the Titan too.

[J86]

The Silverado is definitely the ugliest of the full size pickups right now.? In terms of exterior design, this is how I rank them:
1. Dodge Ram (although the 2006+ trucks are not as nice as the 2002-2005 trucks)
2. Ford F-150
3. GMC Sierra
4. Toyota Tundra
5. Nissan Titan
6. Chevrolet Silverado

Sticking with exterior design, I can find stuff I like about all of your top three.  I'd have the GMC and Dodge tussling at the top, with the Ford slightly behind.

One thing I can't stand about new pickups (I notice it esp. with the Ford): What is up with the huge sidewalls on the boxes.  I can't reach anything that's in there from the side!

[ifcar]

My exterior appearance rankings (because I'm sure you're all fascinated):

1. F-150
2. Sierra
3. Titan
4. Silverado (in crew cab)
5. Ram (pre-06: #3)
6. Tundra

[SVT666]

Sticking with exterior design, I can find stuff I like about all of your top three.? I'd have the GMC and Dodge tussling at the top, with the Ford slightly behind.

One thing I can't stand about new pickups (I notice it esp. with the Ford): What is up with the huge sidewalls on the boxes.? I can't reach anything that's in there from the side!

It looks a little odd too doesn't it?  Especially on the 5.5' box.

[SVT666]

My exterior appearance rankings (because I'm sure you're all fascinated):

1. F-150
2. Sierra
3. Titan
4. Silverado (in crew cab)
5. Ram (pre-06: #3)
6. Tundra

I'm interested in your rankings.  I gave mine because I was hoping to see what others thought.  To me the Titan just looks out of proportion.  Nothing looks like it's the right size to me.



The hood looks too short, the cab looks too huge, and the box looks too short and too shallow.  It looks like a giant cab with a tiny hood and box attached.

[J86]

Yeah, the Titan is screwy.

I kinda liked the way to Frontier looked...is it any good?

[The Pirate]

It looks a bit better with the longer bed, IMO.  It looks good with a cap too, as I would definitely put one on a truck if I had one.

[ifcar]

I'm interested in your rankings.  I gave mine because I was hoping to see what others thought.  To me the Titan just looks out of proportion.  Nothing looks like it's the right size to me.



The hood looks too short, the cab looks too huge, and the box looks too short and too shallow.  It looks like a giant cab with a tiny hood and box attached.

I don't have a problem with the proportions. I can't say I especially like the way it looks, especially from the rear with that giant slab of black plastic, but I like the others less. The Tundra is bloated with slits for headlights, the new Ram front end ruins the muscular look of its predecessor and now just looks like it wants to pop, and the Silverado proportions are screwier.

[SVT666]

...the new Ram front end ruins the muscular look of its predecessor and now just looks like it wants to pop...

That is a very good description.  As soon as I saw the 2006 Ram, just 3 months after I bought my 2005, I decided that I would be buying mine out when the lease expired.  The front end is nowhere near as nice as the 2005, but the part I like the least is the new dash design.  That ruined it entirely for me.

[TBR]

The new dash is awful. Meanwhile, I'll be pushing my dad towards either a GMT800 HD GMC, a Ram 2500, or, if he wants to go back to a half ton, a F-150. This is in 4-5 months probably.

[Raghavan]

IMHO, the F-150 is the best looking truck out there right now, followed by the Ram and then the Tundra or Titan.

[Raza]

I like the Mitsu Raider, lookswise.

[Raghavan]

I like the Mitsu Raider, lookswise.

Yeah, much better looking than the Dodge Dakota for sure.

[J86]

I love the way the last generation Durango and Dakota look.

[Raghavan]

The last gen ones looked nice, but the current gen ones looks like crap.

[ifcar]

The Durango facelift was a good improvement.

[J86]

The Durango facelift was a good improvement.

I don't know about mechanically, but visually I think they took a step backwards in the styling.  The old one looked dated, I know that, but I still kinda liked it.  I think they made the new one look too cartoonish.

[TBR]

He's talking about the facelift.

I don't think anyone liked the redesign.

[FordSVT]

Yeah, the Titan is screwy.

I kinda liked the way to Frontier looked...is it any good?

It is since the Pathfinder 4L V6 is available. The old choice of engines were gas pigs and not that powerful for the pricetag. The new frame and body are also world's stiffer. It's basically an XTerra with a bed.

I think the F-150 is still the best looking and is a great overall package. The Toyota's mechanicals seem up to the task, but the interior and exterior styling hasn't grown on me yet, it' kind of bloated. The Titan is one of the hotrods of the bunch but it looks like it was a prop on the set of Battlestar Galactica, and it really only comes in one flavour. The Dodge has that wonderful Hemi and looks the part, but I know too many people who've had too many problems with OTHER parts of their trucks to really want to own one. The Chevy is a great all-around vehicle with a classic, conservative look and an excellent reliability record, and while it might only be the best in a couple of areas, it's always in the top three, so it's hard to find fault with the decision to buy one.

Really, there are a bunch of really good trucks to choose from these days that will suit any priority. None of them are heads above any others. Even the little Ranger has it's strengths: reliability, price, decent powertrain and looks, and it's really the only pickup truckleft one could concider small in it's largest iteration. And did I mention price? 
-FordSVT-

[SVT666]

The Dodge has that wonderful Hemi and looks the part, but I know too many people who've had too many problems with OTHER parts of their trucks to really want to own one.

Really?  Like what?  I know a lot of people who own Rams (including myself) and we have all had the same two problems, but I don't know of anything else.  Almost all of us have had to have the driver's door seals replaced and a tube (don't ask me what its for) on the A/C compressor replaced under warranty.  Otherwise our trucks have been rock solid.

[FordSVT]

Really?? Like what?? I know a lot of people who own Rams (including myself) and we have all had the same two problems, but I don't know of anything else.? Almost all of us have had to have the driver's door seals replaced and a tube (don't ask me what its for) on the A/C compressor replaced under warranty.? Otherwise our trucks have been rock solid.

Rattles, trim problems, and suspension problems mostly. I know two people who had major front suspension problems , one had a strut mount crack into pieces after a single winter's worth of corrosion - he owns an F-250 now. These are mostly the last generation Dodges, but these tales, combined with the mediocre and below average reliability rankings of most Chrysler and Jeep products till this very day, lead me away from wanting to own any Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge product in the near future. I really don't think they've made the quality strides Ford and GM have in the last five years. I'm not saying they're bad trucks, I'm just saying I wouldn't buy one over a Ford, GM, or even Toyota truck. Might concider one over a Nissan though, I'm not as gung-ho about that company as I used to be.
-FordSVT-