mmarshall

Got my $50 pre-paid Mastercard from Ford today for the F-150 test-drive....a nice surprise in my mailbox while out for a walk. (Obviously, I don't just review or test-drive vehicles because of manufacturer-incentives, but it doesn't hurt). Each year, at the D.C. auto show, what the manufacturers spend there for incentives, gifts, promotions, etc.... amazes me, and they probably spend even more at Detroit and L.A. Ford/Lincoln, Kia, Mazda, Subaru, Toyota, and Scion seem to spend the most there each year doing the same things, but other manufacturers do too sometimes.

Anyhow, off to Starbucks to use the card for its first purchase....some nice ground French Roast. Love that mug of French Roast in the morning with creamer and honey in it (I brew it myself, and, for health reasons, don't use table-sugar or artificial sweeteners).

ArmyofOne

I just bought a '15 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 crew, which is a direct competitor to the Ford F150 Lariat line.

It's easy when you make money and need a truck. I also have a 1992 F150 I am fixing up a little, so I have 2 pickup trucks. The Ram is my DD and the F150 comes out when I gotta haul a load of something nasty, be it dirt, rock, gravel, whatever.

Sure the Ram will do it, but why? The F150 does it the same and I don't have to worry about beating it up because it was $500.

Bingo my friend.

mmarshall

For Raptor fans, gonna have to wait a while. Word from Ford is that the new F-150 Raptor won't be ready until the fall of next year, as a 2017 model.

https://social.ford.com/content/ford...hp-2017-raptor

Aron9000

Just as a side note, from what I've read the Chevy and GMC pickups weight within 100lbs of comparably equipped Ford models, and they are 100% steel.

So I know Ford is saving weight with the aluminum bodies, but IMO I have to give kudos to GM for keeping weight down and not having to completely reinvent the wheel like Ford has done with the new F150. I'm also betting GM is making a lot more $$$ per truck than Ford, all that R&D plus the cost of retooling your plants to stamp/weld aluminum isn't cheap. Maybe Ford had an inherent advantage making aluminum Jags before they sold that company, so they might have not had to start at square one.

Also I'm going to laugh when all the plumbers and yard boys get magnetic signs made up for their business to stick on their shiny new F150. I'm sure many a Bubba or Jose found out after spending $50-100 that aluminum is not magnetic.

mmarshall

That's the key word..........comparably. American full-size trucks trucks are available in so many different configurations and options/equipment that both curb and gross weight can vary enormously. And your point about people wasting money on magnetic body-signs for aluminum-bodied trucks is well-taken....but the average student, in school, learns about about magnets and iron/steel by the fourth grade. If they can't figure that out by the time they are old enough to drive, or to buy a truck, something's wrong.

FrankReynoldsCPA

To be fair, I don't really remember what metals were magnetic and which ones weren't.

LOWFAST

Not the same, but certainly can be just as much if not more fun. Moving a big hunk of steel (or aluminum) down the road with authority is always a good time. I have as much "fun" with my truck as with the ISF. Besides, can't take the ISF out onto the hunting lease, through the mud, ruts and other such things.

The one thing I do not care for with the Ecoboost is the lack of V8 sound, I always enjoy a well tuned and smooth sounding V8. The Ecoboost does have better low end grunt than the Ram's 5.7 but stock for stock the Ram feels like it pulls harder as the revs increase. The stock Ecoboost seems to lay down a bit in my opinion, although the new F150 may have rectified that.

mmarshall

in general, iron, steel, and alloys containing a significant percentage of them are magnetic.