I got the new 5.7L DOHC VVT Tundra

[85_305]

Gasser dodges suck. end of story. You buy a dodge, you buy a cummins. Ford f150s are great trucks, but if you are looking for towing you dont buy a 150. You get a 250. Or even a 350 (though thats usually overboard lol). Chevy's are phenominal offroad. Heck. My STOCK s10 w/ only super swampers would go thru mud up to the door boards. With ease. Full sized chevies are even better.
I've never known toyota to be an "offroading truck" lol.
And yes. Monte Carlo Z34's are MOST badass

[ForcedFirebird]

Ford f150s are great trucks, but if you are looking for towing you dont buy a 150.

It's funny you say that because when I bought the Firebird, I towed it 270 miles on a rented U-Haul trailer. Aside from the fact that I burned twice as much fuel as usual, the F150 (a 1998 with 180k miles mind you) seemed to pull fine at 80mph even though U-Haul warned me that the trailer/car combination outweighed my truck. It also pulls the 25', twin 150hp, 25' boat without a problem that weighs over 5k (I got the towing package that includes limited slip and Reese hitch).

[85_305]

Oh it can be done. When I decided to rebuild my '85 Z28, I full-car-trailered it to the garage, 30 miles away from home, with my 187k mile 5.8 auto '94 Bronco. That thing towed it easy as heck. Letting off the brake even a little bit resulted in the vehicle lurching forward. Plenty of power. But if you are gonna be towing nonstop, and towing larger applications, I would opt for a 250
Which motor are you reffering to, the 4.6??

[ForcedFirebird]

Oh it can be done. When I decided to rebuild my '85 Z28, I full-car-trailered it to the garage, 30 miles away from home, with my 187k mile 5.8 auto '94 Bronco. That thing towed it easy as heck. Letting off the brake even a little bit resulted in the vehicle lurching forward. Plenty of power. But if you are gonna be towing nonstop, and towing larger applications, I would opt for a 250
Which motor are you reffering to, the 4.6??

You are absolutely correct on the constant towing, no reason to beat a truck that is too light for it's duty. Yes it's a 4.6, although in my Navigator (for sale) is a 5.3 32v, and my Excursion has the 6.8 gasoline V10. One of the main reasons Ford modulars have been so long lasting is Ford finally adopted the foreign markets idea of having a timing chain tensioner (Triton motors).

[85_305]

Wow.. I'm kinda surprised your 4.6 towed that well for such a distance.. nice! But 32v 5.3's rock. And so do navigators.

[ForcedFirebird]

Wow.. I'm kinda surprised your 4.6 towed that well for such a distance.. nice! But 32v 5.3's rock. And so do navigators.

Oops, that's a typo - it's a 5.4 in the Navigator. The fluids in my vehicles are changed regularly, as well as tire balance, alignment etc. They seem to last longer when that's done, lol. We also have a BMW that I bought for my wife for our anneversary, couldn't afford a new one but it's an 86 325es with 75k miles and was in immaculate condition till she bumped a pole in a parking garage ;(. I enjoy "wheeling and dealing" older low mileage cars.

[85_305]

I enjoy "wheeling and dealing" older low mileage cars.

Me too man! Except it's older American cars (90's GP's, SSEI's, Rangers/s10's I pimp out, Buicks etc. Cutty Supremes all those good cars). Though, I have seen what America can do w/ high-mileage cars so mileage is NOT a problem for me. Heck. I like having high-mileage DD's

[85_305]

Oops, that's a typo - it's a 5.4 in the Navigator.

Oh shit I just caught that too, ya my Mom has a 5.4 in her Expedition. 5.3's are Chevy lol. Damn I didn't even notice that!

[ForcedFirebird]

Oh shit I just caught that too, ya my Mom has a 5.4 in her Expedition. 5.3's are Chevy lol. Damn I didn't even notice that!

If you read my earlier post, I did it also, lol

[85_305]

Lol oh well. At least you and I were on the same level lol

[lkurek]

Guys.....we need to SERIOUSLY understand macro economics to get a better idea of how ALL car companies work. We now live in a GLOBAL economy, regardless of what the UAW and their cronies at the AFL-CIO say. In the old days (like the 60's and prior) there were so many inefficiencies in production, transportation, raw materials, energy production, etc that it just cost too much to outsource. Nowadays, with the internet and relatively cheap mass transportation (cargo containers, etc), the cost differences between say a Detroit flunkie working the line at $45/hr plus benefits and a Mexican working all DAY for $45 with no benefits.....makes it more competitive to outsource. Now, say, you want to make it all American and keep it American. I'd LOVE to....but now say you have Joe (or is that Jose) businessman who looks at the market and says.....hmmmm.....it costs, say, $10K to build a car in the US, of which $8K is labor. If I can open a plant in my country, and put only $2K in labor in the car.....well, I can sell for less and MAKE more to boot! Ai Caramba! That's a plan!! Well, now he does this.....and next thing you know, the US carmakers are getting their asses handed to them. They can't make money to satisfy their stockholders, so to reduce costs....yup, outsource time. It happens time and time and time again.....until you get to the place where the efficiency of the workforce times it's rate equals the next lowest market plus transaction costs. I'm going to ignore the currency markets for now....but, as you can see.....it's a race to the bottom. This is why China is growing so much, and almost ALL manufacturers are building plants there. They GIVE AWAY their labor for cents on the dollar..... So, if anyone builds a plant their, then everyone has to. Goes the same for steel, energy, transportation, etc. The US market is just WAAYYYY overburdened with legacy costs and regulation. In the old days, we could regulate and tax stuff as a cost, and still be competitive. It isn't happening like that anymore. Look at Michigan.....what a wasteland! All Democrat, and they are running themselves further and further into the ground. I live in Illinois, and it is the same damn thing here. Over taxed, over regulated, and frankly, overpriced factory labor.

All of that being said, I still will put the brains of an American designer/Engineer up against any in the world. We design some of the BEST products bar none, but even that is getting challenged (see brain drain).

I love GM products and will probably always buy them, just because I always have (GM marketing take note....), up and until they start building crap or low powered econoboxes exclusively.

Sigh..... Enough of that rant

[85_305]

Damn. That was a HELL of a post man. Thanks for simplifying that for us idiots

[lkurek]

Yeah, my apologies if this came across as condescending at all...wasn't meant to be. I'm actually somewhat conflicted myself as to what is the "best" vehicle brand....whether it is domestic or foreign. Dunno...... I'm as true blooded American as the next guy (except for those blue state voters....) and would rather see my money go back into the US. It's just that between the government, unions, and incompetent management that has no balls....I'm tired of making China wealthy and at the same time laying off US workers.

Really, there is no way to say a brand is US or foreign.....so why buy a car/truck that way?

Sigh.....

[85_305]

Eh I dunno. But I will stick with my tried and proven Domestics

[Rhedalert]

I have a problem with the global economy phrase until we're all using the same currency. I've heard professionals say it time and time again, it's only a matter of time before the U.S. "service economy" takes a dive. The only thing we have to offer countries like China is buying power. Reduce that down and we're worthless to them. I can't get over the current trade deficit we have with them and can't understand how this hasn't really been addressed.

Sorry to stray off topic.