Sam M's new Truck Stinks!

[nickleinonen]

i caught the end of that program yesterday. it kinda bad mouthed the transmission in the cummins powered dodge, but it isn't as bad as you think. you all here whine about the stock auto trannys from time to time, and maybe that show will get other people who do not know of the tdr to go to the bd site. there they can find the bd forums, where they can learn about their vehicles, and probably learn of the tdr. no harm done. i bad mouth the motor in my tahoe all the time. the light duty version of the 6. 5TD is pretty crumby. now, if it was the 6. 5HO in it, i would be happy[er].



if nothing else, did anyone catch the BD commeciral that aired during the show. . notice the clip od the cummins ram doing the burnout [piers i think] from the bd dyno days like 2 years a go. . no chevy in that ad.

 

[jwilliams3]

I hope he doesnt write anymore articles for the TDR magazine.

This would be a disservice to the TDR.

 

[lschultz]

File 13

I don't watch his show cause we don't have cable. And from what I read hear I ain't missing nothing. I read one of his colums in one of the mags when he first starting writeing but I don't read any more. Nothing he says interests me. Cause of his colums I don't read the mag from cover to cover anymore. Looks like he goes where the money is. I have no use for him. They could find something better to put in the mag.

 

[JKing]

I watched the show and didn't see the bashing you guys are talking about. Sam stated the stock auto transmission in the Dodge is the weak link when you turn up the power.

Does anyone here disagree? He then went on with the BD commercial for their TC and transmission.



Jeff

 

[TURBOs4LIFE]

Plain and simple he is a trader!



Out of the many many many people who are members and visit this web site there has to be someone who knows him personally! If there is... . tell him he is a trader and we dont want to read any more of his crap! Which I thought was a good article until I seen this thread!

 

[MJawsman]

He's a "trader" (and a traitor) all right. He "traded" his real truck for a Chebby! :-laf :-laf :-laf

 

[Chris N5CWM]

Originally posted by jdecampo

Chris, How is the drivetrain on the GM wimpy compared to the Dodge?

Simple, my dear Watson. Compare them

side byside yourself!

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

This thread amazes me. You'd think we were a bunch of ravenous dogs. I personally haven't seen the show and won't be able to because I can't get the speed channel where I live. From what it sounds like here though Sam pointed out that the weakness in the Dodge drivetrain is the stock automatic. Is that not something that has been said 10,000 times here on the TDR? ANY time someone talks about upping the power on their automatic trucks they are recommended to beef their transmission up first. If you do a side by side comparison of the Allison and the 47re it's obvious which is a beefier transmission - the Allison is at least 50% larger if not twice the size. Keep in mind that Sam Memmolo is an industry person and he makes his living dealing with cars and trucks. I don't know him personally (would love to though) but I'm sure that it benefits him to own a cross section of vehicles over the years so that he gets exposure to them all because that's what he does! The Duramax GM's outsold the Dodge Cummins last year, so that means there's a good chance that there will be a larger market there for both maintenance items and aftermarket stuff. He spent the last 4 years or so living with a Dodge and now it's time for him to check out another camp. I for one wish him luck with his new truck and in no way do I consider him a traitor just because he's driving a different pickup than I am. BTW, he still owns a Cummins powered vehicle - his RV which I believe has an 8. 3 in it. I have lots of friends that own Powerstrokes and although I don't have any right now that own a Duramax I'm sure I will. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[JHansen]

My turn on the pulpit!

At the risk of sounding like I'm defending Mr. Memmolo (which I ain't ) he has the right to write and say whatever he wants to-and we have the right to ignore it! I haven't watched for a long time-and I don't read his propaganda column in the mag anymore. IMO-seeing as he doesn't own a Dodge anymore he has no relevance to the TDR anymore-so I say buh-bye to Sam's column space-use it for something more relevant like a listing of topless mudwrestling places in the continental US... .



Who's up next?!



Jason

 

[FL70CAT]

If SAM wants to KNOCK the piece of crap auto dodge is using I'm going to have to agree with him.

I think it was a poor decision to get the duramax when he was riding so high on the DC horse.

Maybe he got the duramax because chevy gave it to him (probably) for promotional purposes and he couldn't get DC or some transmission shop to fix him up with a freebie high performance trans. ?

 

[WOWZY]

It would be only fair if we could get our own weekly tv show to compete with the Ford Superduty biased "TRUCKS" show on TNN and the now Dmax biased "Two Gays Garage"



We could call our show:



TDR TV

 

[Chris N5CWM]

Wowzy you crack me up!

Originally posted by WOWZY

It would be only fair if we could get our own weekly tv show to compete with the Ford Superduty biased "TRUCKS" show on TNN and the now Dmax biased "Two Gays Garage"

I like that, TDR TV! There is enough combined brainpower,

clout and cash here on the TDR website to pull that off!



Somebody RUN with the idea! Make it so! Oo.

 

[JoeyD]

Would it be safe to say the only reason Sam had a Dodge is it was given to him?

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Sam wrote in the TDR once that he Loved the truck. How many guys do you know that love their truck, sell it and buy brand X?



If Sam felt he had some problems with the Dodge he's in for a surprise with the New General Mistake.

 

[Des]

Now that I have calmed down since last night, maybe I can express my feelings a little clearer. I used to think that I could watch Shade Tree Mechanic or Crank and Chrome and get an honest opinion on which upgrades were worth the money and also pick up a few how-to tricks along the way. But last night proved me wrong. It was just plain obvious that Sam and Dave are putting the products of the high bidder on the air. Everything was from B & D. And Sam filled the air waves with bull when he was talking up how much extra extra area was included on the lockup cluch of the B & D torque converter. Never once did he put 2 and 2 togther and discuss the simple principle of the lever and arm. All that extra material on the face of the clutch doesn't do much because it is so close to the center. He didn't explain, as Bill Swails did in TDR # 36 the whole principle behind the lock up clutch. All I heard was marketing BS right off of the B&D web site.



As for the new truck, I can deal with that, but he sure talked up the new cheby as the best thing since sliced bread. And that was after all the episodes about how great the Dodge is (was). I suppose now it is a real piece of junk in his book.



The bottom line is, Sam has no loyalty to the Cummins powered Dodge, and shows his loyalty to the vendor with the most money on the air. So how can we expect him to put his "honest" opinion in the TDR?? How slanted will it be??





Gotta go, got hot date with the better half.



Des

 

[BK]

how about the comment that they made on the show that there are adapters for the Allison so it can be bolted on to the Cummins... ???



It's been mentioned before - The aftermarket companies have addressed the need for beefing up the stock dodge transmission...

now a kit to bolt up the Allison... since everyone thinks they'll be soo many dead d-duds on the road and in the junk yards... there should be some good trannies to snatch up.

 

[Pit Bull]

Simple truth, you can't believe a word he says. Sam is a hired gun. He makes his living blowing smoke up the consumers, you know what. I think we new this all along it just felt good when he was driving a Dodge CTD. What I don't get is why he gets the main page of the TDR web site to sell his over priced truck?

 

[FL70CAT]

Maybe they developed the ALLISON -to- CUMMNS adapters for the event that the Duramax dies.

Then a real powerplant can take it's place under the hood!

Right?

 

[98rammer]

can anyone have any respect? i do understand the bidding part and that i don't like. if someone is true to their opinions, then they should be true to them (even if say he loved the powerstroke over his cummins, whatever). just because he owns a chevy doesn't mean that you have to lose respect for him. have you lost respect for your friends when they bought "the other" brand truck with a diesel? didn't think so. i don't get the speed channel either, but i would like to see what he has said. whatever. to be honest, i moan about my auto transmission all the time. it's the worse piece of junk that dodge has put in their trucks ... and i can't afford to modify it. maybe sam's next write up in the tdr will allow him to explain his actions... as for him going to chevy? i don't mind at all. as for him being used for the highest bidder? that's a matter of your own principles (some want the money, etc. ). to each his/her own.

 

[RJ2]

I kinda figured most bought these trucks for the cummins motors. I also noticed that we bash the dodge truck , and dealer

continuously in an effort to make our trucks better. It is a well known fact the motor is way overkill for the transmission. transmission work and gauges are always the first things recommended. Anyone that is in Sams field and has a 97 till 03 showed plenty of dedication to midnite. The DM's probaly have the big boys at dodge going into 7'th right now. Along with the quieter motor ,I wouldn't be suprised if they came out with a stronger (from the factory) transmission.