Thanks Joe................

[racebeeper68]

It's been almost 2 weeks now since I sold my sweet old 96' 12 valver'. I'm missing that sound and smell and everything that goes along with a diesel rig.

Anyhow, It will be along month of January till my 4. 5 gets here hopefully the first week of Feb.

So Thanks for the article ... ..... Looks like we have a sweet truck to be proud of.



Happy New Year!

 

[MAX A/C]

Yea, Thanks Joe!! Great article!



All those who decided to wait should be VERY happy!



Awesome job, Cummins and Dodge (oops, DaimlerChrysler)!



Scott

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

You are very welcome, and thanks for the comments. I really enjoyed the event. For a while I thought "why bother to drive the others, I have a 2004 and would not want one of the others compared to Cummins and the new Ram. " Well, they talked me into trying all of them, and I'm glad I did. One member posted that my article looked like brand bashing. That was not my intent, but darn, the F and C were pretty crude compared to the Ram. Is it really unfair, politically incorrect brand bashing to tell the truth as I see it? I just couldn't say, "I'm OK, you're OK, all the trucks were so nice and we are having so much fun. "



OK, so I should tell you what I REALLY THINK???

If Ford and GM made quality trucks with real brakes and suspensions, and with engines even close to Cummins, I wouldn't have to say such unhappy things about them! Until that happens, which will probably be when h--- freezes over, You'll have to pry my Ram's steering wheel outta my cold dead fingers

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Originally posted by MAX A/C

Yea, Thanks Joe!! Great article!

What article?

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Disregard

. . . my last post. Someone is in need of glasses

 

[Prairie Dog]

Just don't ever go to work for Trailer Life magazine Joe, They never say anything bad about anything. What a bunch of pu$$y's!

 

[Doubleclutch]

Joe- I had to take a copy of your article to my local dealer. They are still quoting the CA 235 HP for the 2004 trucks. Pays to be a TDR member. Thanks, Joe.

 

[Sarge]

Your article may have just made a tough decision for me Joe... ... ... . time will tell... ... . I just put the 01' in the classifieds. . (gulp) Sarge

 

[MLee]

Joe's evaluation

To bad this article can not be read by visitors to the site, (i logged out and could not read it. ) I have a friend who is trying to decide on a new truck to buy, and can not read this article as he needs to do the whole Enchilada, Truck, hitch, every thing. right now he is driving the "C" brand as a demo. Took 15 minutes last night and stood on my podium and tried to Convince them in the direction of the NEW DODGE, but they have issues with it, like the passenger side foot area is to small, the trans hump- to tall.

What do you 3rd generation owners think of this complaint.



Marv.

 

[Prairie Dog]

My wife said she noticed the smaller foot well but it wasn't even important enough for her to mention it. No big deal here.

 

[Sarge]

Joe being honest.......

Joe, don't ever let anyone talk you into not giving an honest review. There are other diesel sites around that if you don't like a brand or a product and state their short comings, prohibit the review from being printed. In my view that is just an entire site dedicated to advertising. That is what makes this site so great. We can read your impression of the tests, and make up our own minds. This is the only TRUE diesel owners site!!

 

[Casey Balvert]

With all due respect to Joe, the article didn't come across as very objective. It sounded lke an ad for the Dodge. I am not saying that Joe as not objective, only that the article didn't come across that way. But then I have not driven a 4. 5. I have driven both the Ford and the Chevy and they do have their good points. We have a fleet of 40 Ford Powerstrokes (mainly because Dodge does not build what we need) and the drivers like them. As to durability, they have stood the test of time and the beating our paramedics give them. FWIW I think the article could have at least sounded more objective than it did. IMHO. Casey

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I kinda agree with Casey, but then maybe Joe was perfectly objective but the competition was "hand picked" in the same way Ford seemed to do when they invited the press to pitch the new 6-liter PowerStroke against the Ram. If you're going to make an impression you'd like to make sure the competition doesn't have a healthy truck to compare against yours.



Vaughn

 

[Sarge]

See... ..... opposed opinions right there! Thats why this site works... ... .

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

What makes an article seem objective?



If you cannot find any significant technical areas where F or C trucks are superior, should you lie or say it like you found it?



Should you search around for something nice to say?

Brand X had the nicest cut pile carpeting.

Brand Y had the brightest dash lights.

Brand Z had a chrome exhaust tip.



I strongly doubt there was any monkeying around. The other media folks are pretty jaded and would have noticed if one of the trucks was phony. I had driven C and owned a 2004 Ram so I could tell they were authentic. Now, if the Ram had dragged the trialer up the mountain at 70 mph, I'd have been suspicious Only TDR member trucks do that

 

[BPINE]

I will tell you one thing that the C and F brands have over the big D is a real nice big Cab for there real 4 doors !!!!!!

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

True Joe, if it's hard to say something positive then we can't expect ya to lie



Vaughn

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Hey, Blair, yer one to talk about big cabs

with yer 96 club cab

The F and C were extended cabs to be closer to the Ram in overall length. However, remember Robert Patton did an informal check of rear seat leg room and found the C only 2-3 inches more. Sure the F is big, so big you can't turn it around in one county. . . unless you sacrifice bed space with a short bed.

My 04 has a lot more rear seat space than my 97, and it is even accessible, with real doors.





Gee, Blair, even I got a 2004; the dealer promised me it had 12 valves and the wiring harnesses were just for display purposes

Now it's your turn. Dodge even makes them in red, just for you.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Joe, a friend of mine has a new DMax crew cab which I've ridden in the back of and I find it to not be much roomier than my truck's back seat.



Vaughn

 

[Bill Stockard]

Joe,

Yes, you are right about the Ford crew cabs... we call then "acre trucks". It takes a full acre to turn them around!! The Dodge is much more maneuverable and I love the rack and pinion steering on the 4x2s.



Also the Ford crew cab seems narrower side to side in the front seat area than the Dodge QC. However, the Ford Lariat package like Dodge Laramie package makes a very nice interior.



If the Ford had the Cummins, it would still be a difficult choice... but GM it out of the selection as far as I'm concerned. They have had their chance with me and their diesels... owned two of 'em. "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice , shame on me!"



Bill