New Truck

[pacific nw guy]

Not sure how many of you own a truck but I do know that most of the vehicles at the gun show are not toyota prius's!

With that in mind I wanted to give anyone looking a great review of the new Dodge Ram 1500. IF you can find on 09 there are crazy deals/rebates available and they still carry the lifetime power-train warranty.

I have been driving a Prius for 2 years. My wife works in the automotive industry and has always received some type of company vehicle. SHe was working for Daimler and we had an SUV, I also had an SUV, gas was 5 bucks a gallon, i traded it for a Prius.....now she works for another auto manufacturer and we have not had a 4 wheel drive suv in over a year. tough for us since we ski and drive through the mountains a lot. Truthfully the Prius is not as bad as you may think, it is 100% of what you need to get from a-b, nothing more....and buying 30 dollars worth of gas a month is kind of cool. I will admit it is VERY VERY VERY boring....

This little story brings me to the Dodge. We needed a truck to get to the mountain and for the purpose of pulling a travel trailer.

I have never been a truck guy but I am really impressed by the Ram. The ride, fit, and finish are unbelievable. I feel qualified to make that statement because through my wife's employment we have had 4 new Daimler vehicles and about 15 Hyundais over the past 6 years. I can honestly say this car's interior is close to that of the E class and ML class mercedes (we had a 2006 e, 2007 e, and 2008 ml, I cant speak for the new e class). The ride is also amazing.

Anyhow I know DOdge, Ford,and Chevy truck buyers are loyal and I dont have experience with any truck beside this one. I just wanted you all to know it is pretty sweet and if anyone is looking for a vehicle the year end deals are out there to be had.

[Dietrich]

Congratulations! I also drive a truck and have for years.Mine isn`t a Dodge but I know what you mean about comfort.The way that pickups are made nowadays,it`s like you`re driving a car without a trunk lid.Hope you don`t get caught up in the old Chevy vs.Ford vs.Dodge debate because it is an argument that has no end.Enjoy your new vehicle.

[500KV]

Congrats on the new truck PNWG.

I gotta have a 4x4 truck.
Mine's not the least bit fancy, 1990 Nissan four banger.
Top shape, good mileage but really doesn't ride like the wife's Lexus. However,she wont let me take her's to the places I like to go.

I told them to bury me in mine 'cause I never saw a hole it couldn't climb out of.

[getsome]

Hi PNWG, Congrats on your new ride....I have never owned anything but pickups and dont know how people get along without one...The older I get the more I appreciate how comfortable and dependable the full size trucks are no matter what the make...I currently have an 02 silverado 4x4 and am going to keep it until it won't go anymore...Another reason I like it is I feel safer in a large vehicle...I had a previous truck just like the current one and was forced off the road by a garbage truck one morning...I hit a large tree going about 45 mph, It pushed the whole front end up to the windshield...Both airbags went off and when I realized what had happened I unbuckled my belt and kicked open the door and walked away without even a scratch or bruise!!! That truck saved my life that day and had I been driving a small car I am sure I would have killed or very badly injured...My son asked to borrow the truck this weekend to go to the mountains for the holiday because of the snow and it being a 4x4 so I'm driving his 04 GTO....This is a nice car for a young man but not for me...Dont get me wrong it is fun to drive and is basically a race car, 400+ hp LS1 with a 6 speed but its hard for me to get in the thing...You dont sit in this car, you wear it...It seems so small and cramped, almost like a go cart but once you are in you had better buckle up tight and hang on cause this thing is an animal when you get on it, Hope I can avoid a ticket until I get my truck back...Anyway I hope you enjoy the new truck (even if its a Drudge)..... just kidding!!!, Happy New Year everyone and be safe all....

[jfrey]

Like certain credit cards, I wouldn't leave home unless I drive my Dodge 1500. You put them on the road, set the cruise and they almost drive themselves. My wife drives a smaller Dodge vehicle and we made the mistake of taking it on a trip one time. I told her never again. I'll pay for the extra gas to have the comfort.
We were working cattle several years back and I got a picture of the nine Dodges trucks and one lonely Ford parked at the pens. If you check around the auction barns in Texas and see what they are pulling those big gooseneck trailers with, they are at least 90% Dodge diesels. There must be a good reason.

[Chief Joseph]

I used to have a Ram 1500, sold it in 04. We just a couple of months ago got back into the big vehicle scene with a used Ford Expedition to pull our new used travel trailer. I will not buy a new car made by uaw employees, especially now that the government has handed over so much of my hard earned taxes to them to pay for their unreal salaries and benefits. I bought an 05.

[zena]

I am starting to think I may need a new vehicle in the not too distant future and am stumped. I'm in a 2000 Range Rover (no, I'm not wealthy. But the old man I stole it from was!) and I love the height above the road and the comfort it affords me. It's built like a tank and feels very safe. And the sound system in it is phenomenal. (I sound like a girl, don't I?) The trunk is deep but I can't get my pelican cased sniper rifle in it. Just fits across the back seat. And I'm not sure I really want to go pick-up. I presently only commute 10 miles round trip per day but that may change. It is a gas hog. And of course I get **** for it not being American. So I'm into listening to people's reviews of their vehicles.

[pacific nw guy]

test drive

I am starting to think I may need a new vehicle in the not too distant future and am stumped. I'm in a 2000 Range Rover (no, I'm not wealthy. But the old man I stole it from was!) and I love the height above the road and the comfort it affords me. It's built like a tank and feels very safe. And the sound system in it is phenomenal. (I sound like a girl, don't I?) The trunk is deep but I can't get my pelican cased sniper rifle in it. Just fits across the back seat. And I'm not sure I really want to go pick-up. I presently only commute 10 miles round trip per day but that may change. It is a gas hog. And of course I get **** for it not being American. So I'm into listening to people's reviews of their vehicles.

drive the ram, i will make an assumption that you will be surprised. there are good deals on 2010's too. Gas mileage on it stinks but I also have a Prius and that is my daily driver/commuter. Though it s going to be hard to go back to driving it.

Funny thing is the vehicle sizes are all so relative to the environment. I was in Rome a year ago and a Prius was on the larger side of the car scale. You could barley fit a truck or even a minivan through the streets, Nice, France was even worse. Anyhow good luck!!

[wyntrout]

drive the ram, i will make an assumption that you will be surprised. there are good deals on 2010's too. Gas mileage on it stinks but I also have a Prius and that is my daily driver/commuter. Though it s going to be hard to go back to driving it.

Funny thing is the vehicle sizes are all so relative to the environment. I was in Rome a year ago and a Prius was on the larger side of the car scale. You could barley fit a truck or even a minivan through the streets, Nice, France was even worse. Anyhow good luck!!

Rome was definitely the worse for me in 1984. Every stop light was like a motocross start with the vehicles -- cars, trucks, and motorbikes -- squeezed together and not all participants wait until the light changes. Plus, at every stop the diesel fumes were overwhelming -- low or no tax on diesel! Parking wasn't even an afterthought, and my BMW 323i was a LARGE car there!
I went to Paris a couple of times. It was definitely crowded and parking was scarce. If you were timid you could never get onto or off the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe. It was always a joy to get back to Germany -- unlimited speed on the Autobahn and very disciplined drivers, plus the right of way is to FASTER vehicles -- "blocking traffic" was illegal and drivers had to be at least 18 and spend several thousand DOLLARS for driver education -- real training, too!
Europe was a blast, except for parking... and in Amsterdam my BMW got broken into, stereo stolen, theft reported, then STOLEN, and reported to the Police... the officer at the station (in sight of where my car WAS parked) noted that it was my BIRTHDAY!! I got a call in less than a week that the police had found my car and a local BMW dealer was repairing it and replacing all 5 mag wheels and my rear spoiler -- like new, but no stereo! I still had the rental car and went back to pick up my Bimmer -- it was almost like sex having my little car back!
As a followup on that episode, a buddy and I were in that car and had made a pit stop on the Autobahn weeks or months later(?). Two undercover cops (Polizei) approached us showing guns and badges. The stolen car had not been reported as recovered. I had all the identification and registration, etc., so no problems, but that can get your heart going... less in Germany than other countries, though.
Wynn

PS: What was the topic... environmental concerns over vehicles.... Yeah, that sucked... coming back to the 'States in February '86 with the 55mph FEDERALLY imposed national speed limit... drove cross country DC to Merced, CA, and then back cross-country to Caribou, ME, to be stationed at Loring AFB. Speeds were around 110 to 115mph for the most part. I had to control my fiancée on the trip via Colorado to get married and then as my wife on the way back cross country 4 months later. I got one ticket in Nevada on the way to CA... just starting out... only up to 85mph. I used an Escort Passport and since 1994 Valentine Ones. I got 2 tickets in California -- the cops didn't use radar -- just appeared behind you! And I got one ticket at night in Maine November 1986 for 84mph. I think that the cop was sympathetic -- I had a new Audi Quattro -- not the racy version -- and was checking my top speed with the digital speed on the trip meter ~123mph when my Passport went off. Evidently, I was overtaking the cop and he stopped just the other side of a hill to zap me. I didn't do a maximum braking stop and he only put down 84mph so that I wouldn't have to go to the station.
I remember a secondary road in Kansas where the sparrows would dart out and get insects off the road before vehicles could hit them. My, now, wife nailed several, since they didn't take into consideration our going 110mph! It was kind of embarrassing later in Maine, when a customs inspector came out to check the VIN number and all, since it was imported by me. There were 2 or 3 sparrows stuck about the engine compartment.
I went over 21 years without a ticket until two Thanksgivings ago in Kentucky, returning from Illinois. My GMC Savana AWD van doesn't have good visibility to the rear -- double door posts.
I do take it a little easier on the ecology these days, though gas-bag Al "Chicken Little" Gore says we're destroying the earth. We're responsible for less than 3% of the "greenhouse gases" produced world-wide and if everyone on the planet stopped all "pollution" except exhaling, it would take like 33 years to drop the temperature ONE freaking degree! How likely is that?? The real goal is to bring the industrialized , so-called "rich" nations to their knees and strip them like ants do fallen victims.
Oh... I remember now, the topic was about vehicles, I think, and economy or or ecology or something. I would buy a Prius to replace my wife's 2001 Volvo S-40... if it weren't so BUTT-UGLY... and now Honda has copied that design for their Insight.
I drive a full-sized GMC Savana AWD Passenger model van with Onstar, left-side doors and all of the options that I wanted and could get. It's fantastic for travel... can carry everything.... I do... bed., hassock-potty, DC fridges... small one up front. There's seven feet behind one rear seat. Lots of space with about 16mpg on the highway and about 12 around town. I love it! I always liked having my stuff protected from the weather... and thieves... and air-conditioned... and accessible from inside. I considered double-cab pickups with AWD or 4WD, but GM came out with the AWD Savana and I ordered one of those -- Great for snow in the mountains or sandy beaches. After the Audi Quattro I had two Ford Aerostar XL AWD vans, nice but too small to be like an RV.
Ok, I'll shut up. Just my 2...er...$1.02!
Happy New Year!