Posted on 12/03/2014 5:34:07 AM PST by ilovesarah2012
You might have figured Ford's new all-aluminum F-150 would be a shoo-in for Motor Trend's 2015 Truck of the Year award, but you'd be wrong. General Motors had its own all-new truck in the running and that vehicle, the mid-sized Chevrolet Colorado, took the prize.
The Colorado is GM's new model that's designed to compete against trucks like the Toyota Tacoma and the Nissan Frontier. Neither Ford (F) nor Chrysler Group (FCAU)'s Ram truck brand offer trucks this size any longer. It is smaller than the full-size Chevrolet Silverado truck.
"Colorado is a smart, capable, and refreshingly honest truck that makes a strong value and efficiency statement," Motor Trend editor-in-chief Ed Loh said in a statement. "It's perfectly sized and suited for the needs of many of today's truck users."
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Understood....some of them they used to.
But, I’m pleased with my F-150 at 103K original brake pads, belts, etc. Tires lasted 70K.....I change the oil every 5K and it purrs like a kitten still.
In terms of style, a vast improvement over the previous version of the Colorado, and better-looking than the Tacoma and Nissan Frontier. I’m guessing Ford may be working on an updated Ranger, although the company is reluctant to do anything that might interfere with F-150 sales.
As gas prices head towards $2.00 a gallon, you’re going to see an even bigger surge in truck sales.
Back in the mid 90s, a friend of a friend’s dad worked for a Ford dealership. This guy was as dyed in the wool Ford as they come but for some reason he hated the ranger he got as a company vehicle.
He was told he was stuck with it until it died. For a few years, he drove it hard, 3 oil changes in maybe 100k miles, neglected a lot of maintenance. It refused to die. Anyway the powers that be got him something else he liked better and that poor ranger went into their motorpool.
It was somehow still running a couple of years later. Someone broke into the lot, stole it and wrapped it around a telephone pole.
I run Mobil 1 synthetic and change oil and filter at 5,000-6,000 miles. I could probably push this to 10,000 or more but taking the truck to the dealer's allows a knowledgeable look over by a mechanic better trained than I am.
If there is anything to criticize, it's the lousy mileage. It's a 4WD, extended cab.
I have a 2008 F150 crew cab (old fleet truck, and honestly to big for easy parking).
I love it. Had to change tires when I bought it, and again after 50K miles (I change tires very often living in the Midwest). When I bought the truck used, I had them put all new brakes on as the previous owner towed with it.
Five years later, no issues. Then only thing is a reading light went out because my daughter threw a juice box at it..
The l4s (4cyl) and l5s (5 cyl) were the root of the issue from what I saw. At the time it took 2 months to get a new engine (no junkyards had used engines for his colorado because so many died due to the exact issue that befell his). it was buy new or reman. He spent about 5K on an engine for that heap, then totaled it a few months after the new engine was put in it. The truck was in good shape, it had a manual trans and was a gutless wonder.
BTW ... Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize.
I’m with you on liking the original early-70s Bronco, before it went on steroids in 1979. The real “baby bronco” was the Bronco II that came along in the 80s. The original was just the original, not a “baby.”
OK, gang. Enough.
I’m in mourning today because my CHEVY COLORADO (2011) saved my a$$ yesterday morning after hitting a deer head-on.The front is gone and the radiator is into the engine. Hood flew up but the anti-lock and anti-slip kicked in and kept me straight on the road until I stopped.
15 years ago the same thing happened to me with my Ford Ranger. It skidded into a ditch and I spent three days at home in bed!
So please forgive me if, for once, I take the politics out of it and say, from a past dedicated Ford man, thanks GM.
Fifteen years later? Completely different vehicles, safety requirements, wildly varying circumstances?
This from an engineer?
Be sure to send Obama a note, and maybe a contribution. He thinks like you do.
“I think what manufacturers should concentrate on is longevity. Make a damned transmission that is guaranteed for a minimum 200,000 miles....disc brake pads that last over 100,000 (my F150 at 103K is still on factory pads, BTW). LEDs for everything but headlights. Belts that last a minimum of 100K, etc....I’d buy one. Then, puts some 100K tires on it and you’re good to go.
Also, make one that doesn’t shoot off its 02 sensors all the time because of frigging ethanol gas. My three cents.”
The materials and technology may very well be available to accomplish all of those suggestions, however the next question for you is:
Are you willing to pay $100K for a Fiesta?
LOL Good question.
“Me neither. But I wish that Ford would start making a small pickup again. You can get a Ranger in other countries with turbo diesels and Eco-boost that would fill a niche in this country too.”
You can thank your government for that. Those foriegn made small trucks could easily be imported into the US, at a pretty reasonable cost. The problem is that the “chicken tax” applies and now they are unaffordable. You’d save money by buying a full size truck!
That import tax on small trucks was the direct result of the asian countries adding a tax on imported chickens.
Tarrif/trade wars are never good for the consumer!
;-)
Cafe standards and cost killed the Ranger... that and Ford really hadn’t done a damned thing to try to update it in over a decade... but when a ranger is clocking in just shy of what a base model full sized 4x2 F150 is at, you are going to have a hard time selling em.
Few years ago I hit a deer with a Lincoln Navigator, 6K in damage... front end, front driver side panel, driver side door, running boards, headlight, side mirror, you name it. It wasn’t the make or the model, it was the size of the vehicle and the speed on the highway. Love that your Colorado saved you yesterday, but I don’t attribute it to the car... can’t compare to a Ranger... just as I could not compare my Navigator to an Escort or other small SUV, which I am grateful I was not driving at the time. To this day I am still in full sized vehicle and can’t imagine going smaller.
Toyota has pretty much owned the Mid size truck market for the past few years. Even before the Colorado, Dakota and Ranger went away.
I’m in a kinda unique situation in that I work for a Gmc/Buick/Toyota dealership. So we sell, or sold, the GMC Canyon next to the Tacoma. There was no comparison. Colorado/Canyon pretty much sucked. That’s the best way I can put it. I’ll be happy to give specifics but that’s the truth.
Hopefully GM has their act together this time but I’m not hopeful. GM full size trucks have always been pretty good but the mid-size/small(S-10, Colorado) have been pretty awful.
I love a happy ending.
Deer crashes are bad.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates there are approximately 1.5 million auto deer collisions per year, resulting in damage losses of around $1.5 billion USD, which works out to an average cost of $1,000 per accident. State Farm Insurance Agency also supports these statistics, and goes on to report that, in the year 2004, there were 150 human deaths in the United States that were directly linked to car deer accidents.
Translation: GM bought way more ad space from Motor Trend than Ford did.
The 2015 Colorado is a completely new Platform.
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