best truck in the U.S.?

[ohiobuckeye]

I think we have a winner...My two boys couldn't destroy their Tonka trucks, so they must be tough...

 

[venomballistics]

The Tacoma *IS* American made - at the San Antonio, Texas plant, which employs more than 2,800 Texans.

with all its profits passing through Tokyo.
its the same story with the HiLux only the stage is set in Australia
while you'll have to jump though some hoops to get one they can be had.
Toyota HiLux homepage
while there are some similarities between the HiLux and some of the US market toyotas, none have the fully boxed frame heaver suspension and more in favor of (but not limited to) diesel engines.

 

[Andy Griffith]

what do you think is the best pickup truck in the U.S.?

As for longevity, any of the small Japanese trucks made before 1985. Neighbor has a diesel one (Nissan?)with 600K on it- even though it's seen better days, it still cranks every time. I don't think he's ever serviced it other than putting more oil in it (never changed!)

 

[Jim Kuykendall]

Quite a lift kit on that one in the back.

Andy

And electric to boot!

 

[gamedic]

Everyone picks a brand of truck based on what appeals to their sense of style and immediatly that becomes the best brand of truck in their eye. Forgetting that I can attest that the dependibility of a Chevrolet is far greater than that of a Ford. Before the grumbling begins let me explain myself. I have driven an ambulance for the last 18 year. An ambulance goes from sitting still to wide open in just a few seconds and does this dozens of times a day. They are driven harder than anyone drives their personally owned vehicle. They also weigh 12-15 thousand pounds. That is a lot of strain on a drivetrain 7 days a week 365 days a year. When I first started at the ambulance service all ambulances were Ford f350 0r 450s or Internationals or Freightliners. As all government agencies in the world do, my service always goes with the cheapest. Which meant Ford instead of the medium duty chassis made by International and Freightliner. We used F350s at my service. For many years Ford was the only pickup chassis that had an ambulance prep package. Chevrolet and Dodge didn't offer one because there are only 6000 ambulances in the united states. With such a small number of vehicles it really wasn't profitable for the other two manufactuers to offer an ambulance prep package, so the ambulance market basically belonged to Ford. In 2001 I think, Chevrolet came out with the Duramax Diesel. The Duramax was more powerful than the venerable old 7.3 liter Powerstroke. So Ford increased the fuel injector pressure of the 7.3 powerstroke from about 5000 psi up to 20000 psi to try and match the Duramax in power. The headbolts and head gaskets on the Powerstroke could not handle that massive increase in injector pressure, so the good old 7.3 Powerstroke lost its dependability in its last year of production. It was a stop gap until Fords diesel could be redesigned to properly compete with the Duramax. In 2003 Ford released the 6.0 Powerstroke. That engine had a Massive amount of power and got pretty fair fuel economy. Soon every ambulance around had a 6.0 liter Power stroke in them. It wasn't long until the problems with that engine started. It had the same issue that the last version of the 7.3 liter had. The head bolts and head gaskets would blow without any notice. On top of that Fords new variable vein turbo gave lots of issues as well. Suddenly ambulances all over the country were undependable. From my personal experience I can assure you, it was not unusual to have 1 or 2 ambulances in the service shop at the ford dealer every week. We actually ended up purchasing a couple of extra ambulances at $130'000 a piece just to assure we could keep enough on the road and some days we would still be short a truck because of break downs. This went on until 2008 when we finally bought some 4500 Chevrolets. Immediatly the engine problems went away. The Duramax Diesel is bomb proof as is the Allison transmission that comes in the Chevrolet. The Chevrolets are not perfect. They have some electrical issues fairly regularly, but in comparison to losing A ford ambulance for weeks at a time to have the top end of the engine rebuilt replaceing an electrical connector that only takes an hour or so is vastly better. Sorry if I offended any of you Ford guys, but I base my statement on having driven many hundreds of thousands of miles in Fords and Chevrolets.

 

[chud333]

I've owned Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Toyota trucks through the years and never had any major problems with any of them. I think the Chevys are finished better, "better looking". The Fords seem to be sturdier, "more durable". The Toyota that i owned was very economical. The Dodge Ram i owned was a 1500 series 4wd and never had any problems at all. They all make lemons from time to time. Consequently they get it right and make good trucks most of the time from "Most" makers. Just my HO.

Chuck

 

[QuercusMax]

My Ford F-250 Super Duty with PowerStroke diesel has done very well for me. Great power, very reliable, very capable.

Here in the Intermountain West, where people use their pickups for work, at least 50% of all the pickups on the road are diesel Super Duty's. Dodge (now Ram, apparently) seem the second choice. Not many "Toy"otas here - city trucks

 

[mtgianni]

The Tacoma *IS* American made - at the San Antonio, Texas plant, which employs more than 2,800 Texans.

The profits go to the Japanese Corporation. The country of japan allows a very limited number of foreign autos in to their country. Each auto needs to undergo vigorous testing, not each model, but each auto. Why trade with those who do not play fair?

 

[A10]

Honestly, I've owned Ford, Mazda, Dodge, Chev, and Toyota. A good buddy had an old Toyota HiLux that lasted forever! My brother has a Nissan with about 300,000 miles that is still going strong! Truth is, drive them all and see what you like. Each have great reputations, each have a few lemons. Ford trannys seem to be an issue, Dodge fit and finish is not the best. Chevy has honestly built the best small block engines available, but Ford and Dodge have some great diesels. My personal choice is Ford.

BTW, the father of a friend of mine says Studebaker is the only way to go!

 

[venomballistics]

Honestly, I've owned Ford, Mazda, Dodge, Chev, and Toyota. A good buddy had an old Toyota HiLux that lasted forever! My brother has a Nissan with about 300,000 miles that is still going strong! Truth is, drive them all and see what you like. Each have great reputations, each have a few lemons. Ford trannys seem to be an issue, Dodge fit and finish is not the best. Chevy has honestly built the best small block engines available, but Ford and Dodge have some great diesels. My personal choice is Ford.

BTW, the father of a friend of mine says Studebaker is the only way to go!

if one has the means for an old stud, he won't be outclassed in any environment.

 

[DeathGrip]

[QUOTE=A10;136578291BTW, the father of a friend of mine says Studebaker is the only way to go![/QUOTE

Oh yeah.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Made in America?

Cars.com puts out a yearly American-Made Index Top Ten list (AMI) of vehicles assembled in America and with the most domestic parts content. Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are on top. Toyota Tundra also made the Top Ten, #9. Noticeably absent were Ford and Chevy trucks. The article explained that the F-150 made in Missouri and Michigan had a mere 60% domestic content rating similar to the Chevy Silverado. The cut-off for AMI was 75% domestic content. I looked at the previous report for 2010 and found the Toyota Tundra was again among the Top Ten but no Ford or Chevy trucks. There was an accompanying article saying that in past years the F-150 and Silverado had been on top of the AMI.

What is the best truck in the US? I duknow... But if you're looking to purchase a new pickup and your top priority is American made, then your local Toyota dealer has what you're looking for.

 

[J Rich]

You haven't lived till you've drove one of these. You also get to go off road everyday.

 

[s&wchad]

No idea which is best, but the "big three" have all stepped it up in recent years.

I can tell you that the 2011 F150 is a really nice truck. I didn't want the twin turbo's in the EcoBoost engine because I keep my vehicles too long and turbochargers are expensive to replace, so I opted for the 5.0L engine. NICE motor... 18+ mpg on the highway and rated at 360HP. The electronic 6 speed transmission ain't too shabby either!

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

My favorite truck?? My 2001 Peterbilt...riding in style. My second favorite is my Made in America (San Antonio Texas!) 2007 Toyota Tundra 5.7l. Now has 96,000 trouble free miles, has never had to go back to the dealer for any repairs. Best pickup I have owned in over 50 years of driving, bar none.

 

[novalty]

My favorite truck?? My 2001 Peterbilt...riding in style. My second favorite is my Made in America (San Antonio Texas!) 2007 Toyota Tundra 5.7l. Now has 96,000 trouble free miles, has never had to go back to the dealer for any repairs. Best pickup I have owned in over 50 years of driving, bar none.

Not sure if Toyota made you aware of it, but you mentioned your 2007 hasn't had to go back for repairs. but my father has the same truck (2007 5.7l) and he had to take his back for a recall on the brakes. May want to contact your local Toyota dealer just to check.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

My VIN only shows two recalls....one for floormats and one for the gas pedal...both were issued during the "Runaway Truck Panic" a few years back. I have declined to have both of them done...still waiting for my truck to take off on its own.....

"Safety Recall A0A - Accelerator Pedal Reinforcement Bar Installation This is an important Safety Recall. Please contact your authorized Toyota dealer to install the precision-cut steel reinforcement bar into the accelerator pedal assembly as soon as possible. A0A


Safety Recall 90L - Potential Floor Mat Interference with Accelerator Pedal This is an important Safety Recall to make it less likely that an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat can interfere with the accelerator pedal. Please contact your authorized dealer to have this remedy performed."

Thanks for your concern.

 

[DeadAye]

My VIN only shows two recalls....one for floormats and one for the gas pedal...both were issued during the "Runaway Truck Panic" a few years back. I have declined to have both of them done...still waiting for my truck to take off on its own.....

"Safety Recall A0A - Accelerator Pedal Reinforcement Bar Installation This is an important Safety Recall. Please contact your authorized Toyota dealer to install the precision-cut steel reinforcement bar into the accelerator pedal assembly as soon as possible. A0A


Safety Recall 90L - Potential Floor Mat Interference with Accelerator Pedal This is an important Safety Recall to make it less likely that an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat can interfere with the accelerator pedal. Please contact your authorized dealer to have this remedy performed."

Thanks for your concern.

I don't get it....
Why not get these taken care of?

 

[johnsonl]

I've been a Ford guy since 1986. Started with a Ranger, then a '94 F-150, now a 2000 Excursion Limited. I love the looks on the "tuner"'s faces when I smoke their 4 bangers with the V-10. The Ex took the '96Expedition (which is still running, despite her best efforts to run it into the ground). They have all given good service.

 

[novalty]

My VIN only shows two recalls....one for floormats and one for the gas pedal...both were issued during the "Runaway Truck Panic" a few years back. I have declined to have both of them done...still waiting for my truck to take off on its own.....

"Safety Recall A0A - Accelerator Pedal Reinforcement Bar Installation This is an important Safety Recall. Please contact your authorized Toyota dealer to install the precision-cut steel reinforcement bar into the accelerator pedal assembly as soon as possible. A0A


Safety Recall 90L - Potential Floor Mat Interference with Accelerator Pedal This is an important Safety Recall to make it less likely that an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat can interfere with the accelerator pedal. Please contact your authorized dealer to have this remedy performed."

Thanks for your concern.

No problem, couldn't remember if it was the brake or the gas pedal. I don't believe my father took his in for either recall either.