Looking for objective input

[beepster]

Hello to all...newbie here. I've spent the last 2 months looking at several brands for a new pickup, so heres my .02.

I looked at 5 brands: Ford, Ram, GM, Toyota and Nissan. My wife has recently become disabled and no longer drives so the truck will be our only vehicle. Normally, I would opt for more of a guy truck (Rebel or Raptor) but now I found I had to up my game from a luxury standpoint. I was able to eliminate Toyota and Nissan early on because of their lower gas mileage ratings and lack of bells and whistles. GM took itself out of the race by eliminating the CD player for 2019 (yes, I'm old school. I've invested hundreds of $ in cd's, so if I'm going to pay upwards of $60K for a truck, I want to be able to listen to my music). This left Ford vs. Ram. I drove several upper trim F150's (Limited, Platinum) and the ride was somewhat "jiggly" compared to the Ram. Guess the rear coil springs really do make a difference in the ride. Additionally, I noticed Ford is not bashful about putting a price tag of $68K on a pickup without even including a bed liner. Also, I notice they still dress up their expensive truck with that pathetic looking single (side exit) tailpipe.

I found the Ram to be a whole nother story. The lines are gorgeous, the 5.7 Hemi powerful, and the dual rear exit exhaust looks great. All that was good until I saw the inside of the Laramie Longhorn. There is no parallel even in luxury sedans until you exceed the $100K pricepoint. I am definitely in love, especially after the test drive...smooth as silk. I found I could special order the Laramie Longhorn with the bells and whistles I wanted and still be about $5K less that the comparably equipped F150. My wife is used to her Mercedes E350 but the inside of the Laramie Longhorn makes her MB look like a VW... The only F150 feature I really liked that I cannot have on the Ram was the tailgate step which I guess I'll live without. Guess I'll be a Ram guy now...oh yeah, almost forgot about the RAMBOX! What a great feature, surprised Ford and GM have not copied it.

 

[runamuck]

they missed the boat by not putting a step. I traded a 2017 sierra slt for my ram and I really miss that step on the corner of each bumper.

 

[Elkman]

When buying a new truck I make use of sources like this one:
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ram/

There are problems with new vehicles and what is most important to me is how the manufacturer deals with them. For example, there has been an airbag recall out for my 2011 Silverado 2500 since mid 2016 and GM still has no date for when they can be fixed. As a result I decided it was safer to disable the passenger side airbag and not risk dying if it activates and sends shrapnel throughout the cab.

 

[beepster]

they missed the boat by not putting a step. I traded a 2017 sierra slt for my ram and I really miss that step on the corner of each bumper.

Google amp research bedstep

 

[Elkman]

I have hundreds of CD's and I ripped them to MP3's and then make playlists that I put on $10 USB thumb drives. I can have 1000 tracks on a single thumb drive but actually have about 300 per drive by type of music and have a case that holds 8 drives in about as much space as 3 CD cases. All I need is a vehicle with a USB port which even my 2011 pickup has as does my SUV as will my next passenger sedan. When traveling I can take my little case of USB drives and use them in the rental cars.

One thing you evidently overlooked with Toyota is that they provide as standard equipment many safety features (lane change assist, park assist, adaptive cruise control) that cost an extra $5,000 to $8,000 with a pickup from GM or Ford or Ram. The worst is GM where to get heated seats or even a locking tailgate I need to go with the LTZ trim level that starts out $5,000 higher. I much prefer the Toyota approach where you get a base truck that is well equipped, including the super size fuel tank, rather than have to buy "packages" for thousands of dollars to get tow mirrors or heated front seats.

I am old enough to remember when a car radio was an option as was cruise control, intermittent wipers, a rear bumper on a truck, and my first *****'s did not even have a heater. The Japanese were the first to start selling vehicles that were fully equipped and the options were fancier entertainment systems and navigation. The Korean car companies are doing the same with their sedans and SUV's. With American trucks we have slid back to the days of Iacocca and the customer is definitely at a disadvantage. But then the trucks are prettier without a doubt.