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half-ton fight club
The article "Half Ton Fight Club" (January/February 2009) states that the Chevrolet finished in first. When I went to the story that you referenced at www. pickuptrucks.com, that version said that the Ford won. Why did the Chevy win in your article?
Tom Hottenstein Coventry, Rhode Island
We partnered with www.pickuptrucks. com for this event, where a third-party company performed the tests for the comparison. When it came to crunching the numbers, Truck Trend and www.pickuptrucks.com are looking at different key items when determining a winner. In this case, our winner was the Silverado because of its excellent balance of power, performance, value, interior layout, value, and quality— and even with that, it only won by a nose over the F-150.
old friend, new flame
I would like to commend Matt Stone for preserving history and buying his lifelong friend's 1962 F-100. I recommend in addition to buying stock style wheels to add disc brakes to the front axle and a Petronix electronic ignition system to get rid of the pesky points. If it were mine, I would paint the wheels red (like the lower dash) add baby moon hubcaps, and have the seat redone in red and white. These old F-IOOs aren't seen much anymore and deserve to be preserved.
Chris Cuzynski Alta Loma, California
Matt Stone replies: Red steelies and baby moons are part of the plan, and a red seat set will be stitched in by the time you read this. Whatever happens, the 1962 F-tOO will be preserved, not restored. Thanks for the suggestions.
work-truck testing
How about a test that doesn't involve $45K-plus half-tons? I'm more of a regular cab, small V-8 (maybe even a V-6 in these fuel-crunch times) kind of guy, and I don't need the Dolby 5.1 system with surround and DVD. Could you test basic trucks? You know, the kind with a bench seat where the only upscale accessory is maybe a chrome grille. Heck, make 'em two-wheel drive if you want.
Mike Garbuio Ashton, Ontario, Canada
We couldn't agree more. We are going to try to put together a comparison of work-truck half-tons in the near future, but whether or not ive can depends on what the manufacturers can provide.
chevrolet raptor-fighter?
I recently saw the Ford Raptor in your magazine and then went to the Ford Raptor Web site to see some pics. 1 just have one question for you: Is GM building anything like this? If Chevy/GMC does, I'll buy one, and so will my brother and my best friend.
Mark
Covina, California
As far as we know, Chevrolet isn't working on building a competitor for the upcoming Raptor. If we hear of any changes to that plan, we'll let you know.
readers' rides
I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this year's Readers' Rides collection. I saw a lot of Fords, Chevys, and Dodges, but not that many unusual trucks. Are there additional Readers' Rides pictures somewhere else? Check out this picture of my Honda Ridgeline.
Ron Smith Jr.
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Anyone looking for additional Readers' Rides can go to winv.trucktrend.com, where we've included all of the trucks featured in the magazine, plus several more that we didn't have enough room for in that story.
mpg myths
On page 17 of the January/February issue of Truck Trend, a chart of full-size-truck mileage ratings touts the fact that the Big Three now have models that can achieve 20 mpg-plus highway mpg.
We're seeing trucks coming out of the factories now with gear ratios barely over 3.00:1. In EPA testing, this is surely how they achieve the 20-plus-mpg figures. Sure, in a theoretically perfect world, driving on a flat Interstate highway with the cruise set at 65 mph, you will see good mpg because the tall gearing will keep the rpm down, and since the road is flat there is little load on the engine. However, the problem is this isn't a theoretically perfect world we live in. The U.S. has curves, hills, mountains, stoplights, heavy traffic, all kinds of obstacles we drive in every day. When driving a 5000-plus-pound pickup truck, the last thing you want is a tall gear ratio under these circumstances. Note how the city EPA numbers are all around 14 mpg for each brand? Those numbers haven't improved at all on any model (except the GM hybrid). The reason is because the tall gearing is making the engine work harder in normal driving conditions, which counteracts the other beneficial things they've done such as weight reduction.
The Big Three are making changes to their trucks that will allow them to post excellent highway mpg numbers, and get people to buy full-size trucks again. The truth is, the average person is going to see mileage numbers with these trucks closer to the city figures, which haven't changed from trucks of five years ago. The Big Three have gone about improving the EPA numbers in the wrong way.
Shawn Crowe Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Your point is valid and we are aware pickup EPA numbers remain optimistic, noting in tests how close we get to those ratings and under what condi-
tions. The taller axle ratios have been mildly countered by the switch to six-speed automatics, so you can still pull a grade but will downshift a few times to do it. Many pickups were previously used as cars, but those days softened somewhat with 2008 fuel prices and the economic malaise. G.B. Whale may have been onto something in his November/December column where he suggested pickups should be tested at GVWR, or while towing.
sport/utility of the year
Why were this year's Sport/Utility of the Year picks all car-based SUVs? I hate unibody construction. My first vehicle was a 1975 International Scout with a 345 and real four-wheel drive. My sons drive a 1998 Jeep Cherokee and a 1999 Ford F-250 Super Duty diesel 4x4 that I bought new. How could these front-drive cars with high roofs enter and take over our world?
Jerry Rice Cullowhee, North Carolina
The vehicles that are part of Sport/ Utility of the Year are SUVs or crossovers that will be on sale in the U.S. by January of that calendar year and are new or significantly updated from the previous model. Whether they're unibody or body-on-frame, if they qualify, they're invited. We don't pick and choose what's out there— we just evaluate what's on the market, and right now, unibody SUVs and crossovers are more popular than truck-based models. And at least three of the contenders were truck-based.
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