First drive Ram 1500 diesel

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
McDonald's sells more Hamburgers then their competition but that sure as hell does not mean they have the best burgers.

Don

Don, this isn't a shot at you and certainly not a shot at Ram and the new Ecodiesel. This phrase gets thrown around a lot and I just don't feel that it is appropriate to the argument.

Obviously a $600 Kobe beef burger served by 12 scantily clad virgin college cheerleading co-eds is probably going to be better than a 99 cent McDonalds cheeseburger. The problem is that I can't afford that $600 burger and the 12 coeds... I can only afford the McDonalds burger (or the Wendys, Burger King, etc).

When you figure that Ram, GM and Ford all offer half ton, 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks that are all within a pretty close price range. Without getting quotes from dealers, I would venture that similarly equipped trucks by each manufacturer are probably within 10% of each other in price.

Now we aren't comparing that $600 Kobe burger to a $1 McDonalds burger... we are comparing McDonalds to Wendys to Burger King. All things the same, sales show that consumers agree that McDonalds provides the better burger.

The fact that Ford outsells GM and Ram for a comparably priced, comparably equipped truck means that sales show that consumers tend to agree that Ford is a better truck for the money.

At the end of the day, Ford GM and Ram all make very good trucks that will meet most buyers needs. If you need a 3/4 ton gasser or a 1 ton diesel, you can't really go wrong with any of the big three's offerings.

The only market right now that has innovative competition is the half ton market. Ford hit first with the Ecoboost. Its not for everyone, but its definitely a unique vehicle that doesn't have comparision from GM, Ram, Toyota or Nissan. I think Ram has a great product in this upcoming Ecodiesel. It has the potential for class leading gas mileage. This truck won't be for everyone, but it will challenge the Ecoboost for buyers and is a unique offering from Ram.

These types of innovations are great for us consumers. The senseless brand bashing and negative opinions from people that don't have and have never even driven these vehicles are pointless.

The bottom line is that the consumer will eventually determine what the truck market is. The consumer will decide if the Ecodiesel is a stud or a bust. I like the idea of the truck, I wish it was a little different though (mainly better payload rating).

Again, not an attack on you or the Ecodiesel.