Looking to buy a new truck. Which is the safest & most reliable?

This is going to open a big can of worms. many like me are biased to one brand or against another. With that said look for what you want yourself that still does what you need. I'm a chevy man my self but would look at a dodge diesel if i was buying brand new.

"mudmonkey" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@64g2000cwx.googlegroups.com:

Based solely on the criteria listed (except for maybe good looking), sounds like a Ridgeline is the ticket for Joel. Then again, he may not even need a truck...

Based upon your criteria I'd buy American and go with a Toyota Tundra. You have to eliminate all GM trucks as they don't pass your styling test since they are the standard box on wheels GM design. Ford doesn't pass your 'quality' test and Dodge misses the fuel mileage test.

Seems you kept your truck for some time. I'd suggest a Dodge with a Cummins. Is expensive at first,but you get a lot of stuff with the engine. Also you will retain value with the Cummins. Decent economy once broken in. Oh, it is a 6 cyl. Warranty on the engine is 100K I believe, the rest is a DC deal which you can extend. Now you have to figure out if you have a need for the Cummins.

Thanks for the help, guys. Now all I have to do is weight the options.

-Joel

I am not sure if Toyota is all that American. Sure they are assembled here and provide a lot of jobs but most parts used for assembly are shipped in from across the big pond. Because of that the tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers that used to provide jobs for thousands here in the states are shrinking or dont even exist any more. I know this from first hand experience.

Not so. Toyota states that the Tundra has more US content than GM, Ford or Dodge trucks. The engines are built in Huntsville, Alabama and the transmissions are made in North Carolina. The steel is US as is most of the drive train. It's more American engineered and built than Japanese.

I get 21 MPG highway with my 2000 CTD.

I don't know about the rest of the Toyota line but I believe the Tundra has more American sourced parts than any of the big three trucks. I believe if you buy a Tundra you're buying as American as you can get.

How can American as you get be on a Japanese company?

Because the American companies are less American! My Dodge is mostly Mexican built. The Toyota is mostly American built with American parts.

Put it this way. When a truck is sold most of the sales price pays for labor and parts. In the case of my Mexican built Ram most of that money stayed in Mexico. With a Toyota Tundra most stays in the USA.

Not all are built in Mexico. My Ram was built in St Loius.

I've owned a Dakota since 90, and will be trading in my Quad 4x4 v8 for a Toyota FJ this summer.

I found that my Dakota Quad 4x4 is not really all that great off-road, not that I do any off-road, but I've been stuck in mud several times - snow is never a problem, but mud sucks.

I'm also tired of the Dodge support issues that I often experience at the dealers. I'm hoping that Toyota will be a more positive experience.

What kind of dealer support issues have you had? Just curious as I bought a 97 Dakota new and have only had it in the shop a couple of times for non scheduled maintenance items. Both times I thought the dealer turned it around very quickly although the price seemed to be very high, as most dealer service is. I'm debating whether to go with a new Dakota or a Tundra.

Substantially better than I get with my 97 Dakota 318. Too bad Dodge doesn't offer a small diesel in the Dakota and 1500 Ram. Of course no one else offers a 1/2 ton diesel so why should they? Lack of innovation is why Toyota and the other foreign manufacturers are kicking the big three's ass (soon to be the little three or two).

My first Dakota had 3 rear-ends, 5 computers, 3 transmissions, 5 drive shafts in the first 9 months that I owned it - and the dealer made it damn hard to get along, no loaner car, claiming that there were no problems, etc...

I owned a Saturn during that time and every time (2) that I had it in the shop they were very nice, almost like family, and took me to work and picked me up (warranty repairs).

I also owned several Plymouth and Chrysler Mini Vans (Grand Voyager and Town-and-Country (loaded). I've had a number of issues with those (air conditioner condenser in each, brakes, transmission...) that took more than 1 trip to get fixed, including the standard "We can't hear anything..." type reports...

I'm hoping that switching to a company that values me as a customer, instead of my money (yea, I know they value my money, but I want to think they value me as a customer) and still get the Truck I want.

Thats true. Most sold in the western USA were built in Mexico. Are the engines all built in the USA or are they shipping parts from Mexico to assembly plants in the mid-west and east?

The Tundra is legally a domestic product. It is only built here in the USA with parts mostly designed and made in the USA.

Does your's have metric nuts and bolts on it or is it all SAE. I hate that my Mexican assembled Ram has both.