New Vehicle Suggestions?

Going back to the original question it seems a shame to buy a pickup for such a small driveway. A 4 door truck will be long and I'm guessing you'll still be doing some snowblowing up on top in front of your garage. I think I'd go with some thing like a utility tractor and 5' front snow blower so I could shoot that snow back on the neighbors property...when you plow with a truck snowbanks take up room. What we really need is a 'show us a video of your driveway thread':lol: so we can better help make this decision. We don't want you spending 40k without our approval you know.
 
Todd we lease a 2011 f 150. 4 door at work and its like riding in a crown vic. Tons of room for the guys in the back and some bells and whistles too . Now, i have a large driveway and an expediton also. But i use a quad with a 4' plow on it and i'm done in 10 mins. As stated before a truck is too large just to plow your driveway, i plowed with everything from a jeep cherokee to a large mack dump truck. Believe me if its your driveway your worried about check craigslist for a used quad. A whole lot cheaper. Or get a ariens snow blower.
 
Morgan Jane said:
I have to agree with Pack66Dad. I have owned mostly GM cars and trucks but once I drove friends Super Duty Ford Diesel, I was hooked. I have owned just about every type of vehicle from S-10 pickups to full size GM pickups, SS Monte Carlo, Corvette, Yukon Denali, Suburban's and on and on. However, I could never find something that fit me for my lifestyle. I took notice of the VW jetta Diesel Sport Wagon when it came out a couple years ago. Finally bought a 2011 model. The first and only non-american car I ever owned. It is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned. .
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It's a real eye opener to buy a good German or Japanese for the first time. I bought my first Acura in 1986 after driving GM and Ford cars since I was 16 years old. The improvement was shocking. I was somewhat biased against German cars because of the high cost and in the case of Audi, the "acceleration problem." I'm on my 5th Audi TT now and my 2012 will be here in April. Both brands have been bullet proof and fun to drive. When I'm driving an American rental car, I'm reminded of the difference yet again. Ford and GM have improved quite a lot, particularly Ford. But, The TL and TT still are still better performers and more upscale by comparison.
 
BTW, If there was a way to put a plow on any Audi Quattro with winter tires, you could plow just about any amount of snow up to maybe 18". I drive my TT year round in Michigan's snow belt, It is an amazing car with its Blizzaks on. The TL has all season tires and is also a great winter driver, but is not as good in heavy snow as the much small Audi sports car.
 
+1 on the F150. Stay away from the F250/350 superduty unless you're strong enough to resist the urge to buy one. That's a fantastic truck and the fit, finish and power is addictive. I think i'm going to trade my navigator (which I love) in shortly for a new platinum or limited F150. 30+ years of GM but Ford has my attention now. Like to hear more about the ecoboost engines...

Bought my son a new fusion a couple months ago and an escape for my daughter. Very impressed with both. We've pulled a big 27 ft center console to FL with an F250 3-4 years in a row and I've never been more impressed with a truck. The truck would tow through mountains and cities and you wouldn't even know there was a rig behind it. I also appreciated FMC stance wrt gov bailouts.
 
I have owned them all ....Dodge ,Chevy,Toyota and I have found hands down Ford has been the best!
BTW...... on the Ford Lariat and Platinum series the pearl white color matches the Sea Ray color!!! and yes my F150 handles the 280!
 

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kkalsch said:
I have owned them all ....Dodge ,Chevy,Toyota and I have found hands down Ford has been the best!
BTW...... on the Ford Lariat and Platinum series the pearl white color matches the Sea Ray color!!! and yes my F150 handles the 280!
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Hey I have been looking for a truck to tow my 280 to the beach. What package are you running to get that kind towing capacity on an F150? I thought Maximum towing capacity topped out around 11K for most Half ton trucks regardless of manufacturer. Maybe I need to look again.
 
jason78 said:
Hey I have been looking for a truck to tow my 280 to the beach. What package are you running to get that kind towing capacity on an F150? I thought Maximum towing capacity topped out around 11K for most Half ton trucks regardless of manufacturer. Maybe I need to look again.
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Yes, look very close! I posted my weight slip at 14.5k fully loaded! I would not pull with ANY half ton....period! Almost any vehicle can get a large load moving...controlling it is another story! Sure you can tow
A few miles, but long distance in traffic, on the interstate....I don't think so! Lawyers love these cases...just sayin
 
floriduramax1 said:
Yes, look very close! I posted my weight slip at 14.5k fully loaded! I would not pull with ANY half ton....period! Almost any vehicle can get a large load moving...controlling it is another story! Sure you can tow
A few miles, but long distance in traffic, on the interstate....I don't think so! Lawyers love these cases...just sayin
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Yeah, I checked and it looks like the capacities are still near 11K on all the 1/2 ton trucks so I will still have to go with a 3/4 ton truck for safety. I knew the twin engine 280s were around 12K lbs + trailer weight so 14.5K sounds about right.

Also, a 280 is considered an Oversize Load at least in SC and I remembered it is illegal to tow an OS/OW load with anything less than a 3/4 ton truck in SC anyway. Oh well.....
 
jason78 said:
Yeah, I checked and it looks like the capacities are still near 11K on all the 1/2 ton trucks so I will still have to go with a 3/4 ton truck for safety. I knew the twin engine 280s were around 12K lbs + trailer weight so 14.5K sounds about right.

Also, a 280 is considered an Oversize Load at least in SC and I remembered it is illegal to tow an OS/OW load with anything less than a 3/4 ton truck in SC anyway. Oh well.....
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Like I said...1,100 miles, 15 mpg round trip, 0 trouble, Duramax rules.
P1010155 (Small).JPGP1010149 (Small).JPGP1010145 (Small).JPG
 
floriduramax1 said:
Yes, look very close! I posted my weight slip at 14.5k fully loaded! I would not pull with ANY half ton....period! Almost any vehicle can get a large load moving...controlling it is another story! Sure you can tow
A few miles, but long distance in traffic, on the interstate....I don't think so! Lawyers love these cases...just sayin
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You are probably right!......I have only towed the 280 in the neighborhood- and the 280 is also a wide load in NC -3/4 ton would be the way to go
 
searay40dad said:
I think i'm going to trade my navigator (which I love) in shortly for a new platinum or limited F150.
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I had an '06 F150 Lariat Supercrew 5.4 prior to this '11 Limited. I was amazed at the improvements that have been made in this new truck. Interior is very well done and well appointed. The 6.2 is powerful and makes the right noises. It is thirsty though. I wish the Ecoboost was available in the Limited. The transmission is as smooth as our Infiniti's transmission. I've already put 12K miles on it in 6 months and still can't stop raving about it.

2011 F150-1-small.jpg

Since this picture I tinted the front windows and added a matching Snugtop low profile bed cap.

Only reason I'd select a Platinum over the Limited would be to get the Ecoboost, or if the Limited's bling is a bit too much for your tastes.
 
sbw1 said:
It's a real eye opener to buy a good German or Japanese for the first time. I bought my first Acura in 1986 after driving GM and Ford cars since I was 16 years old. The improvement was shocking. I was somewhat biased against German cars because of the high cost and in the case of Audi, the "acceleration problem." I'm on my 5th Audi TT now and my 2012 will be here in April. Both brands have been bullet proof and fun to drive. When I'm driving an American rental car, I'm reminded of the difference yet again. Ford and GM have improved quite a lot, particularly Ford. But, The TL and TT still are still better performers and more upscale by comparison.
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Let me guess.. You rented a base Impala or a base level Malibu or a Fiesta. Go drive an something like the CTS-V and report back. You are comparing apples to oranges.
 
I believe the duramax is superior to ford diesels( i love ford) but all of our ford diesels blew the turbos up and dumped oil all over the LIE. Expwy damn near seized the motors, but the ford taurus SHO with eco boost v6. Beat the Audi A 8 in qtr mile everytime I like the Ford gas v6 / v8. We have had almost every configuration at work. Dodge /Ford/ GM. All trucks and cars. But Ford has come out on top in most cases. The Ram and F250/ 350 super duties we have are like driving dump trucks. Too hard for family use unless your pulling or pushing alot. We use our Ford expedition for hauling the family to the boat and snow / unstoppable, But drive bmw/ and benz. Daily and absolutely love them both. Superior craftsmanship hands down. Sorry Obama no chevy volts in this house.
 
Although I have never owned anything larger than a 1/2 ton truck I have driven quite a few larger trucks as company vehicles, have a number of friends who own them and have several friends who own companies that have modest truck fleets.

Based on my obervations from the above, I think Ford builds a better "Work Truck" as in a truck that takes abuse better over a long period of time. These are trucks you put in fleets to haul, tow and expect then to have the crap beat out of them. They will not look or drive great but they will continue run and that is about all that counts in a fleet of work trucks plus they are generally cheaper. These trucks seem to be designed with a tougher suspension and generally have less standard options for people to tear up. On the other hand if you want a truck that rides good, is comfortable, durable, quiet and will do anything an individual needing a 3/4 ton truck would do and budget is not an issue then Chevrolet/GMC is the way to go. So, to summarize, if I owned a landscaping company, I would probably have F250 trucks for everyone else and a Chevrolet or GMC 2500 for me.
 
As far as landscaping type work goes my bro in law owns a rather large one on long island and he got away from the traditional gmc/ford heavy duties. He uses strickly Isuzu type diesel cab over trucks. But my landscaper does use all Ford s/d trucks. I love the way my eddie bauer expedition rides, but love my neighbors escalade too.!,, Depends on how you where raised ( in my generation ) ford vs chevy all over again lol
 
Todd, just buy a Vette and pay somebody to plow...
 
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