There Is No Slowdown for Truck Manufacturers as Performance Improvements Accelerate Into the Fast LaneHigh Gear

It was a bumpy ride for U.S. pickup and medium-duty truck makers in 2007. Daimler divested itself of ailing Chrysler. Ford picked an outsider to replace its founding-family CEO. General Motors faced a labor challenge that threatened to send it into bankruptcy. Even seemingly error-proof Toyota slipped from the top tier in customer satisfaction.

Is this a good time to buy a truck?

You bet. Despite the problems on the corporate level, American truck manufacturing is shifting into high gear, and the vehicles—whether the marques are import or domestic—are setting world-class standards in power, performance, and innovation.

What's driving this improvement: Trucks have evolved into profitable products for the manufacturers, and they sell well year in and year out because they're so darn useful and necessary. Competition has elevated the playing field now that Toyota and Nissan are producing full-size trucks and encroaching on what had been the exclusive enclave of Dodge, Ford, and GM. Computerization—in design, in manufacturing, and in the vehicles themselves—has delivered huge advances in build quality, product reliability and operating capability.

There's much to talk about for 2008, with a lot of new and improved trucks for buyers to choose from. Dodge, Ford, and GM all rolled out new or renewed heavy-duty pickups. Toyota stepped up with a heavy-duty version of the Tundra, while Dodge made major upgrades in its work-van fleet, adding a gas engine option for its Sprinter and bringing back a garage-size van for tradesmen.

Ford
The Ford Super Duty line now includes three pickup models beyond the F-150, which alone occupies a category Big Blue refers to as "personal duty" trucks. Joining the F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickups this year is the F-450, a first-ever factory-equipped class-4 vehicle available with a pickup bed or as a stripped-down chassis cab. Super Duty pickups are available in Regular Cab, Super Cab, and Crew Cab body styles. Engine choices include an all-new 6.4-liter, twin-turbo diesel that puts out 350 hp and 650 pound-feet of torque, a 6.8-liter V10 gas engine with 362 hp and 457 pound-feet of torque, and a 5.4-liter V8 that delivers 300 hp and 365 pound-feet of torque. Towing maximum for the big F-Series is 19,200 pounds, with a 5,800-pound max payload.

The F-150 has changed little since its wheels-up overhaul in 2005. Engine choices include a 4.2-liter V6 (202 hp with 260 pound-feet of torque), 4.6-liter V8 (225 hp, 286 pound-feet of torque), and 5.4-liter V8 (300 hp and 365 pound-feet of torque). The F-150's towing maximum is now 11,000 pounds, and its bed capacity is 3,050 pounds.

For 2008, Ford offers both F-150 and Super Duty leather-appointed King Ranch models. A luxury Lincoln Mark LT, based on the F-150, also is available with one engine option, the 5.4 liter, and with towing and payload capacities limited to 8,900 pounds and 1,680 pounds.

The midsize Ranger returns with an optional 7-foot cargo bed and three engine choices: a 2.3-liter inline 4-cylinder (143 hp, 154 pound-feet of torque), a 3.0-liter V6 (148 hp, 180 pound-feet of torque), and a 4.0-liter V6 (207 hp, 238 pound-feet of torque).