Looking at another prospective Tow Vehicle...

[babock]

This guy abused the hell out of this van, finally died at 1.2 million miles:
http://www.millionmilevan.com/

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/06/21/mill ... k-7-years/
This one is a diesel though.

[zoom650]

Go here and enter your Ford VIN and see the window sticker for your unit. You'll be able to determine how much weight that unit was rated to pull.

http://researchmaniacs.com/VIN-Number-L ... /Ford.html

[badmoonrising]

Speaking of recalls, GM had to recall every vehicle made since 2006 over the ignition switch recall issue. They denied it was a problem on my wife's HHR when we first reported it in 2007, nearly killed us in 2010 when it shut off in heavy traffic. Finally paid to replace it in 2013 with the exact same Chinese switch.

3 steering column under warranty, water leaks from day 1. Throttle body replace twice and a a dozen minor recalls.

When Ford recalls, it's usually initiated by Ford. When GM recalls, they are forced to do so and have to get permission from Obama's CEO first. GM was a failure pre Obama, and will fail against once der fuhrer is out of office.

As for Dodge, feds made Dodge brothers buy back millions of Rams. They aren't a domestic company anymore anyway.

[badmoonrising]

This one is a diesel though.

Most diesels will go that far.

[babock]

When Ford recalls, it's usually initiated by Ford.

LOL...they are still denying there are problems with the cam phasers on the 5.4L engines! Ford was forced by the NHTSA earlier this year to recall half a million vehicles for a power steering issue that caused accidents!

Bottom line all manufacturers have recalls. Some are more major than others. Ford has PLENTY of recalls! Toyota makes the best cars on the planet and they have recalls all the time...minor ones though.

LOL on Obama having anything to do with GM. BTW...not an Obama fan.

BTW...we are talking about trucks. No GM trucks had the ignition switch issue and a small percentage of the ones that did, had the bad switch. Not all cars by GM used that switch. Only certain models.
http://www.gmignitionupdate.com/product ... index.html

I like both GM and Ford trucks. They both have issues for sure. Some have more issues than others. They are both WAY better than Chrysler products.
I actually would buy a full size Toyota truck if I was going to buy a new 1/2 ton.

[badmoonrising]

Even that site lists models that had the switch used for a decade, and it's incorrect and does not include other models with the same issue. My friend's 2013 Silverado was shutting off when he hit bumps, took it to the dealer and they repeatedly denied his had the Chinese made (defective) switch. Finally gave up and traded it on a Toyota.

Obama has everything to do with the current state of GM. They built shitty vehicles pre-Obama and were teetering on bankruptcy. Obama appointed their CEO, then GM got a contract with the feds where the US government buys GM cars, artificially propping up GM sales.

Obama leaves office, they'll need another bailout.

I won't and will never own Japanese, German or Korean vehicles. Besides, Ford quality has been equal to Toyota's for years. Sometimes rating ahead of them.

[babock]

Gm builds good trucks. I wouldn't buy a GM car.

Toyota trucks are made and designed in the USA.

Currently, GM is a very profitable company. They have more profit per year that Ford does by 15%.

It was VERY poorly run with too many brands and models. It should have been let go into bankruptcy. I was against the bailout. The bailout was caused by the Unions to protect their pensions. People holding the Demand Notes got screwed.

Their technology however is top notch. That never changed before or after the bailout.

[babock]

I won't and will never own Japanese, German or Korean vehicles.

Why?

How about a Chinese car?

[badmoonrising]

I won't and will never own Japanese, German or Korean vehicles.

Why?

Because as an American, I buy as much US made products as possible. Can't complain about the state of our economy if you buy everything made elsewhere.

True foreign vehicles are built and designed in the US to get around tariffs, but their home countries see the profit.

How about a Chinese car?

We do have a Chinese car. My wife has a 2012 Malibu and it's a POS, already back to the dealer in it's first year than every Ford I've ever owned. More Chinese content than ever since the bailouts.

Water leaks, remotes stopped working, runs rough 1 of of 10 startups and had 7 recalls performed.

The F-150 I am driving just turned 17 and the body looks as new even though it's been towing houseboats and other boats for it's entire life, using saltwater boats ramps and road salt all winter.

Ford took it a step further last year and went to aluminum bodies, so corrosion (for the most part) is a thing of the past.

[badmoonrising]

Currently, GM is a very profitable company. They have more profit per year that Ford does by 15%.

GM is also a larger company than Ford. Our local GM dealer has a ton of leftover stock, while the Ford dealers can't keep vehicles in stock. GM is almost giving vehicles away, while the Ford dealer have set prices. That's where the bailout deal comes into play. The federal government is buying up GM cars to keep them afloat. GM will be in trouble in less than a decade, count on it.

It's still a poorly run company, it's just for the most part run by the feds. That never goes well.


[/quote]

[babock]

Ford took it a step further last year and went to aluminum bodies, so corrosion (for the most part) is a thing of the past.

As long as you don't mind paying more for insurance and repair costs.

Interesting story:
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/how-a-201 ... 1719664610

Right now, I can go to a Ford dealer and buy a F-150 XLT and get a cash rebate of close to $5000 and get an $2000 options package thrown in for free!
http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/incentives/

I am curious, if you had a GM vehicle that you almost got killed in(your words) in 2010 and you hate Obama and the bailouts, why on earth did you buy a 2012 Malibu? Why didn't you buy a Ford car?

I have never owned a GM car and never will. My current car is a 2005 Lexus GS300. Has 180K miles and the only part I have had to replace besides maintenance items is a $200 transmission solenoid. Previous car was a 1994 Toyota Corolla(built in the USA) that had 240K miles on it when I sold it and the only part I replaced was an alternator besides normal maintenance items.

[babock]

When do we start arguing about ethanol vs non-ethanol....synthetic vs dino oil...and if you add snake oil to your gas?

[badmoonrising]

As long as you don't mind paying more for insurance and repair costs.

The lifespan of the body is increased tenfold with aluminum, so yes in the end aluminum wins out. Other manufacturers are going to copy Ford as usual. I'm not in commiefornia, (or worse, NJ) so our rates are pretty low out here.

Interesting story:

Insurance company should have totaled it, heavy machinery fell on it. Even after it's "fixed" it's never going to be right.

Right now, I can go to a Ford dealer and buy a F-150 XLT and get a cash rebate of close to $5000 and get an $2000 options package thrown in for free!

I can go into a GM or Dodge dealer, they can cut the price below what is profitable and Obama will pick up the difference to make his bailouts appear successful and justified, but go ahead. I don't want to subsidize either company. Dodge has been sold so many times and no one can make Dodge profitable.The Italians will bail out just like the Germans did.

I curious, if you had a GM vehicle that you almost got killed in(your words) in 2010 and you hate Obama and the bailouts, why on earth did you buy a 2012 Malibu? Why didn't you buy a Ford car?

I didn't buy a GM, a family member did because she liked how the Malibu looked and it was 8k cheaper than the Ford she wanted. I advised against buying GM or Dodge. She now regrets not buying the Ford. If you don't hate what Obama has done to this country, I need to type slower. Would you like me to post a copy of the incident report about the car shutting off on interstate 95, would that suffice ?

have never owned a GM car and never will. My current car is a 2005 Lexus GS300. Has 180K miles and the only part I have had to replace besides maintenance items is a $200 transmission solenoid. Previous car was a 1994 Toyota Corolla(built in the USA) that had 240K miles on it when I sold it and the only part I replaced was an alternator besides normal maintenance items.

Well that's awesome. My F-150 has needed routine maintenance. Muffler rotted out at 152k miles after years of launching boats in saltwater. It would appear my F-150 was built better than your Lexus and Toyota I've owned 7 Ford cars and trucks, all were sold over 200k miles, none needed anything but routine maintenance either. I buy American products whenever possible because I love my country.

[badmoonrising]

When do we start arguing about ethanol vs non-ethanol....synthetic vs dino oil...and if you add snake oil to your gas?

Simple - Ethanol - terrible for carbureted engines and fiberglass fuel tanks. Not so much for injected engines , aluminum or plastic tanks.

Synthetic if you want your engines to last longer.

Some products are "snake oil" some are a necessity for winter storage, i.e. Startron, etc.

But you're going to tell me how you went to trade school and worked as a marine/auto/diesel tech for decades and that I'm wrong, correct

You forgot the stainless/aluminum hardware argument. Last guy that made a habit of coming in here and claiming to be an expert on everything in the known universe is no longer part of this forum.

Sure do miss that guy.

[babock]

But you're going to tell me how you went to trade school and worked as a marine/auto/diesel tech for decades and that I'm wrong, correct

Nope Just a lowly electrical engineer. Don't have near the experience you have obviously. You have shown me the errors of my ways.

Sorry everybody for the Shaggy Dog story!