Mad Hatter

A comment in the Overview was Ford was afraid to bring an EB..to a V-8 showdown.

Yeah, I think more realism than a sifted bucket of topsoil in the back of a pimp truck is in order.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/12/exclusive-inside-look-fords-new-10-speed-transmission/ I know TTAC is not an esteemed source, but this is more tech than op-ed. Apologies if this has been posted, but a quick check didn't show it.

Hugh; points taken. Continental and Cosmopolitan are maybe best described as "aspirational/lifestyle", and I would think appeal on those counts.

If it's bring back legacy names, I like the idea of Continental for a premium sedan, and Cosmopolitan for a coupe. Zephyr, Spitfire and Corsair are a bit quaint-sounding for the times, although decent enough names. I kinda like the idea of a cat name to get away from all the alpha-numeric soup. I think Caracal could work, being elegant, lithe and exotic. Ocelot could be a viable name for a compact model IMO. But every snarky writer and internet troll would interpret that as Cougar and Bobcat.

Doesn't GM already have something above the Denali-the Escalade? And didn't GM try a "Wrangler fighter" with the H3?

What is the base engine in the Ram you configured? I ask because back when the 3.0L diesel was announced, it had ~$4,500.00 premium over the 3.6L gas. That $2,800.00 was the premium over the 5.7L Hemi. But perhaps I've missed something since?

Glow plugs are only used on cold starts. They don't fire continuously like spark plugs. One the diesel engine starts, it's like akirby said-compression ignition.

Interesting; I didn't know the excavators were not only foreign-made but outsourced. To this day, I still can't operate a backhoe without a quad-stick control worth a darn. The 545s were never that common in south Texas, but you would see the Highway Department had some for mowing, and they seemed to be somewhat common as landscape tractors. And Vermeer used 300 I-6s in brush grinders. Re: Ag equipment-I got my most recent tractor a couple of years after the CNH purchase of Ford's farm lines. I chose a Long since it was identical to the old X000-series. In fact, the dealer said the origins of the FarmTrac line went back to when Ford sent tooling to India to set up a plant. I got the remote off a 3000 parts tractor.

Just wondering if anybody remembers the commercial equipment. We had a 550 Special backhoe and an A66 loader. But there was also an excavator that Ford built. We also had an air compressor that wasn't made by Ford (I think it was Gordon), but it had a 302 in it, and was set up so that it ran as a four-cylinder and the other four pumped air.

http://bankruptcylawreview.com/blog/gms-advertising-identity-crisis-hurting-sales

That was the most-cited figure, but I believe that price is a premium over the Hemi option. As a stand-alone option, I believe it's supposed to be $4,000.00 above the base 3.6L V6.

Great article. IMO, the 1967 Eldorados owed their clean lines to those Continentals.

There is an article in this months' Hemmings' Classic Car about this company and those particular trucks. Actually, they changed up the format of the magazine and have been featuring a trucking article for the past six or so months. Sometimes it's about a company, sometimes about a particular piece of road, and sometimes a truck. BTW, I get a kick out of reading these threads. When I was a kid, my dad had a fair-sized utility and commercial sitework company. I remember he had a B-model Mack winch truck (probably one of the last), and a Diamond T that was much more modern-looking (I'm guessing one of the last, also-this was late-'60s/early '70s); I guess it was maybe some badge-engineered truck like the latter Brockways? For some reason after that, he went to gas-engine trucks. Had a new '72 C-70 tandem with a 427/5X3, C and F-Series Fords with 330 XD/straight 4-speeds.

Fuuuu ... 300+MPH ...I want to see that GT come to the Texas Mile speed trials; they didn't have anything that got closer than 194 MPH, this year.

Howdy! When you get your Boss, be sure and post pics/impressions.

GT 500 5.4

No Ram Miser and Prospector?

Try here to request PINs.

I would've thought an Excursion panel truck would've been an inexpensive means to obviate some of the trade use of cargo vans. An F-series cutaway with a passenger box wouldn't have been any less appropriate than an E-series shuttle IMO. And a Cargo box on an F-series cab-chassis isn't substantially longer than an equivalent E-series. So, the only good reason for a van is a relatively inexpensive means of moving a large number of people-great for churches, daycare, etc. And that can be mitigated some by re-using the passenger box from a previous van. Ambulances? I haven't seen any new governmental ones in years, and probably won't if there's no diesel in E-series. Private ambulance services still use some configured as cargo vans, but re-using boxes or buying used ambulances seems to again solve that. Front-end length isn't substantially greater on an F-series. And 4X4 is another F-series plus. So, to those more attenuated to vehicle matters and particular uses, why are full-size vans needed? Thanks.

I like it. I agree it looks more refined than the previous model. The grille is the worst part, IMO-bland and derivitave.

Chevy: Don't Let The Smooth Taste Fool You :fan:

About 45 seconds into the video. Looks like there's a burn-out, then a cut to the tree with the truck rolling at the green light.

I have a slow connection, so the video was kinda choppy-did the EB truck make the 1/4 on a rolling start?