In the face of rising gas prices, full-size pickups are so far defying gravity

William Agnew | For The New Mexican

5/7/2008 - 5/8/08

No, you're not imagining it. Driving used to be some sort of arrangement between equals, but now it's a whole new story. Enormous machines roam the roads of Northern New Mexico in the form of extended-cab pickups running four-wheel-drive hardware, trucks that dwarf anything not named "Peterbuilt" or "Freightliner".

Local drivers can now understand the humble feelings of the diminutive prehistoric mammals that wandered around during the later ages of the dinosaurs. It's a good thing that Silverados and F-150s, Rams, Titans and Tundras aren't carnivorous beasts — just intimidating 21st-century transportation modules, though giant ones to be sure.

There's been a lot of press about the plummeting sales of big pickups as the price of gas continues its inexorable climb toward $4 a gallon. In fact, sales of full-size pickups fell by only 66,035 units in 2007 over the year before, with Americans buying 2,137,689 big pickups, compared to 2,271,277 four-door family sedans, according to Automotive News.

More than 2 million people last year chose to take on the challenge of their own private subprime crises every time they have to pop for a $100 fill-up at the local gas station. We are truly living in the land of the brave. It'll be interesting to see what the numbers hold for 2008 as it rolls along.



What's the allure of these monsters? There's a Cold War mentality that's got to motivate a lot of these the purchases. Remember: When the Russians had 3,000 missiles, we needed 6,000 to feel safe. Today, sharing the road with 3,000-pound cars that could suddenly hurtle out of control has plenty of drivers buying 6,000-pound trucks for defense.

Then there is the actual utility of the vehicles. If you need to pick up a pallet of pumice block after dropping the kids off at school, nothing beats a four-door pickup. Tow a boat to Abiquiú Lake, a trailer to Texas or some horses up into the Sangres with the family in the backseat? A crew cab is perfect for this kind of work.

There's a real sense of security in the high seating position, which also provides the best view on the road. These big trucks are stout and will take abuse for years and years.



Given the high costs of trucks' all-American symbolism and their ambiguous utility as daily drivers, it's a good thing that you can't go wrong with whatever big pickup you buy. I drove the five contenders and found them to all provide amazingly similar driving experiences, with neither a standout performer nor a dog in the group.

It's well known that automobile companies purchase competing vehicles and tear them apart as they design their own models, making sure they are not missing any feature or critical competitive characteristic. Reverse engineering it's called, and it's obvious in the similarities of these trucks that it's become a high art.

Big pickups are uniformly good machines for what they are. These days, it's definitely a situation of buying what you think you'll look good in, or what your daddy drove, because you can't go wrong with the overall package of any of them.

Here's a rundown of the five full-size half-ton pickups, none with just a standard cab, and all with V-8 engines and four-wheel drive. They're listed in order of sales numbers for 2007:

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This pair was all-new last year, and it shows throughout. Inside, one finds a well-finished passenger-car-styled interior worthy of a Cadillac. The individual seats are supportive enough for long drives. Like all the competition, it's a tall step up into the cab of these half-ton extended-cab pickups.

General Motors says the antiquated four-speed automatic transmission in the lighter-duty 1500 models will soon be upgraded to a six-speed. That lack of modern gearing accounted for a sluggish response from the 5.3-liter V-8 on a twisty stretch of road. That 315-horsepower engine is the midlevel V-8 choice: A 4.8-liter pumps out 295 horses while a 6.0-liter tops out at 367. A V-6 and a diesel V-8 are also offered on some models.

Highway response is equal for all of these trucks, always filtered through a thick layer of heavy-duty "truckness," where the springs and steering needed to handle pickup-sized loads mask much of the road feel.

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In its last year before a new version goes on sale in late fall, the Ford also has a four-speed transmission but with an overdrive that makes it act like a five-speed, providing a more responsive feel to the engine, which is good because the 248-horsepower 4.6-liter V-8 otherwise feels a bit weaker than the competition. Even the top 5.4-liter can only muster 300 horses.

The F-150's interior has a chrome-bedecked traditional look — simple and sparse with big buttons and plain gauges — and less of an impression of quality than the GM twins.

Like the Chevy, it has a heavy tailgate that takes some muscle to shut. The same suspension that transmits an extra layer of teeth-chattering choppiness into the cabin also gives the Ford a slightly more precise and nimble handling feel than the others.

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Our test truck was a Laramie Mega Cab, a monster four-door bigger than everyone else's. The interior room is huge, and the rear seatbacks split 60/40, fold flat and even recline. That's the good news.

If one truck stands out, it's the Ram — but not because of the way it handles, for they all drive almost alike, but for its low-rent interior finishes. Even when it has every feature found in the competition, including heated seats, audio controls on the steering wheel, deluxe sound system and self-dimming mirrors, it always feels like the cheapest model.

Even stronger drivers will have to huff a bit to close its ponderous tailgate. For some, its arguably most-aggressive styling will make up for the shortcomings of its interior.

Then again, a new 2009 Ram will launch later this year, and the interior was a main point of focus.

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The newest kid on the block, the Tundra is Toyota's third try at cracking America's market for full-size pickups, following the T-100 and the previous Tundra, which wasn't quite big enough.

With a new plant in Texas and first-year sales of 196,555, Toyota might have finally latched onto the magic formula.

The Tundra drives almost like all the others, with a bit more feeling of engine power from its 381-hp 5.7-liter V-8 (a V-6 and a smaller V-8 are also available) and a touch more precision in its handling.

The Tundra's designers must not have been around in the early 1980s, for the high-quality interior looks disturbingly like something from that era's boombox aesthetic.

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The Titan is more like the Tundra than the American brands, with a similar precision of handling and engine response.

Its restrained interior has the best combination of quality materials and tasteful design, with only an overblown console-mounted shifter marring the overall effect. Anyone can heft the spring-loaded tailgate closed, a no-brainer feature it shares with the Tundra.

Unique in this group, the Titan comes with only one drivetrain (a 317-hp 5.6-liter V-8 with a five-speed automatic), and the overall number of configurations you can choose is smaller than the Tundra's palette and simply pales next to the near-infinite variations from the Detroit competitors.