What has GM done new to set its self in the right direction.

[NoMoreGM4Me]

Ford's new engines are light years better than the boat anchor 5.4's.

 

GM needs to get their Gen V engines out asap!

[MikeNH]

As for the EB making my truck look silly, maybe in a race. I was very excited about this engine initially but it has failed to live up to the hype surrounding its fuel efficiency and the fueling issues make me wonder if a few years down the road when my proven GM 5.3 is still running strong that all the EBs will be in the shop being overhauled. Not much of a competition then huh?

 

 

And when GM does release the Gen V motors they will blow the Ford V8s out of the water, just like GM small blocks have been doing for like 60 years.

[NoMoreGM4Me]

Time will tell, but in all honesty, I am not a huge fan of Turbo V6's replacing V8's. But don't think GM isn't going to follow suit.

[Carder09]

The guy I work with has an eco boost, we raced and yes he did beat my chevy, but it wasn't by a long shot, hell he creeped about half a truck length then we held, that's not saying much for a tt vs. Just a bb tuned truck.

[NoMoreGM4Me]

The guy I work with has an eco boost, we raced and yes he did beat my chevy, but it wasn't by a long shot, hell he creeped about half a truck length then we held, that's not saying much for a tt vs. Just a bb tuned truck.

 

 

Then he needs a driver mod. Stock Ecoboosts are running high 13's in the 1/4 mile. I doubt your tuned 5.3 could even break 16 seconds.

[Morgan1986]

I would never have bought another 4 speed. Ask anyone whose been here since last year, I was very undecided and a bit apprehensive about giving GM another chance as I wasn't terribly happy with my 2003. In the end the only thing that really let GM win me over at the time was because Ford didn't offer the F150 in the configuration I wanted. I was a harsh critic of GM for several years but the past 2-3 years have shown a huge leap in quality. I drive 20-30 rental cars a year and have for the past five years so I see a lot of what is on the market. Telling me to stop living in the past is just a way to gloss over the boat anchors that powered Fords for the past 14 or so years.

 

And sales volume is certainly an indicator of quality which is why up until 2008 Chevy/GMC beat Ford sales and why now again their numbers are only like 20k units shy of Fords.

 

why do you need to drive so many rental cars a year ?

[jro909]

wow what a pissing match

[SilverBulletSS]

I can run down Ecoboosts all day long, in my ancient Gen IV. With cloth seats, drum brakes and no footwell lighting.

[jro909]

I can run down Ecoboosts all day long, in my ancient Gen IV. With cloth seats, drum brakes and no footwell lighting.

 

is it stock?

[SilverBulletSS]

Kinda, not much done besides, CAI, Headers, Hi-Flo cats, Magnaflow catback and a tune. I think its the weight reduction of the cloth seats, footwell light delete and no rear vents..... LOL

 

It is also an SS with the 6.0. So from the start it was up there in power.

[Quint]

Everyone please put down the epeen ruler and allow this thread to get back on topic.

 

My thoughts on the seeming downfall and revival of GM:

 

GM was on the precipice of failure due to loss of market share, corporate mismanagement and poor dealing with their assembly unions, parts suppliers, and global market exclusions. It didn't have much to do with the quality of their end product. This is the simplest nutshell I can create for the situation.

 

After the bailout and corporate rebirth, GM is seeing their market share increase again due to product improvement and innovation. This has come from the better incorporation of their global platform engineering efforts and improved quality control of the end product; most of those overpaid union workers are now being forced to earn that money with stricter quality enforcement, and regional design teams now work more in tandem with other regions' teams to develop a broader range of a base application on which to build the company's various models globally. And there's the simple nutshell for that aspect.

 

In regards to sales versus competitors' sales, I can only conclude that too many people buy into hype and make their purchases based on delusions or narcissism. Regarding the trucks, I still believe GM has the best product to serve what I would want in a truck overall, even with an older platform than the other brands. The best reason I can come up with for the superior sales numbers of the Ford F-150: Ford's marketing does the best job of fooling the vast abundance of stupid people. Regarding other vehicles, the same principles apply. One would assume that true Americans would support the products made in their country by companies based in their country, but as we all know there are many many many people who drive Toyotas, Nissans, Volkswagens, BMWs and Mazdas. Instead of buying a (generally) American-made product that's made by an American-based company, they see all the hype and marketing of some foreign-based product, swallow it without tasting, and buy it without a single afterthought of what the purchase means to anyone or anything outside the scope of their own gratification.

 

Marketers know that most people are too stupid to make informed decisions for themselves. They have mastered their craft and the Wal-Mart effect on sales competition can be found everywhere now. I'm speaking of the nice big economic screw-the-stupids cycle. Where Wal-Mart seduces the dummy dummies with low low prices on Chinese-made imported crap that gives buyers the gratification of saving a few bucks but all the while hurting themselves by putting their friends and neighbors and family members out of work because the places they work for can't compete with the SuperCenter. Apply the same cycle to the auto industry, and lookie lookie you will see part of why GM was having trouble competing with foreign automakers, losing market share, and then needing a bailout.

 

In summary, GM is improving. Whether or not they succeed in the future will largely be determined by their marketing department. Or by the hopeful scenario that people start wising up to be half as smart as I am and think for themselves.

[MikeNH]

There is no way in hell stock EB trucks are running 13s. Everything I've seen says 14s, which is impressive but 14 isn't 13, sorry.

 

Morgan- my job requires me to travel just about every week, so lots of rentals, flights and hotel rooms are part of my day to day life.

[music]

The Ecoboost would make your truck look silly...towing or at the track. It simply outworks and out classes your truck in every way.

 

 

I guess you're just *trying* to be inflammatory? I test drove the EB recently, and wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be. At light throttle, which is how I normally drive, it feels like a V6 should feel. When I first went WOT, the truck stuttered bad, blew some smoke, and finally got some power going. It almost died. After it warmed up, it rev'd nicely, with the hint of those turbos spinning up. I think I like the idea of using turbos on smaller motors, if they can make them reliable and cheap to repair (they *will* need repairs after warranty). I'd consider an EB F150 for towing our camper, but complaints on the Ford 6-spds would worry me. I've read a lot of posts on issues there... with many guys not getting 2000 miles before having it towed. The EB still has an unresolved overheat issue in hot conditions when towing too. Maybe the 2012 model will have these issues fixed?

[redjewel2ss]

Quint said it best! nobody can argue with that!

 

as for footwell lighting. if your scared of the dark, go to autozone and buy some plug in neons to ziptie under there. $20 and you will be able to see your feet in any color you want LOL

 

as for the rear drum brakes... most of your braking power comes from the front brakes, NOT the rear. the reason the rears have drums is for reliability. unless your racing around the track, or towing a 20,000 lb trailer down a 6% grade road, then there is no NEED for rear discs. if the truck wasn't safe with rear drums, then it wouldn't be on the road.

 

the EB would have been light years better if they put a supercharger rather than a turbo... instant power. but of course they were going for the MPG freaks looking for that extra 1-2 mpg! the 5.0 is a nice engine, but only time will tell how their new lineup will last, so i'm not going to speculate.

 

Toyota is all about the profit. there trucks may appear superior to some others, but put them through a torture test and they will come in last. Ford made a video about this, youtube it and see how bad their frames flex.

 

i owned a dodge before i bought my silverado. the thing was a gas guzzling sluggish brick! it was reliable, but slow and had terrible fuel mileage. i can't say much about the newer hemi's, their interior and exterior designs just don't intrigue me enough to want to test drive one.

 

BTW, i average about 22-23 mpg highway in my truck mainly from my 87 octane tune (see sig). and its a 5.3L with 3.08 gears. i have an old thread recording all my experiences with adding the performance parts i installed and the MPG effect my truck had after installing them. i've towed a pair of jet ski's, a 26' boat, a uhaul trailer, up and down hills with it and it performs just fine.

[NoMoreGM4Me]

the EB would have been light years better if they put a supercharger rather than a turbo... instant power.

 

I'd say peak torque of 420lb-ft @ 2500 RPM is pretty "instant". Show me a Supercharged engine that has peak torque at that low RPM.

 

i owned a dodge before i bought my silverado. the thing was a gas guzzling sluggish brick! it was reliable, but slow and had terrible fuel mileage. i can't say much about the newer hemi's, their interior and exterior designs just don't intrigue me enough to want to test drive one.

 

 

 

Was it a current Ram? I didn't think so. I would never buy a previous gen Ram.