2014 Motortrend Truck of the year

[Savagecanuck1]

Unfortunately GM not being much of an innovator i'm sure it cost them the win .Kudos to Ram for offering the first modern diesel in a half ton.When my lease is up in 3yrs I'll be shopping for a half ton diesel.Loved my duramax.

http://www.trucktrend.com/oftheyear/truck/163_1404_2014_truck_of_the_year_ram_1500/

[CLOSERHawk]

I'm heartbroken. It's tough being a GMC-owning xenophobe.

[RobDarden]

I love Motor Trend, but sometimes their "of the Year" winners leave me scratching my head. They nailed the Car this year, but their truck and SUV didn't make sense to me. They broke their own rule. It's not new or significantly updated. It's just a new engine. Yep....still scratching my head.

[rotti]

Hmmm......Motor Trend.

Didn't they choose the Honda Ridgeline once as "truck" of the year?

I could care less about what they think.

[mawint]

I love chevy just as much as anyone else here, my avalanche is one of the best vehicles I have owned. However, I did drive a newer Ram at a car show a couple of years ago and it does have some nice touches. The under seat storage is awesome and the cab was really nice. Back seat had plenty of room too.

 

This is a gripe in any company that I have but any company that thinks we know what we want usually doesn't do well in execution. Where as a company that does its research and gives the consumer what they want, their product sells a whole lot better. In general it seems like large companies do this and end up back paddling (Microsoft for example).

[MikeNH]

I'll give a damn about light duty diesels when they actually have power. This is just an engine for tight wads who care about fuel economy. It's a damn slug in the Grand Cherokee so I can't imagine it'll be better in a pickup.

[ShotgunZ71]

I'll give a damn about light duty diesels when they actually have power. This is just an engine for tight wads who care about fuel economy. It's a damn slug in the Grand Cherokee so I can't imagine it'll be better in a pickup.

I agree. The $3000 price tag doesn't help. Takes a long time to spend that much more in gasoline in a 5.3 getting 17-18 average. On that note, if they had a 1/2 ton diesel to have the power numbers of the 5.3 or 6.2 and also deliver 30 mpg mixed, then you'd have a great combo. Wishful thinking, I know, but you have a great point.

[MikeNH]

I'll give a damn about light duty diesels when they actually have power. This is just an engine for tight wads who care about fuel economy. It's a damn slug in the Grand Cherokee so I can't imagine it'll be better in a pickup.

I agree. The $3000 price tag doesn't help. Takes a long time to spend that much more in gasoline in a 5.3 getting 17-18 average. On that note, if they had a 1/2 ton diesel to have the power numbers of the 5.3 or 6.2 and also deliver 30 mpg mixed, then you'd have a great combo. Wishful thinking, I know, but you have a great point.

 

 

I'd likely never consider it but I bet the Cummins in the upcoming Titan will be a beast. Too bad Nissans are ugly.

[ShotgunZ71]

I'd likely never consider it but I bet the Cummins in the upcoming Titan will be a beast. Too bad Nissans are ugly.

If that Cummins made it into the Ram, they'd likely have a pretty good piece. Yeah, the Titan and Armada need a makeover terribly. Only a 10-year old exterior design...

[MikeNH]

I've never been a fan of Nissan designs. Plus living in Michigan if I bought a Titan my friends here would think I wan an anarchist.

[KMGZ400]

half ton diesel winning truck of the year? right...

 

 

regardless, does anyone actually consider motortrend real truck guys?

[Jon A]

I've been a GM guy forever, but I had to think long and hard about buying the Dodge instead. They are pretty darn nice. If I lived farther away from work so I would rack up many more miles than I do it would have been hard not to buy it.

 

But I agree with the above--this diesel is just a bit too small to get me to go for it. While it'll certainly "get the job done" you're giving up a lot of power to the big gas V8's. Had it been in the 5 liter range with 300 something HP and 500 something TQ, it may have been a different story. But it's quite a bit below that and in MT's "Real MPG" combined test it bests the GM 6.2 by only 4 MPG which for me is only a few hundred dollars a year. That's not worth it to me to give up that much power. To others who will put a lot more miles on it and aren't HP junkies like me it could be a pretty good choice.

 

As impressive to me in that test is how well the 6.2 does--easily the most powerful engine in the test and it still pulls 20 MPG on the highway in their "Real MPG" test. The 6.4 Hemi only does 17 and the 6.7 Cummins gets 18 (albeit in heavier trucks).

[Savagecanuck1]

I'll give a damn about light duty diesels when they actually have power. This is just an engine for tight wads who care about fuel economy. It's a damn slug in the Grand Cherokee so I can't imagine it'll be better in a pickup.

You have to understand this is just the beginning as soon as they all have the diesel option the HP and torque wars will start.We the consumer will benefit. If you have never owned a diesel you have no idea just how good they have gotten. Like I said gm is just playing catch up and not much of an innovator.

[MikeNH]

I'll give a damn about light duty diesels when they actually have power. This is just an engine for tight wads who care about fuel economy. It's a damn slug in the Grand Cherokee so I can't imagine it'll be better in a pickup.

You have to understand this is just the beginning as soon as they all have the diesel option the HP and torque wars will start.We the consumer will benefit. If you have never owned a diesel you have no idea just how good they have gotten. Like I said gm is just playing catch up and not much of an innovator.

 

I've driven countless diesels from all three truck makers. The HD motors are all excellent, I'm not denying that. But this kiddie diesel Ram is using leaves lots to be desired, especially since gas engines keep making more power while improving on efficiency.

[ChrisNJ]

The new Dodge will be the first Dodge I ever test drive when I'm ready in the spring. The new Sierra Denali just isn't doing it for me compared to the SLT. IF GM announces some perks like mag shocks, selectable engine management and/or selectable ride (with mag shocks), and possibly the Yukon Denali interior, then GM will probably win again. No question Dodge has done a nice job.

Since I use my truck as a large sedan, and want a big highway cruiser first, the air-ride is appealing, and all the storage areas in lieu of a trunk also adds appeal. Enough so to say I will at least test drive one.