Body Metal Thickness Ftw

Mazer18 · March 11, 2009

Well, today on my way home I stopped by the Chevy dealership to check on a few things and while I was there I decided to do a little test with the Ford and Dodge dealerships as well. This topic has been beat to death on here but let's pound on it a little more.

I performed my scientific experiment with a fine set of instruments.....my thumb, index finger, and several select hand muscles. First I tried the Fords. I walked over and started pushing on the door and damnit if they didn't flex about like the women on commericials at 3 A.M. advertising gym equipment. What surpised me about this is that I happened to look down the line and realize the rest of the trucks were smaller. I was pushing on a 250 door and didn't realize it. So I tried a 150 and got the same thing. Doors, bed, tailgate, hood, and roof all had pretty good flex to them. Much more so than my Chevy.

Then with a grin on my face I went to the Dodge 1500's. I got pretty much the same results however the Dodge may beat the Chevy when it comes to the tailgate. If you push on the area right in the middle of GM's tailgates on the crease they move a good inch or so. The rest of the body fell short of the Chevy too I reckon.

My Chevy definitely takes my whole hand or more to move anything except for the tailgate. I was pleasantly surprised by this test and it definitely makes me feel better about my truck compared to the others.

Now this is certainly no excuse for any of the Big 3 however. No American pickup truck should ever flex it's body panels. So GM, if you come across this keep that in mind.

I tried to go into this experiment with the least amount of bias as I could. My Chevy is my first vehicle I've ever had. I actually considered a Ford back when I was shopping 2 years ago but I'm glad I got the Silverado. Out of the Big 3's latest pickup trucks Chevy is certainly still "Like A Rock".

I didn't bother to include Japanese vehicles in the test. Besides, Americans don't buy foreign vehicles do they?

dlewis1111 · March 11, 2009

I didn't bother to include Japanese vehicles in the test. Besides, Americans don't buy foreign vehicles do they?

My Chevrolet was built in Canada, is it foreign? My neighbors GMC was built in Mexico, is that foreign? Toyota races in NASCAR, is that foreign? My wifes Honda was built in America by Americans, is that foreign? The line between foreign and domestic cars has been completely blurred these days.

BuckFeverZ · March 11, 2009

I didn't bother to include Japanese vehicles in the test. Besides, Americans don't buy foreign vehicles do they?

My Chevrolet was built in Canada, is it foreign? My neighbors GMC was built in Mexico, is that foreign? Toyota races in NASCAR, which is bullshit. My wifes Honda was built in America by Americans, is that foreign? The line between foreign and domestic cars has been completely blurred these days.

Fixed.

Mazer18 · March 11, 2009

LOL Buck I agree; Toyota doesn't belong in NASCAR. Anyhow, yes dlewis, that is FOREIGN. American vehicles didn't start out being built in other countries. Jobs were shipped overseas slowly over time. You know as well as I do that it shouldn't be like that and it's about high time that American money benefits America.

Don't drive this thread down the wrong road here though.

dlewis1111 · March 11, 2009

LOL Buck I agree; Toyota doesn't belong in NASCAR. Anyhow, yes dlewis, that is FOREIGN. American vehicles didn't start out being built in other countries. Jobs were shipped overseas slowly over time. You know as well as I do that it shouldn't be like that and it's about high time that American money benefits America.

Don't drive this thread down the wrong road here though.

Point well taken, and I actually agree with everything that you are saying.

Nick The Great · March 11, 2009

You should try it on a 1977 Silverado! I remember crashing a bicycle into my uncle's truck and panicking thinking I ruined his truck. No scratch, no dent, nothing!

Our trucks may be better than the other trucks nowadays, but that ain't saying much.

Mazer18 · March 11, 2009

Thanks David. It's obviously nothing you or I have ever done to cause it but the blame does lie with politics from about the 1950's on.

LOL I know what you mean Nick. They were built to take a bullet back then. I'd love to see all trucks built that way today. I was just talking about the Big 3's latest generation pickups.

MikeInCtown · March 11, 2009

Perhaps the OP wanted almost no flex and then his hand would have left a dent in teh door when he was finished??

The steel used in trucks these days is stronger and more corrosion resistant, which makes the need for heavy guage steel less of a need. Lighter vehicles can also haul more and pull more since less power is being expended to haul around redundant weight.

My god, what would you say about my GMC with it's composite bed sides?

Mazer18 · March 11, 2009

Perhaps I'd like no flex or dent.....

The steel on today's trucks is also lighter because some folks think that they need to control every little aspect of everyday life.....enter your EPA/emissions regulations. Trucks today have such strict emissions regulations that they are built lighter and thinner to control weight which affect emissions through redundant weight as you said. They also control plenty of other things such as paint, etc.

I can't wait for a hail storm to run through and make my truck look like the Moguls at the Winter Olympics.

What would I say about your GMC with composite bed sides? I'm not sure I'd say anything. Your composite bed sides probably hold up better to dings and dents better than my STEEL bed sides though which is a shame.

VMax2007 · March 11, 2009

My Chevrolet was built in Canada, is it foreign? Nope
My neighbors GMC was built in Mexico, is that foreign? Nope

Toyota races in NASCAR, is that foreign? Yep

My wifes Honda was built in America by Americans, is that foreign? Yep

The line between foreign and domestic cars has been completely blurred these days.

That was the easiest test I have ever taken.

Bmart · March 11, 2009

well my truck survived through a really bad hail storm that had golf ball size ice. My aluminium tonneau cover was destroyed, looked like the surface of the moon, but the truck itself only had 3 small dents on the top of the cab... go figure. now the dodge neon that was parked in front of me looked like a giant white golf ball. The honda dealership down the road lost every car in the lot, all right offs.