I think there's a few things at work.

First, yes, I think truck buyers in general are a more loyal group.

Second, the domestics didn't go through a period where their trucks went really sub-par; they always invested money into building good trucks and didn't really cheap out on the customer like they did on cars (okay, maybe the Dodge was a little long in the tooth before the 'Peterbilt' re-do). This probably contributed to having better owner loyalty.

Third, to the extent that their products did fall short, the imports weren't there to offer a much superior product by comparison, like they did in cars. So even if customers were dissatisfied, there was nowhere to defect except the other domestics, and so they never caught the import bug when it came to trucks.

Fourth, a lot of pickup truck sales are in rural areas, and the imports don't have nearly the dealership presences outside cities that the domestics do. So even if a guy likes the Tundra, he might think twice about having to drive 100 miles to purchase and service it.

 

That is EXACTLY where I was going with my question. I could care less if a Silverado 1500 (or any other truck) is a second faster than an F150 in the 1/4 mile. What I'm most interested in is how well it hauls - as in stuff.

For this metric (which I think is most important for trucks), take a look at the rpm in which these trucks make peak torque. Note where the 5.4 is in comparison to others. It certainly does not make the kind of HP the others do - why? Because it makes better low and mid-range power, at the expense of higher rpm.

The simple HP equation illustrates this: HP = tq * rpm. Thus, if you make....say... 390 lb/ft at 3500 rpm, you'll make less HP than if you made 390 lb/ft at 4500 rpm. But which one is more useful in a truck? Guess that is subjective, but for MY truck, I prefer the power to be in the low and midrange....where I need it to get my load moving from a stoplight. I won't be as fast as the other trucks, dang it, but lets hook a chain up to each rear bumper and start to pull.....

Now that I've said all of that.....I just bought a 2008 Ram 1500 with the Hemi. Why did I choose this vice the F150 or Silverado? Easy - I got WAAAYYYYY too good of a deal to pass up! ($10k +TTL for a reg cab long bed SLT w/hemi & 42k miles).

Bob

 

For some, It maybe stop light pulling to other highway passing matters. Bottom line is, I bet from a stop, hauling a load your Hemmah is a faster machine. That matters to people putting their money down. They look at power and MPG with the engine.

 

Can anyone post the torque/power graphs for the Ford 4.6/5.4, GM 5.3/6.2, Dodge 4.7/5.7?

I am just curious, and lazy.

 

This is a point I never considered. Well said.

Point 2 and 3 also make good sense.

 

GM just shut down most rural dealers near me.

 

Eventually, as speeds rise? Probably so (though the difference in HP is not that great, and other things like weight and gearing haven't been discussed). But again - why would I care that my truck is faster....unless I'm buying a Lightning or SRT-10 type of vehicle, of course.

Highway passing? Likely, and that is indeed a good metric for a truck.

My Hemi is rated at 13/19, though ony a few of us weirdos look at MPG when buying full-sized truck. The F150 will be right there with it, and with the GM 1500.

Bottom line from my perspective, I think both the 4.6 and 5.4 are fine in truck applications. Not as sexy or with the peak power that its competitors have (and that does help sell trucks), but still very good truck engines.

Now in cars like the Mustang........that's a whole nuther story.

That would be interesting to see, but you don't see too many run-of-the-mill truck owners taking their F150s/Silverados/Ram 1500s to chassis dynos. In the absense of that kind of data, all we really have to go on is at what RPM the engine makes its peak torque and peak power. This can, admittedly, be somewhat deceiving (no matter which arguement you're trying to make).

 

I don't have a torque graph but the Ford 5.4 peak tq is at 3,500 rpm
Dodge 5.7 peak tq is 3,950 rpm Chevy 6.0 peak tq is at 4,730 rpm.

 

So long domestic truck sales!

 

Ram 5.7 2003

F150 5.4 2006