We did a comparison of the Big Three's 1-ton dualies last year, and of the 3/4-tons a couple of years before that. Therefore, you would think the topic of heavy-duty pickups would be played out, especially since neither Toyota nor Nissan have decided to get into that market. But, guess what? The federal government demanded the automakers' diesel powerplants meet more stringent emission standards starting in 2007. Additionally, Chevrolet and Ford have used this opportunity to roll out completely redesigned models. Well, it looks like we have a story here.
The heavy-duty pickups made by GM, Dodge, and Ford sport similar emission systems, which were designed to accomplish the lofty goal of dispelling the bad, smoky, smelly memories that have lodged themselves in the American driving public ever since diesels made an aborted attempt to win over a gasoline-shocked America during the days of the OPEC embargos. The EPA mandated that diesel-powered pickups clean up their act begining in 2007. This resulted in each automaker coming out with similar emission-control systems to reduce particulate matter by 90 percent and nitrous oxides by 50 percent, among other things.
It also brought diesel-engine emissions to similar levels as gasoline engines. Such a system wouldn't work well if it weren't for the ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel that became available nationwide last year. A plus is that these new powertrains turned out to be a bit noisier than before, forcing the automakers to pack in the sound damping, and resulting in big diesel trucks that sound quieter than their previous generation models. That engine redesign coincides with major redesigns of both the GM and Ford trucks, while the Dodge looks a lot like it did before. What we have now is, for the first time in a long time, heavy-duty pickups that accomplish similar tasks while, at the same time, look very different from their competitors.
We borrowed three pickups from Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford. The vehicles were more or less similarly equipped after factoring in the options and standard equipment (all had premium creature comforts, for example, were outfitted for towing, etc.). We put them on a dyno at DC Performance-a tuner shop in Culver City, California, that serves customers who exhibit a need for speed. (To contact, call 310-841-6996, or visit www.dcperformance.com) Then, we hitched a 2-ton trailer to them that carried one of our project vehicles, a '63 Ford F-100, and ran them up and down a drag strip. And, of course, there were the street impressions we got from driving them around town with and without a trailer. Want to know what we learned? Read on.