Hemi VS Triton

[landyacht]

First off i do NOT want to start a war here, i'm just looking for information, so do NOT be offended by anything as i just want the help of my trusted AF conspirators.

Last night i was watching TV, and saw a commercial. It was of the Dodge Ram 1500 with the 5.7L hemi V8, which was hitched to a trailer on which was mounted a '68 Dodge Charger R/T. Parked next to it was an F150 (they didn't say the motor) hitched to a trailer with a Mustang Boss 302 on it. (I'm unsure of the Boss 302 part, but that doesn't matter). Both trucks were in their Quad cab/Crew cab configurations respectively. I couldn't determine trim levels, but the Dodge looked like it was the Laramie SLT, and the F150 looked like it was FX4 or Lariat.

The two trucks hit it and right off the start within 30 feet, the Dodge pulled ahead of the Ford. By the end of the commerical, there was about 1/2 a car length between the trailer with the Charger and the front of the F150. They raced down a 'drag strip', so no turns or hills.

They claimed that this test had recently been performed, and that because the hemi had the most horsepower in it's class, it out-performed the F150.

Here is where i need your help. This means YOU the reader, so don't click out of this post!

The Ford F150 has the most torque in it's class, with the exception of Nissan's new Titan with it's 5.6L V8 (i think that's what Nissan has). What is bothering me, is that the Dodge cannot out-pull the F150, neither can the Nissan. The F150 has the highest towing capacity in it's class, which therefore means the torque has to be high, and available low. In fact, 80% of it's torque is available at 1000 RPMs, which is ever so slightly above idle.

I have seen with my own eyes, the following scenario:

A 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab Larmie SLT with the Hemi fresh off the showroom floor had a rope tied to it's rear hitch reciever. The other end of that rope was tied to the hitch reciever of a 2004 Ford F150 Crew Cab FX4, also right off the showroom floor.

Both trucks were in 2 wheel drive.

A horn sounded, and both drivers punched it. The hemi broke loose, it's tires started spinning and smoking something wicked, a major burn out. And the hemi was screaming, it was awesome. But the Dodge wasn't moving forward, it was moving backwards as all this went on.

The Ford was pulling it across the parking lot. About 0.5 degrees UPHILL to be exact. Now as i stated, this i saw with my own eyes, at a Ford ride and drive, a product introduction showing how the new truck stood up against the competition about a month before the new truck was introduced to the public last fall. This viewing was only available to employees of Ford Motor Company, and i was a Ford salesman at the time, so i attented and drove all the trucks they had to compare them and such. Anyway:

Now, based on the factual information i provided, and what i've seen with my own 2 eyes, would the commercial have been factual. Does anyone know anything about the 'comparison' that was shown?

I believe it was a pile of BS myself, just there to show that the F150 doesn't have as much horsepower. My reasons:

1. The Ford has more torque, so will pull better right from the word go.

2. The Mustang is lighter then the Charger (i think?) so the Ford has the advantage anyway.

3. I've seen the trucks hitched together, and the F150 was stronger.

So how does the Dodge win??

As stated, i think this is a pile of BS myself, and am thinking of writing a letter to Daimler Chrysler as a result of it. What i need from you my friends, is your opinions and knowledge about what has been described here, and i hope you can shed some light on this subject as to whether i'm gravely mistaken and all i've witnessed is propaganda, or if i'm correct and the commercial was put out there to be just like a politician; degrading and influencing.



Thanks so much for reading all of this, and thank you in advance for your replies.

[flylwsi]

did you seriously just ask that question?
it's a commercial.
do you really think that they'd show the ford winning, even if it was faster?

it's a dodge commercial.
why do you think the dodge won?

ask this in the car comparison forum, and you'll get tons of GOOD feedback...

write them a letter, but they'll tell you that it's a marketing idea.
no big deal. happens all the time.

if we were to write people letters for every sketchy/untrue commercial on TV...

[landyacht]

Yes fly, i understand that, but in all seriousness, why would you show something that was total BS? The Dodge can't out-pull the F150, so how can they show that it can?

There's legal issues around that...i can appreciate your point flyswi, but really...

[flylwsi]

there's really not any legal issue.
you can't say that they defnitively DID beat it b/c it's better.
they don't say that in any of their ads.
b/c THAT is illegal.
i'm well versed on the advertising issues, it's my major in college.

the point in the commercial is that the dodge *could* out pull the ford.

FYI:
the mustang and charger are pretty close in weight, i'm sure you could waste time finding it, but it's a moot point.

nowhere in any of dodge's commercials do they say:
our truck is better, and CAN outrun the ford with a trailer.
they simply imply it.

trust me, if there was an issue...
ford, gm, the fcc, they'd all be on dodge's ass.

the advertising business is self regulated, with the fcc as a backup.

so if it were blatantly false, the commercial would NEVER have made it.

[carrrnuttt]

Originally Posted by landyacht

Yes fly, i understand that, but in all seriousness, why would you show something that was total BS? The Dodge can't out-pull the F150, so how can they show that it can?

I always laugh at all those commercials. The Nissan truck is the only one that doesn't do those "1/4-mile trailer acceleration" commercials (so far as I know), yet, in real-world testing, out-accelerates all these competitors in its class, especially with a trailer in tow.

http://edmunds.com/reviews/compariso...8/page005.html
- To see how the Titan pulled off the win, look no further than its performance at the test track. Truck owners love to talk numbers and the Titan turned in top results in nearly every category. Its 0-to-60-mph time of 7.7 seconds was a full half second ahead of the second-place Dodge, and when it was loaded down with a 6,000-pound trailer and three passengers, it extended its lead over the Ram to nearly three seconds (16.8 vs. 19.5). Test notes revealed that the Titan got off the line faster than every other truck in the test, unloaded or not, and maintained a strong, virtually uninterrupted pull thanks to seamless shifts from its five-speed gearbox.

http://edmunds.com/reviews/compariso...ml#performance

[landyacht]

Yeah, i found that interesting myself carrrnut. I read that in a magazine a week or two ago and couldn't believe it...Motortrend i think it was. I tend to laugh at commercials myself...it's funny. GMC raved about more standard horsepower then the F150 when it came out, and they all pretty much do, but as the Ford was 'chasing' the Chevy around the lot, you could see the horrible lean and ride to it, where the 150 stayed beautifully flat and all the rest...quite redundant i thought! Then Dodge around the same time, was raving about how they have 20 inch rims and the hemi, something the Ford doesn't. And they wonder why they have lower towing capacity and the worst fuel mileage!!

In any event, flywsi i guess i should have clarified what i meant by legal issues, what i was referring too is that they were implied based on the content. I can appreciated that you're more versed on me in the subject if it's your major in college.

My own major is in Automotive Marketing, i suppose that explains why i'm so bothered about this. I shouldn't be surprised by the cut-throat tactics however, i have been selling cars and trucks for nearly 2 years....

Oh well. I know this is turning into a bit of an off topic debate, but i suppose the bottom line is that i don't believe it can happen, though it was certainly implied. Back to bottom line: In your experience and extensive knowledge, was the commercial BS or i am i a moron for thinking what i do??

[pre98zetec]

Yeah chevy's always doing the "More standard horsepower then *insert car here*"

[landyacht]

Posted by sk8ter_in_ny

Yeah chevy's always doing the "More standard horsepower then *insert car here*"

they have a tendency of doing that don't they??

[pre98zetec]

Yup,

"Chevy Impala has more standard Horsepower then Toyota Corolla"
"Chevy Silverado has more standard Horsepower then Ford F-150 And Dodge Ram"
"Chevy Cavalier has more standard Horsepower then Ford Focus"

[Neutrino]

Firts of all lets get the facts. Ford started this whole drag racing thing when it made fun of the dodge "that thing got a hemi" comercials. In the ford comercial they simulate the dodge comercial but the F150 pulling the stang destroys the ram pulling the charger.

So a few months later the Dodge comercial shows up, with the cars in same configuration as in the ford comercial with the dodge winning, however the Dorge comercial specifies at the end that the comercial was an actual test done by an independent organisation. If I see the comercial again I'll try to write its name down.

So unless that its a fraudulent organisation that test was valid.

As far as your experience, I belive what you saw; however, the test was done under the control of ford and for all we know that dodge was tampered with. So unless that dodge came sealed straight from dodge or at least fully checked by a dodge mechanic in my eyes it was meaningless.

[bigboyblue327]

[quote=landyacht]Yeah, i found that interesting myself carrrnut. I read that in a magazine a week or two ago and couldn't believe it...Motortrend i think it was. I tend to laugh at commercials myself...it's funny. GMC raved about more standard horsepower then the F150 when it came out, and they all pretty much do, but as the Ford was 'chasing' the Chevy around the lot, you could see the horrible lean and ride to it, where the 150 stayed beautifully flat and all the rest...quite redundant i thought! Then Dodge around the same time, was raving about how they have 20 inch rims and the hemi, something the Ford doesn't. And they wonder why they have lower towing capacity and the worst fuel mileage!!

It seems like no matter what you hear you'll still believe the f-150 is the best truck out there...

[carrrnuttt]

Originally Posted by Neutrino

Firts of all lets get the facts. Ford started this whole drag racing thing when it made fun of the dodge "that thing got a hemi" comercials. In the ford comercial they simulate the dodge comercial but the F150 pulling the stang destroys the ram pulling the charger.

So a few months later the Dodge comercial shows up, with the cars in same configuration as in the ford comercial with the dodge winning, however the Dorge comercial specifies at the end that the comercial was an actual test done by an independent organisation. If I see the comercial again I'll try to write its name down.

So unless that its a fraudulent organisation that test was valid.

As far as your experience, I belive what you saw; however, the test was done under the control of ford and for all we know that dodge was tampered with. So unless that dodge came sealed straight from dodge or at least fully checked by a dodge mechanic in my eyes it was meaningless.

Check the stats I posted. The Hemi Ram outruns the Triton F-150 in every test, including towing.

[Neutrino]

Originally Posted by carrrnuttt

Check the stats I posted. The Hemi Ram outruns the Triton F-150 in every test, including towing.

thanks for pointing that. i missed somehow that link

[landyacht]

It seems like no matter what you hear you'll still believe the f-150 is the best truck out there...

Well, i did sell for Ford for nearly 2 years, and i worked for the dealership i worked for specifically because they dealt mainly in trucks, and i've been a Ford truck guy all my life...so yeah, i am biased!!

It's not the truck of the year for no good reason either!!

Firts of all lets get the facts. Ford started this whole drag racing thing when it made fun of the dodge "that thing got a hemi" comercials. In the ford comercial they simulate the dodge comercial but the F150 pulling the stang destroys the ram pulling the charger.

I haven't seen this commercial...that makes a good point! I'll have to keep an eye out for it, as if this is the case, it makes for a level playing field in which case i've foot-mouthed again i think.

As far as your experience, I belive what you saw; however, the test was done under the control of ford and for all we know that dodge was tampered with. So unless that dodge came sealed straight from dodge or at least fully checked by a dodge mechanic in my eyes it was meaningless.

I can't say that one way or the other.. ..i do know the tires were new on each, and the trucks were totally stock but beyond that i can't say. The Chevy that was there was the same way, loaded to the hilt with new tires and the whole bit...like i said, i dunno, so i guess your point is valid!

I read the whole article carrrnut, and though it's not actually stated, the Dodge seems to be faster then the F150 in the 1/4 mile, as stated the Titan was fastest, and they imply the Dodge as the 2nd place winner.

Thank you for the information, i'm rather disappointed that the Dodge would be faster then the F150, as the F150 has better torque and towing capacity, though the numbers put into the real world do make a difference afterall. Neutrino, if you can see who the independent study guys were, please post it, i'll watch for it myself and see if i can't dig up the actual results...otherwise, please and thankyou for the information!

Thanks for your knowledge and research all, this is what i needed to know...no-matter how frustrating it is!

...

[-The Stig-]

I cannot believe there's a thread debating why a Dodge commercial shows a Dodge winning a scripted race...