What kind of logic is this?

[Bayou Titan]

In the Mail section of this month's (May) Motor Trend magazine the editors defend their naming the Ford F150 2004 Truck of the Year by stating "....the Titan serves far fewer slices of the vast pickup market, and that counts....something like 20 buyers will drive home new f-150s for every Titan customer, and that's significance no matter how you cut it."

Now this is the biggest crock I've ever heard in my 45 years. Since he mentioned "no matter how you cut it", lets start by cutting out all the bull. Since when is the value of anything to the consumer determined by the number of units sold? More Timex watches are sold than Rolexes. Is a Timex watch better? More Yugos will be sold than Ferrari Enzos. Is a Yugo a better automobile than the Ferrari? More people eat at Mcdonalds than at Outback Steakhouse. Is Mcdonald's food better than a prime rib at Outback?

I think the editors at Motor Trend need to enroll at a logic course at the nearest university and bone up on the fallacy of mass appeal.

I would much rather be in the minority and drive the superior Titan than with the majority who drive the inferior F150.

[Sammy Sandbag]

This is why I don't listen to anything Motor Trend has to say, especially when it comes to ranking vehicles. Their system defies logic, anti-logic if you will.

[FRD ETR]

uh, advertising dollars

[PHOEBISIS]

BayouTitan,guess they already took the business courses.I bet Ford had a talk with them after they made the Titan the winner in their Truck "contest".Here Ford was,having spent a lot of $$ having redone their pickup:
1)Better interior materials
2)Better ride and handling
3) New "High tech" 3 valve OHC 300 hp motor-they cheaped out on this motor.
4) Spending a lot of $$,testing it to make it less of a death trap on crash tests
After all this-Motor Trend-who probably get 15-20% of their income from Ford-picks the Titan,almost a boutique model over the new Ford.
MT was certainly aware that it would look like they were caving in to Ford,that was why they wrote that explanation.It was a clever explanation,very plausible.If Truck of the Year is based on which new truck is most important to the most people then Ford should have won.If it is based on which 1/2 ton model one performs best then the Titan should have.
Didn't a Volvo SUV win a SUV of the year award a year or 2 back?Didn't sell a lot of them,and they are lemons according to JD Powers.If you bought one of them,it turned out to be a very important decision-bad,but important!Charlie

[SUBTITAN]

The editor must be a diehard Ford guy

[tnbowhunter]

I stopped listening to Motor Trend in 1970, that is the year that they picked the Ford Torino GT as car of the year. I took there advice and purchased one. It sure did look good, but man was it a piece of $hit. I have never had as many problems out of one vehicle as I did that one.
Never again did I listen to Motor Trend or purchase another Ford car.

[Mike H.]

I've given this a lot of thought. IMHO, I think it all has to do with actually making an entire line. Nissan makes only a small portion of the 1/2 ton pickup configurations available from the "big 3". I think regardless of how good the Titan is (I love mine), Nissan can't be given the title of best 1/2 ton pickup LINE until they make a compariable line of trucks. (Same goes for Toyota.)

The tests that I have read that compare specific "equal" configurations put the Titan #1. The one I like most is the one by Car and Driver that tested 4x4 Crew Cabs: http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=7692 Titan smoked everybody else, and rightfully so.

But Nissan only has 1 engine, 1 transmission, 1 wheelbase, 3 trim levels, 2 interior schemes. They simply don't make a "complete" line of 1/2 ton trucks. They make great one, just not comprehensive.

Who makes the best 2WD standard cab short bed? Standard cab long bed? Extended cab long bed? Now ask the same questions in 4WD. Now throw in various engines, transmissions, trims, etc. Technically Nissan and Toyota are no-shows there. I think that will prohibit them from ever getting the "Best 1/2 ton truck" award. They will win specific comparisons, but not as a general 1/2 ton line.

[BudmanHemi]

Logic goes out the window when cash comes too your mind. Who gets the best advertisment is who gives more advertising dollars. I am sure they try too stay inline with the truth as much as possible, but if Dodge just signed a contract for a 4page add in my other popular magazine i may cut them some slack on there poor door reflector design that falls off after 2days. Thank god for aftermarket inserts. Its just advertising. I pay no attention too those magazines.

[Steamguy]

Originally Posted by Bayou Titan

In the Mail section of this month's (May) Motor Trend magazine the editors defend their naming the Ford F150 2004 Truck of the Year

<snip>

I would much rather be in the minority and drive the superior Titan than with the majority who drive the inferior F150.

Actually, if you are driving a Titan, you are in the minority of people who think for themselves. Repeat Ford buyers are just buying the hype. Look at the Ford: how long did it take them to actually do a semi-redesign on the truck? Look at the engineering: When Ford builds something new, it takes them YEARS to get it sorted out. The first thing usually is a life-threatening fuel problem. Then a few years later, you will see a recall for chassis problems.

Now really, get into a Titan: Solid. Fast. Reliable. Three things you can't say about a Ford, and I owned one.

Oh, and the old joke: What comes in a variety of colors and usually at you on your side of the road? A Ford.

[TrojanDan]

Originally Posted by Mike H.

Who makes the best 2WD standard cab short bed? Standard cab long bed? Extended cab long bed? Now ask the same questions in 4WD. Now throw in various engines, transmissions, trims, etc. Technically Nissan and Toyota are no-shows there. I think that will prohibit them from ever getting the "Best 1/2 ton truck" award. They will win specific comparisons, but not as a general 1/2 ton line.

Mike, I think you have some good points, but they're just not true. Here is the link to motor trends article on their 2000 truck of the year: http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/...112_0002_toty/
Just for a quick heads up, its the Toyota Tundra. 2000 was the first year that Toyota came out with that truck, so they didn't have all the options they have now (Double Cab, etc.) which aren't even that many more than they did back then. Either way, the options are/were certainly more limited than they are in Titans now.

Plain and simple, the guys that have posted here got it right. They didn't choose the new F-150 b/c there are more trim options available. They chose it b/c Ford put about $1.8 billion dollars into developing and producing the truck, and for all the advertising dollars they put into the pages of motor trend, they wouldn't/couldn't stand to see it come in at 2nd place to a "jap truck", let alone an all-new, never before produced "jap truck".

[hwwaaahhhhh]

I like being different.

[casique]

Sounds like another case of the "Tail wagging the dog."

The number of options available have nothing to do with how good a vehicle is.

[Butterman]

Car and Driver had an interesting piece a few years back that outlined the process Motor Trend uses in 'choosing' their Car of the Year winner. The bottom line: $$$$$.
The winning manufacturer has to commit to providing vehicles to MT for a year and I believe a certain amount of advertising (and who knows what else). Not a very honest process, to say the least.
After I read that article, I let my MT subscription expire and haven't been back!

[TNTITAN]

Most of the time MT never even clearly states who wins a contest. It is usually "well if you are looking for this........or looking for that......." What a bunch of BS. Give me a winner! But, notice C&D did not give the Titan the best truck award b/c it is not available in as many configs as the ford. Yet, it head to head comparos of similiar models it whips 'em.

[37L1]

"What kind of logic is this?"

Pretzel Logic.