1998 Chevrolet 4x4 Dually Extended Cab on 2040-cars

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Ram 1500 bests new F-150 in MT pickup shootout

Ford's 2015 Ford F-150 is a technological tour-de-force, what with its aluminum-intensive construction and its powerful and efficient new 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine option. But now that it's hit the market, it's time to get down to brass tacks and find out how just the latest F-150 actually stands up to its rivals in the hyper-competitive fullsize segment. Motor Trend is among the first to round up the Ford (in Lariat 2.7-liter 4X4 guise here) and put it up against the Ram 1500 Outdoorsman EcoDiesel 4x4 and 5.3-liter-equipped Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71 to find out how Dearborn's new-think truck measures up. The test put the trio through over 1,000 miles of tough driving in California and Arizona in a variety of conditions from just cruising around unladen to hauling a trailer. MT found all three trucks to be competent, but the most praise got heaped on the Ram and the Ford, with the Chevrolet falling a step behind its competitors in many tests. Among the Ford's most-liked features was its 2.7-liter, twin-turbo V6 that helped make the F-150 easily the quickest of the group, with some editors saying the engine felt about the same whether driving around with cargo in the bed or not. There was some minor turbo lag during acceleration while trailering, but that issue affected the Ram, too. The Ram's powertrain was lauded, as well. The EcoDiesel was torquey around town, and the 1500's combination of an eight-speed automatic and air suspension was judged to be the best of the lot. It was the most difficult to get into the bed, though. The Ram also won the fuel economy award by netting 20-miles-per-gallon city and 28-mpg highway in the test to beat its Environmental Protection Agency ratings of 19/27. The Ford's EcoBoost managed 17/22, one mpg off each from the EPA numbers, and using a lot of throttle really depleted its efficiency. As MT notes, however, it would take time for the diesel's mileage savings to pay off at the pump for these two trucks. In the end, the Ram just barely eked out the win, with the title partially earned because of "the Ford's unknown maintenance and aluminum repair costs," according to MT. Go check out the full comparison to read all of the details, then let us know what you think in Comments.

Chevrolet donates 300 vehicles damaged by Sandy to help train first responders

Super Storm Sandy took out a lot of automobiles in its path of destruction through the Northeast last October. The number surpassed 250,000 at last count, and a few of those were owned by Chevrolet - cars either sitting on dealership lots or waiting at port to be shipped off. Rendered unsellable by the water damage inflicted by Sandy, these vehicles were facing the crusher. But Chevy didn't send them there.
Instead, Chevy had a better idea: It will be donating 300 of these vehicles damaged by Sandy to help train first responders at Guardian Centers in Perry, GA. Chevy is the official automotive partner of Guardian Centers, which is an 830-acre facility that trains first responders in disaster preparedness. Junked cars are practically a consumable commodity there, where a full-size cityscape simulator gives trainees an entire urban center in which to train for all sorts of rescue operations and disaster scenarios.
Chevy says its particular vehicles will be used "in conjunction with role players for wide area searches, traffic congestion in emergency situations, counter terrorism, public order and mass casualty exercises." While grim scenarios all, we're certainly glad there are people out there preparing for the unexpected. While a zombie apocalypse isn't officially on the list of potential disasters to prepare for, when the virus hits, we'll be hot-footing it to Perry, GA to hang with these guys and gals.

eBay Find of the Day: 1990 Chevy 1500 454 SS with just 7 miles

When trawling the classifieds either on a buying mission or merely a time-wasting mission, we spend a lot of time poring over photographs comparing the seller's idea of "Like New!" with our idea of it. It's hard to argue with seven original miles on the odometer, though, which is what this 1990 Chevrolet 1500 454 SS has. It's being sold by Country Chevrolet on eBay, the same dealer who sold the truck to its one and only owner 25 years ago. The purchaser bought two of them and left this one in a garage under a car cover, said garage being less than seven miles away from the showroom floor. Better yet, you can buy with confidence because the seller "has collected all records," which we expect would be the slimmest manilla folder in the history of receipt-keeping. For those unfamiliar, the 454 SS was a half-ton, regular cab, 2WD pickup powered by a 454 cubic inch (7.4-liter) V8 with 230 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque shifting through a three-speed transmission. This was at the same time the Chevrolet Corvette used a 5.7-liter V8 producing 250 hp and 350 lb-ft. The pickup rode on exclusive wheels and only came in black with red cloth inside. The only extra-cost option on this example is an $18 locking fuel filler cap, which, according to the 454ss forum, means it should have cost about $18,460 out the door, the equivalent of about $34,000 today. At the time of writing there are zero bids, but proceedings open at $45,000 and Country Chevrolet wants $49,000 if you have to have your time capsule right now.