Why is Dodge more popular than Ford/GM? (Not a bash post)

[Riversdad]

After 26 years of owning Rams, I went with a F-250 for my retirement truck. It came down to the flat floor in the crew cab for my dogs and the 7.3 V-8. So far so good. I got away from the diesels because I no longer needed it, but if I were to get another diesel I'd go back to Ram. The best thing about my last Ram was that Cummins.

 

[deserteagle56]

To answer OP original question, i think its somewhat region specific.

I go to Canada/Alaska every year for a month. FORDs outnumber everything else up there easily 10:1. Why? No idea, maybe dealer network?

^This has a lot to do with it.

Some years ago the bean counters at GM decided to close all the smaller dealerships here in Nevada. Nevada is huge - 7th largest state in land area. Now if you want to buy a GM product in Nevada you have the Reno area in northwest Nevada, the Elko area 300 miles away in northeast Nevada, or Las Vegas, 500 miles to the south. So out here in rural Nevada you see mostly Ford and Ram. Why would you buy a GM product if you have to drive several hundred miles for service or recalls?

Driving through the remote Catlow Valley in southeastern Oregon a while back I had to wait for a cattle drive going down the highway. When I finally got close to where they were penning the cattle for branding I had to sit and wait for a few minutes while they cleared the roadway. Near the pens all the trucks with stock trailers were lined up. I counted 29 Ford Superdutys and 1 lone Dodge Dakota. That was explained when I got to the nearest town - Burns, Oregon. A long distance to the next sizeable town....I think 130 miles to Bend, Oregon. One car dealer in Burns - Ford. So everyone in the vicinity drove Fords.

 

[nickw]

I'm a Ford fan although I do love the looks of the Ram HD trucks. Anyway, it hasn't been mentioned but it seems to me (I could be wrong) that there is more aftermarket support for the Ram platform. That, and AEV has done an extraordinary job of marketing their upgrade packages to the Ram market, and that increased visibility may have something to do with Ram trucks being viewed as more "adventure ready". Also, until very recently, the Power Wagon was the only HD truck on the market that came from the factory with real offroad chops, i.e. lockers, winch, disconnecting sway bar, small lift, etc. Now that Ford has the Tremor package and GM has the AT4 and whatever Chevy calls their version, there are more options.

Just my 2 cents and I could be totally off base.

I think this is primary reason - "factory" off road upgrades due to AEV really drive the market for RAM's IMO.

The primary reason I bought one - dollars. Truck for truck I don't think RAM's are cheaper than a comparable Ford or Chevy, but the tend to have lots of Tradesman level Ram's on lots so they are easier to find. The majority of Fords are ordered with fancier stuff by dealers but it seems like the Chevy's were all $80k rigs on the lots and almost ALL diesel.

My Ram, new, 1.5 years ago was $44k OTD, all the F250's on the lots were high $50k's with all sorts of fancy packages but do think at the time the base model was high 40's sim to Ram.

 

[SDDiver5]

Interesting observation. I think RAM offers simplicity and therefore they are a little cheaper than Ford and GM. Plus they dominate in the 5500 range for the big camper or big haluer guys. I don't think Chevy or Ford can come close in that category. But in Southern CA, I probably see 10 Super Duty trucks for every RAM.

 

[chet6.7]

After 26 years of owning Rams, I went with a F-250 for my retirement truck. It came down to the flat floor in the crew cab for my dogs and the 7.3 V-8. So far so good. I got away from the diesels because I no longer needed it, but if I were to get another diesel I'd go back to Ram. The best thing about my last Ram was that Cummins.

The very best thing.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Interesting observation. I think RAM offers simplicity and therefore they are a little cheaper than Ford and GM. Plus they dominate in the 5500 range for the big camper or big haluer guys. I don't think Chevy or Ford can come close in that category. But in Southern CA, I probably see 10 Super Duty trucks for every RAM.

Agree with this observation. Yet it's funny that Earthroamer uses a Ford chassis.

 

[SDDiver5]

Agree with this observation. Yet it's funny that Earthroamer uses a Ford chassis.

LOL apparently I didn't think through my post all that well

 

[Todd n Natalie]

LOL apparently I didn't think through my post all that well

No I agree with you. I think the Ram 5500 is overall the more popular choice when it comes to custom built box campers.
Look how many you see here vs Ford or GM.

 

[ITTOG]

Agree with this observation. Yet it's funny that Earthroamer uses a Ford chassis.

I think the newest Earth Roamer is using the Chevy 6500.

 

[Dirt Rider]

One reason only...Cummins

 

[Todd n Natalie]

I think the newest Earth Roamer is using the Chevy 6500.

Ah okay. Well there ya go, news to me. Not really my cup 'o tea so I guess I don't pay that much attention, haha

 

[ITTOG]

Ah okay. Well there ya go, news to me. Not really my cup 'o tea so I guess I don't pay that much attention, haha

I only know because I just saw a video of it on YouTube.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

^This has a lot to do with it.

Some years ago the bean counters at GM decided to close all the smaller dealerships here in Nevada. Nevada is huge - 7th largest state in land area. Now if you want to buy a GM product in Nevada you have the Reno area in northwest Nevada, the Elko area 300 miles away in northeast Nevada, or Las Vegas, 500 miles to the south. So out here in rural Nevada you see mostly Ford and Ram. Why would you buy a GM product if you have to drive several hundred miles for service or recalls?

Driving through the remote Catlow Valley in southeastern Oregon a while back I had to wait for a cattle drive going down the highway. When I finally got close to where they were penning the cattle for branding I had to sit and wait for a few minutes while they cleared the roadway. Near the pens all the trucks with stock trailers were lined up. I counted 29 Ford Superdutys and 1 lone Dodge Dakota. That was explained when I got to the nearest town - Burns, Oregon. A long distance to the next sizeable town....I think 130 miles to Bend, Oregon. One car dealer in Burns - Ford. So everyone in the vicinity drove Fords.

I work small-town CDJR dealer. Gm told the local dealer they had to build a new building or else, dealer told gm to pound sand and dumped them. Just a used car/trailer dealer now.

It is sad all the orphan GM's we get in and have to turn away. Sure we can put a trans in it but you gotta haul it to a gm dealer at some point to get programmed so you might might as well have them do all of it.

Local fleets have mainly switched to ram... Ford dealer is less than great though.

 

[skrypj]

Rams crew cab wheel base is 149” vs 160” for Ford and GM. Thats one reason that would steer me towards a ram.

I would also say Ram’s 6.4L might have been a more appealing option that Fords 6.2 or GM’s 6.0. But that may change with Ford having the 7.3L and GM putting the 10 speed behind the 6.6L now.

GM is IFS. Thats probably a reason people might steer away.

 

[Trestle]

I don't think there is a single reason, but a balance of reasons that point in a direction when you add them up.

Personal reasons we entered the truck market with a Ram are:

• Aesthetics - Purely subjective, but that's where we're at
• Interior build quality (for the spend) - They've invested a lot of coin in upping their game from say a decade ago and it shows. Would never consider one from years ago (unless it was a manual Cummins model maybe).
• Cummins - Every single engine that I have had/enjoyed the most was an inline gas or diesel engine (the lone exception to "enjoy" would be the 4.2 in my old CJ-7 as it had serious flow issues that robbed power - though finally fixed with the 4.0 later). Even the derated one we now have pulls like you're hooked up to a locomotive. Something about it that is hard to explain.
• Price/availability (that didn't work so well as I had to wait 51 weeks for a special order) WIth the Fords, you pay well over sticker and wait, then end up with a more plastic interior feel.
• One for my duties at work is our fleet, and we're Ford everywhere except for a few NPRs for areas where we need that type of platform. We spend a lot of time dealing with recalls, they tend to be fairly expensive to repair when in an accident. Cars seem to be built to self destruct in an accident these days, even very minor ones.

If we were going for a gas engine, we would have probably gone with a Ford. Their diesels are just too complicated for my taste. The Ram Hemi is OK, but the power curve doesn't put the torque in the same area that we would use it compared to a 7.3. Pair their gas engine with that 10 speed and you're rarely caught flat footed.

Just not a GM guy. No idea why, just wasn't born with it in my DNA I guess. GMCs tend to look good, but the Chevy versions have never appealed. Then there is the IFS thing...but you already mentioned that.