2010 Truck Buying Guide

By Chuck Giametta

Image is out as a motivation to buy a big pickup and a vital chunk of the truck market is out with it.

Americans scooped up 2.5 million new pickups annually before 2008’s double whammy of gas-price contortions and economic convulsions. Almost overnight, pickup sales shrunk to about 1.5 million. Personal-use buyers fled fastest and in greatest numbers.

What remains is a nucleus of craftspeople, farmers, ranchers, fleet buyers, and hard-core towers and recreational users. In other words, those with a livelihood or lifestyle that actually requires a truck.

Unfortunately, automakers are saddled with 2010 pickups shaped by product strategies laid out years ago and aimed at a buyer mix that no longer exists. In a cruel twist, that advanced planning resulted in plush, comfortable rigs better positioned than ever to satisfy the pickup-truck dilatants.

Comfort and convenience advancements found in 2010 trucks include the Dodge Ram 1500’s ride-enhancing coil rear suspension and its versatile RamBox cargo-storage system. The latest Ram is also the first Dodge – car or truck -- to offer a heated steering wheel. The Ford F-150 boasts its biggest, plushest cabs ever. And the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra have never handled rough roads better, thanks to the introduction of hydraulic body mounts.

Electronics abound in 2010 trucks, as well. A manufacturer isn’t in the game if it doesn’t offer voice-activated navigation with real-time traffic and weather info, Bluetooth phone and USB iPod connectivity, back-seat DVD entertainment, a rearview camera, and power folding mirrors.

Luckily, however, engineers and designers also kept their eye on their traditional base. So 2010 pickups also boast technology and features better suited than ever to serious truckers.

Half-ton-pickup payload and towing ratings are at all-time highs. The Ford F-150 is rated to tow trailers weighing over 11,000 pounds, the Silverado, Sierra 10,700 pounds, the Toyota Tundra 10,800. Payloads approach 2,000 pounds, formerly the province of heavier-duty three-quarter and one-ton pickups.

Fuel economy used to be a virtual non-issue with the committed pickup crowd and their commercial-use brethren. But surveys show saving money on gas is now among the top-10 buying considerations even for these pickup partisans.  

Diesel power is the holy grail of half-ton efficiency, and Dodge, General Motors, and Ford all had targeted 2010 as the model year they’d finally make the muscle and fuel-range advantages of diesel engines available in their half-ton models.

But the economic turmoil has largely derailed those plans. Dodge says its Ram 1500 diesel remains on track, but is now pushed back beyond model-year 2010. GM shelved its diesel plan indefinitely. Ford has tabled its diesel in favor of an F-150 fitted with the company’s EcoBoost V-6. Due for addition to the F-150 line during calendar 2010, this advanced twin-turbo V-6 has the power of a V-8 and the fuel mileage of a six.

Meanwhile, the 2010 Dodge Ram 1500, 2010 Chevy Silverado 1500, and 2010 GMC Sierra 1500 are available as gas-electric hybrids. They share a jointly engineered hybrid system that combines gas V-8 engines and two battery-powered electric motors to reduce emissions and fuel consumption in stop-and-go driving with little sacrifice in acceleration or towing ability.

Chevy, GMC, and Ford also offer specific gas-saving models with special aerodynamics, weight-saving components, and frugal gear ratios; GM labels them the Silverado and Sierra XFE (Xtra Fuel Economy), Ford the F-150 SFE (Superior Fuel Economy).

The only two import brands to venture into the full-size pickup field are Toyota and Nissan. But before either could truly feast on its bounty, the segment was reshaped and refocused.

Mighty Toyota has set aside development of diesel and hybrid versions of its snake-bit Tundra, though it does move forward with an efficient new V-8. Nissan’s Titan will abandon its Japanese design altogether during 2010. Plans are for it to re-emerge for model-year 2012 as a re-bodied, re-badged Dodge Ram -- though even that program is subject to change. South Korea’s Kia was able to kill its plans for a body-on-frame pickup before the market contracted.  

Still, pockets of resurgent demand are evident. Deals on big trucks have never been friendlier. And there’s more than enough available power, features, and useful tech to sate the sybaritic pickup driver or satisfy the serious half-ton hauler. Here is your guide to the 2010 full-size pickup trucks:                             

2010 Chevrolet Avalanche

Likely to stand pat while Chevy ponders a unibody replacement.   

2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

Introduction of a gas-electric hybrid and chassis refinement keeps this classic current.

2010 Dodge Ram 1500

Follows-up its 2009 redesign by adding a gas-electric hybrid Hemi V-8 models.

2010 Ford F-150

All eyes on the 300-horsepower-plus twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6. Is it a true truck engine?  

2010 GMC Sierra

Joins its Silverado cousin in the pursuit of power and economy on carry-over platforms.  

2010 Hummer H3T

Sensibly sized and tenacious, points to values all future Hummers must possess.

2010 Nissan Titan

A big, bold Nissan original faces the future as a Dodge Ram in Titan clothing. Or does it?    

2010 Toyota Tundra

Diesel and hybrid plans are tabled as Tundra regroups around a new V-8.