let the bashing begin.......

You have to love these awards that are based on things like "a consensus of industry expert’s opinion".

2009 Silverado
2010 F150
2011 Silverado
2012 RAM
2013 Tundra

When you look at the winners and consider the model year changes, the logic is difficult to spot. I love Toyota, but this seems like a meaningless award from an irrelevant publication.

The steel wheels on that Tundra are hot!

There is no reason that the manufactuer with tjhe highest total amount of recalls for 2012 should win this award again!

I think this award must be largely based on high resale value (which makes sense given the award is for the "best vehcile for the money." It makes sense from that point of view since...have any of you shopped used trucks in the last few years? I was looking for a late 2000s Tacoma. For the price of a used 5-year old Taco you could get a 3-year old Ferd F-teenthousand with fewer miles on it. Insanity.

The reason why Toyota has great resale value is because they do not offer $7,000 incentives (GM trucks are discounted $9,000 off MSRP for 2013s here currently) like the big 3 do. Why is this significant? By adding a ~$7,000 incentive, they are basically just taking $7,000 off the depreciation you will experience when you purchase this vehicle.

Which is why you can buy one of the big 3 full size trucks with fewer miles, cheaper than a 5 year old Tacoma with 100k miles.

Sounds like someone in the industry is taking a payout! Best cars for the money? That is total crap! There are so many more better vehicles on the road than the overrated Toyota brand. The Ford Fusion for instance is hands down better than a Camry. The F-150 is 10x better truck than the Turdra. Give me a break people. Toyota is a bunch of overrated hype. They charge a premium for a sub-par product because people think that because is says Toyota on it it is automatically good. I will take any of the Detroit Big 3 before I bought a piece of junk like these

And Toyota basically does not do fleet sales, which means 90% of their trucks go to retail consumers, not businesses. Which also helps keep resale value up.

I love how butt hurt the Big 3 fanboys get when Toyota wins anything. LMAO

It's always subjective to individual use and needs.
Price seems to be the driving force here.

I had never heard of
"The Texas Auto Writer's Association"
until Ram started quoting their accalades in their ads.

My BIL had business cards printed up that simply said "Universal Expert".
He's really not.

RAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes best interior for 2014 best engine better than a ego boost
Go Toyota!!!

I like how you dont even hide your blatent Fan boyness "yota boy" we will se how that interior stacks up when they actually release it.
I honestly think that toyotas are the most overrated vehicles on the planet and that brand loyalty is what keeps them in business, its like the comercial where the entire family drives camerys you cannot tell me that those eople cross shoped other brands, only blind loyalty to a subpar product, now hondas , or subarus,volvos, fords, VWs, none those poeple are just boring sheep .

All these reports focus on the wrong things. Sure base price and resale value are important. But that's not what is going to determine what truck I buy. I'm in it for performance, and the tundra does not have the performance capabilities of real full size trucks. It may be less expensive in the long run, but in the end you won't get as much out of it.

On a side note, I've driven a tundra, and let me tell you, that thing feels more like a car than a truck. toyota doesn't have her priorities straight.

And to 'FYI' about your 'butthurt' comment: you're wrong. Look at toyota as an invasive species. They're trying to change the American market place and unfortunately more and more people are buying into it. What ever happened to people standing up for their loyalties?

Bottom line, I don't care what this article says. The big three will always rule the full size truck category.

Yearly sales don't reflect this percieved value.

@carillokis how is it overrated ? It's got the biggest brakes,biggest cab, they are over engineered!!! That is fact. Get it right

Toyota. Unstoppable. Literally!

Congratulations to Toyota and yeah, the used truck market is completely flooded with used domestic Big 3 pickups. That's a bonus if you're shopping used Big 3, but it's no different when buying new.

what ever happened to "nice job" or "congratulations" or "we'll win it next time".....????? WOW...... sore losers.
nuff said

Toyota!!!!
The CATEGORY KILLER!!!

Toyota owners have known this for years.

@Mike, you are right, the Tundra feels like a car or small SUV. The F150 is the only half-ton that really feels like a truck. I really wish Ram 1500 would get some of that toughness back. That Tundra looks like it already has a bent frame!

No argument on Tacoma, every truck in the category is in need of redesign and updating, so picking any one of them as winner is no stretch.

Picking Tundra is a joke. No way is it best truck for the money.

And when you look at the car picks, Toyota did not win a single category. *I'm not counting Scion since Toyota refuses to place a Toyota badge on FR-S in North America only. Toyota's cars are better than it's trucks, makes no sense for Toyota to win full size truck category.

Toyota can win win every award for the reast of the century I still wouldn't buy one.I buy a new truck every 2 to 3 years.I shop the big 3 until I find what fits my needs at the time and then buy it.Ford/dodge/chevy,I've had them all.

Like most other websites and publications covering the auto industry, US News gets its revenue from advertisers. Whenever a model gets picked, you can expect that the VP of advertising at US News or any other magazine got consulted in advance.

Never forget: The Chevy Vega was Car of the Year at more than one major industry magazine.

The VP is not going to be surprised when story is released. Trust me on this.

Ha, ToxicSludge, your post explains everything! You buy a new vehicle every 2 or 3 years, so why not buy big 3? I usually buy vehicles with about 150,000 miles on them and drive them to 300,000. Try that with the big 3 like I have and you will find that Toyota has a whole new appeal.

I like Mike's comment:
"On a side note, I've driven a tundra, and let me tell you, that thing feels more like a car than a truck. toyota doesn't have her priorities straight". You are completely right! It rides like a car because it is nothing but a Camry with a pick up bed on the back. You can't beat the American trucks and once the " JAPS " finally figure this out the better off they are. Stay out of the big leagues because you aren't serious or real competition!

Ford Trucks 77, I don't believe you ever driven a Tundra, the Tundra is the most trucking riding truck out thier which is actually a minus. Why wouldn't you want a truck to ride and driver more like a car as cars handle and ride better, if you say you'd rather your truck ride more trucky your full of it. If it can haul and tow with a best of them I'll take more car like any day as long as the capability is still thier.

@Rick, the F150 rides better than the Tundra and has a lower-rpm surge of torque. The F150 feels tougher, stronger, more rigid, yet it also feels refined and comfortable. Saying the Tundra rides like a car, meaning it feels like a flimsy Camry. It was not a compliment.

@FordTrucks77

"JAPS" - A little Racist there huh?

Seriously, what is your guys problem with Toyota? You all hate it yet none of you have driven one. I buy Toyota because THEY ARE RELIABLE. PERIOD! Ford and the F-150 have been really good to me in the past and my brother loves his Chevy Silverado LTZ. We both wont but RAM because we actually had problems with RAM trucks before. We didnt read about it, we experienced it. However, I wont jump on here and bash RAM like some of you other idiots. IF you like it great, if not good for you. BUT IF YOU HAVEN'T DRIVEN IT, SHUT UP!!!!!!!

@ Rick,

I have had a few rental Tundra's, not a very good 1/2 pickup (not a truck).

Low quaility, seats/mirrors/insturment cluster poorly laid out.

Not to mention the rust issues and engine durability issues.

I see them sagging and just about dragging the rear bumper around here all the time.

As a midsize or small truck they are just fine. But buiding the same thing on a larger scale does not equal a better truck.

So Japs is racist, but the terms Aussie, Brits, Poms, Yanks, Kiwis, Canucks - completely ok? Funny when you mentioned that "racist" phony outrage, it was obvious you were a Toyota fan. So obviously your use of critical thinking goes out the window!

@Alex

No stupid I'm not a Toyota Fan Boi. "JAPS" is a racist term as that is what Americans used to identify the Japanese during WWII. And if you know your history, we weren't exactly fond of the Japanese during those times. Don't believe me? Ask a Japanese person who was held in an internment camp if he likes being called a JAP. So until you know your history, SHUT UP!

For some you who appear to be straight from the set of Deliverance this isn't about biggest, mostest, fastest etc.

This concept might be new to some, but it's supposed to be about quality, resale value and consumer appreciation of a product. Customer satisfaction, even though Toyota do charge a premium, people obviously like them and think they are one the best manufacturers globally.

While Toyota keep on getting these types of accolades, people will continue on buying them.

Oh, just because something doesn't appear to be American doesn't mean it's substandard.

some of the people on here crack me up with how blatently racist and ignorant you are!

It's even funnier that i come from a city ridiculed by people making reference to everyone in that city being hillbillies and rednecks and I'M THE ONE calling out you idiots! Take off the blinders people, Ford, GM, and Ram dont always make the best products and as the years tick by, less and less people will exist that are blindly and ignorantly buying products based on how they grew up. More and more today people are buying products based on what they like and what is the best instead of buyin what their dad had.

@ montesa: I do buy from the 'big 3',I just buy new,not used,because I can.As for toyota,I have never wanted one.I don't care if the pope blesses it and calls it good,I never wanted one.Easy enough,yes? You spend your money on what you want,I'll spend mine on what I want,again,easy enough..

I have driven it and it is a piece of sh*&! The F-150 and as much as I hate to say it, the Silverado are superior! It is not a racist comment. You people that drink the kool aid need to wake up. All the "japs" do is take ideas on technology that we have already invented and find a way to do it cheaper. They don't come up with anything original, never have. I am a patriot too. I believe in supporting American workers. Yeah they build their junk over here but send the profits back to the land of the rising sun. Case in point look at the "All New" 2014 Tundra interior. They copied the F-150's interior right down to the circular vents with chrome bezels. I guess their new philosophy is if you can't beat them, join them!

I don't see anything wrong with the US News & World Report recommendation. Tundra is a good enough truck. My issue is not with the quality of Toyotas as much as I think they are overpriced for what you get. That is my opinion, but I have to say that Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have created a market where the Big 3 were force to improve their quality and innovate. This has been good for the industry and for the consummer. Of all the Japanese vehicles I would lean more toward Honda, because I think they are nicer finished on the inside and my experience with Hondas. Any manufacturer can have problems with their cars and trucks. The American based manufacturers have come a long way from where they were 20 or more years ago and the Korean manufacturers are really making high quality vehicles. I would have to put the Hyundai Sonota and Elantra as my top choices in the midsize and compact cars. Both are very nicely styled and the interiors are nicely finished. My favorite Toyota would be the new Avalon, it has a much nicer interior than anything that Toyota has ever had.

This award isn't gonna make me not buy a 8 speed hemi!!!

The issue becomes why domestic were shut out, my guess is marketing of foreign products is the reason - clearly Abbey Normal alluded to.

http://www.money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2013/02/26/consumer-reports-top-picks-cars/index.html

Toyota makes a truck? Huh....

So much for the hope that the moderators of this forum would clean it up and get rid of the sophomoric nonsense.

No wonder though, it seems to be the same clique that posts here as it is.

Domestics shut out? An equally descriptive headline would have been "Domestics Suck Again."

Well, you will always have people that will pay for a name. No matter how many recalls, the perfromance, the price they pay, crash testing, overdue redesign....

@ FordTrucks77
The GM trucks are better quality, are you kidding me? One of our cows barely bumped into our 2500HD silverado's bedside and put a huge dent in it. The sheet metal on these trucks are a "joke" for being a heavy duty.
The interior is noisy, you can hear the rattles while driving it on the farm. The labels are already rubbing off the buttons inside the cab. Not very high quality if you ask me.

Look at the big 3 3/4 gas engines, the 5.7 iForce is competitive.
Ford Super duty F-250 6.2- 385HP @ 5500 RPM 405 Torque @ 4500 RPM
Ram 2500 5.7 Hemi - 383HP @ 5600 RPM 400 Torque @ 4000 RPM
Chevy/GMC 2500HD 6.0 - 360HP @ 5400 RPM 380 Torque @ 4200 RPM
Tundra 5.7 - 381HP @ 5600 RPM 401 Torque @ 3600 RPM

I know this is apples to oranges, but look at the peak torque for these 4 engines. You would think if the Ecoboost was such a great tow engine, it would be in the Super Duty. And if the fully boxed frame Ford brags about in the F-150 was so great, why does the Super Duty's still use C-Channel frames?

Open your eyes people.

I would never buy anything just on a recommendation and I would never buy a car or truck without test driving it. I know people who buy cars and trucks like Toyotas without test driving them just because they have owned one before or based on reputation. Even if I like a particular brand it is being a smart consumer to look at everything and then even if you decide to buy the same brand, you will at least know that you have made the best choice for your needs. I am not going to just read Consumer Reports or other publications, I am going to talk to people that own a particular brand, ask mechanics about the reliability and cost of maintenance on a brand, and read comments from owners. These are my opinions and not my father's.

I did not realize US News and World Report was a car or truck magazine. I guess that would be like Motor Trend reporting US and World events.

John makes really good points about the engines. My Tundra is, simply a very good truck.

I say that after owing Dodge D-150, Chev K 1500, Dodge Power Wagon (stepside bed!). Unfortunately it had beed beat to death by the time I bought it. And more recently Ford Ranger,(quality issues) Chev Colorado (SEVERE quality issues) Nissan Frontier (good truck) Chev Silverado (Quality issues) Tacoma (quality issues-built in Mexico). The Tundra is well put together, runs well, hauls well for my needs. And it is very, very comfortable even though it is just an SR5. It is Built in TEXAS.
They used to have a great TV ad-guy pulls up in front of a new home in his Tundra-says to his son next to him "I built that house." Camera pans into the house-father looking out the window at the Tundra, says to his son "I built that truck." Both boys are beaming with pride. I loved that ad.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion: that being said I've had the best luck with Ford.

Its funny, I would bet that 100% of EVERY Tundra owner that posts on here also currently owns a "domestic" vehicle or has owned "domestic" pickups in the past.

But many of the "domestic" fans that post on here ain't done never gunna by one of dem dare Jap trucks--yet bash it incessantly (with no real experience) or "claim" to have owned one that was such a POS and make hay about problems that were incredibly overblown or relatively isolated.

My Tundra has been THE BEST vehicle I have every owned. In fact, it has been so good, I am putting off buying another car/pickup for quite awhile and treated myself to a brand new Kawasaki Concours 14 for my birthday.