Awesome! Go Ford and Go Ram!!!

keep up the good work Chrysler/Fiat!

Great to see them all increasing...espe. Ram.

@Scott Well, well, aren't we biased. What's wrong with Ram? I'm a Ram guy (doh) but I don't mind Fords either.

I am more impressed wit the newer rams than i have been in the past. They are a good truck but ill stick with my F-Series. Good Job Ford and Ram.

@ PowerWagon.

Maybe i should have said more..Ram has been struggling for awhile. They need some good press.

"perceived"? pretty much like the ecoboost's "equivalent"?

this is no different than i "think" vs i "know"

i prefer facts not opinions, thank q..

congrats to ram, honda and ford!

Ridgeline? are you kidding? That just proves that anyone who owns one doesnt really need a "truck" (really a mini-van with a bed)

Honda Ridgeline..... WHAT??? So what we have learned is: among the morons who buy that glorified El Camino, they generally THINK they got an excellent value whereas customers who bought a real light truck are a little more realistic.

@ Uh huh - it is perception or opinion, but that translates to higher residual value and satisfaction with a product.

"Bang for the buck" is subjective.

One guy might think a work grade truck has the most value and another guy would think a Denali has the most value.
This whole rating also is a reflection of one's confidence in the product they bought.
Look at the Ranger - the oldest design and about to be discontinued had the lowest rating.
The Ridgeline which gets hammered by truck guys had the best rating.

Opinions.
Yes.
Real world value?
Yes.
= better resale value
= better word of mouth sales

Honda Ridgeline?

It shows that for the target market that the Ridgeline is aimed at - Honda is bang on!

If Ridgeline buyers wanted a "real" truck - don't you think they would of bought one?

wow I like the ford super duty but I am very surprised the ram heavy duty wasn't found to be a better overall value considering the price. Atleast when I was talking to dealers a ram Heavy Duty was thousands less than a similarly equipped ford or chevy. In some cases 8,000 dollars less. And People always talk up the cummins.

the dodge that is pictured is exactly like mine. No argument there :) and for the record i'm really more of a ford guy.

I was checking out the award for quality and this is how the standard (non-full size) trucks rank.

2010 Total Quality Award Winners

Standard Pickup Segment
Rank Vehicle TQI Score
1 Honda Ridgeline 856
2 Chevrolet Colorado 841
3 Nissan Frontier 828
4 Toyota Tacoma 825

Tacoma buyers rank their truck fourth for quality. Chevy Colorado is 2nd. Interesting.

http://www.strategicvision.com/press_release.php?pr=37

Okay, somebody explain why the Ridgeline is listed. It's not even April's fool yet.

I'm one of those rare people who actually use a truck for what it's really meant for-work. The Ridgeline doesn't cut it.

My wife and her family are die-hard Honda fanatics, and they won't even give the Ridgeline a second look. Her father opted for a Tundra instead.

Amazing the hate for the RL keeps on rolling here. If people need a work truck they will get a work truck. If people want a solid daily driver with a bed for hauling stuff they get a Ridgeline. It really is that simple but again you can't change the perception some people will take the grave.

Honda Ridgeline?

Ummm what? This has no credibility to it after seeing that. They haven't changed that car in 5 years.

Come on guys. Different strokes for different folks.

As the Bobsie would say, let it be done, let it be written.

It is what it is, I actually drove a Honda Ridgeline once and it was a cool grocery getter, but not a towing machine.

All in all, Honda enthusiast are all over this truck er....pickup

Evan is that a joke? If it is that is pretty bad. None of the other standard class trucks have undergone a major change in five years either. Nice try though.

You guys who hate the Honda RL just don't get it, do you? Nobody is claiming it is a 10,000 lb. towing, rock climbing, monster, because it's not. Thing is, not that many people who want a pickup need a full sized pickup. They need something like the RL that can tow 5000 lbs., carry 1500 lbs., and carry their family safely when they go on camping trips or whatever.

The RL fits most people's needs, is the safest truck on the road and, like other Honda's, is very reliable; exactly what most folks want/need/are looking for.

I, for one, have owned my RL for over 6 years now, and it has been bullet-proof. The last Big 3 vehicle I had, I had put about $5000 in repairs in the same time. With my RL I have done nothing but change fluids, put new tires on, and it has bee flawless. How many of you Big 3 owners can say that?

Awards for *perceived* quality? Perceived value? Is that like when every kid gets a trophy?

How any truck fan could cheer about winning this award is beyond me - perceptions definitely could influence resale, but only if the people holding that perception don't currently own the truck.

This is news, but only in the sense that Ram, Ford, and Honda have done a good job of getting their owners to drink the Kool-aid.

All I know is Honda Rdigeline was outsold by the lowly Explorer Sport Trac. A Ridgeline for 2012 looks doubtful. RIP Ridgeline.

"Awards for *perceived* quality? Perceived value? How any truck fan could cheer about winning this award is beyond me" - Jason, admin at Tundra Headquarters

FLASHBACK:
"Toyota, as a whole, is consistently at the top of all the major industry quality studies (see JD Power, Consumer Reports, Harbour Report, GQRS, Strategic Vision, etc.)."

"It is best to combine with other data sources – like JD Power, Strategic Vision, etc.".

Source: Jason, admin at Tundra Headquarters

@Jabber Walkie

I can claim great quality from domestics, and plenty others can as well. Look I personally am not bashing the Ridgeline. I know its not a rock crawling, 20,000lb towing beast. But it was never meant to be as you said. Its simply a light truck made for daily commute and very light hauling ''camping gear, etc...

But yes I can claim very good quality and reliability out of the two Fords I've owned such good quality I am planning on buying a 2011 F-150 this summer it'll by my third truck EVER owned and my first brand new truck. My grandfather owned many Fords and even GMC's threw out his life all of which ran wonderful. Example? My grandpa had a 1993 F-150 that he put 746,000miles on it before he traded it off. Yes the Engine and Transmission was re-built once at 500,000 miles, but it wasn't because it was running poorly as it was more of a precaution. Other than that all he ever did to was change all its fluids and keep up with its required maintenance. It was still running like a Champ when he traded it off in 2000 for another new Ford F-150. Even the old GMC he was driving when I was born had 250,000 miles it and was running just fine with only the general maintenance.

I understand your frustration with guys who bash the RL calling a girly truck or whatever. But its not going to do any good challenging domestic truck owners over the internet. As they do in fact far outnumber Ridgeline owners and will not be nearly as forgiving as I am.

I acknowledge Honda, Toyota, and Nissan all make great cars and decent trucks. I've seen countless old Toyota and Nissan trucks with well over 300,000 miles on them. I just didn't want you to think the purpose of this post was to bash Imports.

Honda Ridgeline "perceived value":

I have a link that makes "perceived value" look like cr/p:

http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/2011-best-resale-value-awards

I do not see the Honda Ridgeline or any other pickup in the top ten (only the legendary Tacoma) at retaining value over 5 years!

The Honda and the other 2 pickups are "perceived" to have better value when you buy it but after 5 years, what happends to them?

They lose their value like water falling over the Niagara Falls!

5 years of ownership is a better measurement than what society THINKS just after they bought it!

Oxi,
Are value, quality, and resale value/price at the time you sell the same thing? You are confusing resale price with value - the worth of something.

Yeah, Tacoma is top 10 in resale overall. But when you shop in different categories, you have to look at that category. Ford Super Duty is tops in resale for full size.

@Mark,

I never liked the initial quality awards or this new one. It's like you design something new, looks good on paper but when you send it out to the real world it fails.

I would rather judge something longer term than just after you bought it.

Anybody can build a pickup but will it last down the road is the question. Just look at the Ranger. I would think it has great value down the road, does not retain value as much as the Tacoma does, but I still think it holds up well but gets slammed because most likely it is an older design where the savy yuppies that buy the Ridgeline are happy with their purchase and never really use it as a true pickup.

These awards are gimmicks.

Good news for Dodge truck division..RAM...

My 99 Ram,03 Ram,07 Ram and my new 2011 Ram 1500 is as good as all my old ones and those I found were the best looking/driving/performing trucks around !!! Long live the Dodge RAM trucks !!!!

They have awards out the tailpipes...even the H.D trucks are very well awarded/performing and like the half tons extrememly reliable !!!My tucks all performed flawlessly and each had over 130,000 miles ,with no problems when I got rid of them.Yep,every 4 years and over 130,000 miles they go in trade for a new one..

@ D57H,@D57H@ D57H,@D57H@ D57H,@D57H,

Actually Fiat has nothing to do with the current Ram trucks,they were done with the old Chrysler managment...And Chrysler's are still engineered by Chrysler engineers,even under the so-called merger of Mercedes years ago...

Though they may become better handling as maybe some of Fiats,FERRARI division may have some handling tricks..Would be sweet,as the Ram SRT-10 was like a exotic sports car for handling..

Wonder what a new Ram SRT would be like with some of Fiat's FERRARI and MASERATI divisions help..but then again the Viper is the best handling sports car around,under Chrysler engineers...

There was a rumor of a Ferrari V-8 powered Caravan a few months ago,the Ferrari V-8 is a smaller engine,light weight and would easily fit in a minivan without too much engineering,as the HEMI is a bigger engine..

@oxi,

For years Toyota bought out these awards,as of a few years ago, journelists blindly awarded Toyota as the best cars around,doing so because the journelists were rewarded with a large lump of cash in a Swiss bank account for the journelists providing favourable reviews for Toyota vehicles,knowing they were unreliable and shoddy craftsmanship riddled with major defects.

As we all know Toyota's are the worst cars around..Biggest recalls around for poor reliability,craftsmanship,now another 1.7 million for fires,bad fuelpumps ect....

Holy cow.
I've owned an F150, Silverado, and Ram, and yes, now I own a RL. All of them were good (the F150 was great). As far as I'm concerned, the RL has a pickup bed, so it's a pickup. I can live with it not being considered a 'real' truck, but it IS a great all around utility vehicle. It tows about as much as any other mid-size truck out there, and you can haul as much or more in the bed (1,500 lbs). The bed looks small, but it's 5 ft, the same as the Colorado, Tacoma, and Frontier crew-cab short beds and it's got a great full time AWD system.
That being said, if you need to tow anything in the heavy duty range, like tractors, livestock, large boats, large horse trailer, loads of gravel or equipment over 3/4 ton, or need a 4wd rock crawler, or need to carry bulky items over 8 or 9ft long, DON'T get a RL! If you need occasional pick-up utility and want a great all around vehicle, consider the RL.

The 2012 Dakota is supposed to be a unibody, like the RL. I wonder if Chrysler used a unibody Grand Cherokee or Ford used the new Explorer or Edge as a platform for a pickup, would the 'haters' be as vocal?

Way to go Mopar !!

Even the Heavy Duty's are proving to be very good performers..the best even..

The AMCI researchers discovered the RAM chassis cab would save owners money on fuel and insurance costs. Add everything up and AMCI says that the Ram 5500 Chassis Cab will save owners around $1,360 over a three year or 100,000 mile life cycle. That kind of money can buy a lot of diesel fuel.

And how about those brake tests? AMCI found that overall, the brakes on our workhorse fade 160 percent less, stopping the Ram 28 feet shorter than the F-550. So not only does the Cummins 6.7L diesel get the load going with ease, and efficiency, but the Ram also brings it all to a more controlled stop. And control is everything when you’re hauling the big loads like these trucks do. Even better, the Ram Truck hauler did it with 72 percent less front brake pad wear and 54 percent rear brake pad wear.

Better gas mileage,better on brakes,a safer more controlled stop...RAM RULES !!!

Hey OXI,

After 5 years of ownership a Toyota should still be running as they will have a new frame,new engine,new transmission,new glass,new wheel bearings,new brakes,new fuelpumps as they are recalled for replacement parts every 2 months,so the average person wont have to pay for Toyota's unreliability as under the recalls they just keep getting replaced,so your car has a new engine,transmission,fuelpump every 6-12 months...They should last as they have no mileage on them !

May leave you stranded several times a year but ,low mileage is the key for higher resale values.

Here is an interesting quote from Truth about Cars -
"What the survey really measures is how strongly the owners feel about their new purchases. It doesn’t mean that the top-ranked cars in each category are the best, but they elicit the greatest emotional response (as opposed to a purely rational purchase experience).

Take, for example, the five Volkswagens and the MINI on the list: these are generally viewed as less reliable (and usually more expensive) than their Japanese competitors, and sell in smaller numbers. However, the owner community is strong, and people often feel a strong attachment to their cars.

Now, if you can combine that kind of emotional response with good reliability and value (maybe the Accord Coupe could be an example?) you should have a winning formula.

As with most surveys, it has its flaws but once you take the time to understand what it is measuring, it’s again a worthwhile data point."

Jabber Walkie-

The quality of "The Big 3's" vehicles is better than you give it credit for.

Since 1992, I have owned; 1 Ford (1968), 1 Dodge (2005), and 3 Jeeps (1993, 1998, and 2003). I still own all but one of these vehicles. Traded a 1993 Wrangler for a 2003 Wrangler.

The most I have spent on repairs, total for all 5 of these vehicles is around $2,000.00. The 1968 Mustang got a transmission rebuild, in 1992 after 150,000 miles, that ran about $500.00. The 1998 Grand Cherokee got a transmission and rear end rebuild, in 2009 after 135,000 miles, that ran about $1,500.00. I think that this is pretty good since all these vehicles have a combined mileage of 595,000 miles.

With more than half a million total miles on these 5 vehicles from "The Big 3" and only $2,000.00 in repairs...I can say that the American automakers have done a good job!

So according to Tundra Headquarters, Strategic Value is to be used when Toyota is on top. But it's not be used when Toyota is on the bottom? Ok. I always find it interesting that when a study or survey says something against a person's favorite brand , they attack the survey or the surveyors.

So according to Tundra Headquarters, Strategic Vision is to be used when Toyota is on top. But it's not be used when Toyota is on the bottom? Ok. I always find it interesting that when a study or survey says something against a person's favorite brand , they attack the survey or the surveyors.

@Dont Touch My Junk,

Do not add the Tacoma to the bandwagon of major recalls. The Tacoma has held its own concerning quality and reliability hence why it is still best in class.

Toyota was hit this past year for high recalls but look back another 20 years. Toyota is not even close to the recalls the big 3 had the past 20 years!

You are obviously a short memory span person, you must have forgotten about all of the big 3 recalls. And what will you say about that?

@DEITY,

That's funny, I have owned 2 Tacoma's and no problems!

Have you ever owned a Toyota to even QUALIFY to make such a childish comment?

Probably not. Typical!

@Buy American or say Bye to America,

Yes U.S. manufacturer's built my Tacoma solid. My 05 X-Runner including high speed autocross as well as parking lot auto-x I spent more money modding my Taco than I did in repairs, if I had any. In fact I do not recall anything unscheduled at 54,000 miles including the racing. Now that is a solid pickup.

My 2010 4x4 is hitting 10,000 miles and nothing but routine lube changes and more money spent modding for the off-road world. Still waiting for all of these so-called Toyota problems to happen, oh wait could they be fabricated to cover the 77% of accidents are caused by driver error folks out there...

Good job Ram!

Remember, this is a quality score, not a reflection on their respective popularity. The Ridgeline only appeals to a small portion of truck consumers (as evidenced by it's small market share), but those who buy Ridgelines like them. The Ridgeline is not going to supplant F-150s, Silverados, or Rams anytime soon, so relax.

Guys - this is one bizarre award and index - spend some time on the site and look at the method to calculate and also the historical values; also look at the subjective categories - like for the TVI:

* Delight with the deal
* Belief in getting a smart buy
* Likelihood to repurchase, based on value

This is not a quality score - that is factored in. Even that score I wonder about - it's 1st year quality and all the pickups score nearly the same, with a nod to the RAM and Ford, and for some reason a scoff at the Chevy. It might be the "Emotional attachment to vehicle" category. Really? What does that mean? That doesn't seem too objective to me!

Hats off to Ram, Ford and Honda. But, also dibs to Nissan with their 7 year old Titan outranking the offerings from Toyota, GMC/Chevy. If they will redesign the Titan and offer an HD model, they will see more improved sales and following from current owners.

I get the impression that this is a "feel good" score. The more you are satisfied with your purchase, the better the score.
If that is the case - guys are happiest with Fords, Rams, and Hondas.
Wonder why Chevy Silverdao wasn't included?
too miserable a bunch?
Any ideas Bob?

This is good news is a moral bosster for Ram, coming off the loss in the shootout with the Delta IV rocket. Way to bounce back!

@89CrewCab - lucky they didn't compare the Delta IV to the Ford PowerStroke. They'd complain about another unfair elevation test. LOL.

@Lou,

They refused to comment.

this sums it up nicely (from the strategic visions web site):

"When you improve one aspect of a vehicle, other positive impressions are often created about aspects of the vehicle that were not directly changed."

Mythbusters proved it, you can polish a turd. And now it can get an award.