Hey All,
I just have to say my bit.  I'm a construction company owner living up here on the west coast of canada.  In our town the rig of choice is either a F-350 Superduty, or the Ram 3500 Cummins. Lift it 6 inches, throw on $10000 of 22inch rims and tires, and call yourself one of us.

Needless to say, this is not a club I really want to be a part of.  I need a good, dependable, smooth-riding truck to get me and my tools to and from my jobsites.  I have just spend the day at 2 of the the big 3 domestic truck dealers and was very underwhelmed by their midrange offerings on all of the Ram 1500s, F-150s, and Chev 1500s.  I took the F-150 out for a half-hour drive, and while being better riding than the new Ranger (my gosh... hold some ice in a jar with some vodka in the cab, and you'll have a nice shaken martini at the end of your ride.  Maybe the worst-riding truck I've ever been in.) it still was a far cry from smooth over the slightest road variations.  and the 4.6L V-8 was hands-down the most irritatingly-gutless enginge I have ever driven. I was not impressed.  The Ram 1500 SXT was only slightly better.  Yes, the Hemi was strong, and that truck is bordering on seriously quick, but the interior design and materials reminded me of my familys old 98 dodge Grand Caravan.  The chassis felt much more put together and solid, but couldn't make up for how cheap the inside of the truck cab looks.

For the GM dealer's part, I was on the lot for 30 mins, looked all over for someone to help unlock just one truck and no one even said 'boo' to me, so I left.

then I went over to the Toyota dealer and took the Tundra 4.7 for a ride over the exact same route.  First, the cabin has all of the domestic dealer's products whipped. By far.  The seats were firm but cradling, well bolstered, and snug.  The dash, console, radio, and everything else I could see or touch inside the cab was leaps and bounds better than the Ram and the F-150 put together.  The engine was strong, and to it's credit, makes something like 70 more ponies than the ford, while being similar in displacement. The ride was also by far the bast.  No box-shake over the two sets of railroad tracks on my test-route, and over the one construction area, there was the least amount of weaving and bobbing over the broken pavement when compared the the Ram and F-150.  Also, on the highway it was second only to the Hemi-equipped Ram in passing speed, but man, does that 4.7 twin-cam pull hard!  

I pulled back in to the dealer and told him I was sold. Everything added up for me. Why lease an F-150 for $450/mo (CDN) when I could lease a "B"-equipped tundra for $489-$495/mo and write off everything?  It's a no-brainer!  

Please, don't misunderstand me.  I don't hate the domestics.  My car is a 98 Contour SVT, and my work ride is a 92 Chev 1500 4x4 that has been mostly faithful to me (except for 2 4x4 driveshafts, a rad, and now 2 lifters, but hey.. its a 92).  However, with it's 5.7 thrumming away happily in the mountains here I get 8mpg on a good day.  I've even got an average of 6mpg one tank.  No trailer, no heavy-footing it, no fishing boat on my roof.  8mpg.  I can't stand it.  In my humble experience today, the Tundra is the most comfortable, best-eqiuipped, tightest-feeling, least-depreciating truck I can buy, so why not?!  

And have you tried the counter-balanced tailgate on the Tundra??  My wife opened and closed it with her pinky finger. No joke. An excellent feature by any means.

Thanks for your patience, and again, I've spent all day with these trucks and I wanted the Hemi equipped Ram to be the best.  I really did.  It looks the best, that's for damn sure, but it's a far second to the Tundra.  So well done Toyota, you make a good product, here in north america, and you've beaten us at our own game.

For now.  

Oops, the Ranger doesn't have the 4.6L V-8.  I meant to put the F-150 in the beginning of that sentence.  

I drove at the Ram Challenge test in St Louis yesterday  So after spending the day riding in a silverodo, F150, Tundra and the 09 Ram (Ram Challenge lets you drive all of these on 2 of the 3 test corses). The Ram wins hands down. Ram beat the Toyota. The ride was so much better and the handling made the Tundra act like a Toy truck. The cab in the Tundra well I felt boxed in.... the seats just didn't fix right kept moving to get a better spot Didn't find it.

When I left the show got into my 07 QCSB Ram 1500 Hemi I could see how much better my truck drove then the Tundra. How the inside of my cab was much roomier.
Shoot even my 07 seats was better and they aint the greatest.  

In a word, xenophobia among the redneck "Buy American" crowd. The "Pearl Harbor Limited Edition" comments reek of ignorance. Your Chevy was built in Canada, my Dodge was built in Mexico, but the Tundra is built in Indiana and Texas. Don't hide behind the flag to justify bashing an automakers product. The new Tundra has, on paper, beaten the big 3 at their own game in the 1/2 ton market. Long term reliability, I can't comment on. I just know I hope my 06 Ram is as reliable as my 02 Tundra was. BTW, I'm a union member factory worker who can scream "Buy American" with the best of them, but Americans vote their wallets, not their consciences when purchasing a vehicle. And by Americans, I don't mean only high school educated middle aged white guys.  

I own a 99 F-150 and suppose I do fit the stereotype of a person that many would like to think irrationally would hate anything from Toyota, including the Tundra, guess what: I don't.
I fully appreciate how much competition from Japanese auto makers has improved cars in general.
Though I believe much of the criticism of American cars built today is unwarranted.
When it comes time to replace my Ford, I'll definitely consider the Tundra, though I have no interest in their 5.8L V-8. I'm buying a truck for practical reasons, not to drag race.
From what I have seen the high accolades for the Tundra mainly focus on their high powered engine. Where as the Ford's are rated for their ability to take serious abuse day after day, and that is the race that catches my eye.    

Hi there, i have a Tundra, a 5.7l crewmax ltd. it is simply the best vehicle i have ever had.
My previous one was a Range Rover Sport, in the UK, which was smooth quite,economical! (diesel giving 32 mpg) and just great!
However the tundra has it beaten for speed, quiteness, ride quality on roads and usefullness.
The tundra gives me 18 around town and up to 24 on the highway! and servicing is usually about 50 bucks!
I so agree with the previous comments about dealers, my local one is so good i rang toyota and told them!
When i was buying i did look at all the others, and they were just dated, tired and needed a face lift, hopefully the tundra will have pushed the US manufacturers to up their game and improve their product?
The japanese have already improved your cars by coming over but dont forget the europeans also have done that, look at an average american car of the 70/80s even a die hard red neck would admit they were junk, and the *** and europeans have upped the game to which the americans have responded and well i may add!
So instead of hating, which is in its self pointless why not look at the tundra as a benchmark to beat.....which i bet ford gm etc are already working on.......  

Brilliant, Larry!! You must have attended community college!! All I have to say, as the proud owner of an 07 TRD is... Pink slips anyone??
This publication compared the GMC 6L to the "wimpy Toyota" and we walked away the clear winner. The nippers have all but perfected the truck in less than 17 years while Chevy, Ford, and Dodge have been making full sized trucks for more than 80 years and still can't avoid ending up in the shop before 60K. The last 7 domestic pickups I have owned can attest to that. When the big 3 can produce a truck that doesn't need a hood latch until after 100K, maybe I'll change my opinion, until then... OHHH what a feeling (it is watching that HEMI in my rear view mirror)!!!!!!!  

No one ever accused 'rednecks' of being intelligent. Pearl Harbor Limited Edition, lmao. I'd buy a Tundra for 50% off every day, that's a money maker. Well keep your American made rust buggies and plastic and keep buying a depreciating asset. Your old trucks will never bring whatt a same year/model Toyota will bring so if you want to lose money, fine by me. That's because it is simply a better build quality. You all want American products made by Americans yet you shop at the great Wal-of China-Mart and other big box stores where 10% of their China made gross sales goes to their Chicom military industrial complex aimed at us! Last I knew, Japan was a pacified strong ally and not a threat to American jobs. They and the Koreans build factories here while our government ships factories to China. You all believe in America this and America that. Yes, please wake up! They call it the American dream because these days you have to be asleep to believe it. This country started selling us all out a hundred forty years ago and now we are slaves to the NWO, the IMF, the Federal Reserve, the CFR, the TLC, the Bilderbergers, and too many other elite secret organizations. The money and wealth belong to but a few while you slave to eek out a living and start conversations of mere prattle and twaddle about some truck???? What pill did you all take, the blue one or the red one? Some of these hateful people and hateful comments undoubtably comes from the blue collar liberal dems who think a Kenyan American named Obama Hussein will rise them up to the ivory tower. The man could not even run a corner store. So while Budweiser was sold to the Belgiums and NASCAR uses Chinese made wheels and tires I think I'll just puke at the continued verbosity eschewed by publicly educated idiots who rant "wake up" when they themselves are asleep, complacent, unhappy and unwilling to make a stand against the globalists and the corrupt politicians in our government!!! Both parties are traitors to the people and the proof is out so you, please wake up!!!  

Tundra made in Indiana....not anymore, production has been shut down for good there. The Texas plant has laid everybody off, though they are paying them, which is a good thing. I find it interesting that Toyota drivers always talk about American trucks being "rust buckets" and not dependable. I have worked up north and on the east coast alot and find Toyota's rust worse then anything and as far as dependable, I am sure most Toyota trucks are dependable, but I have put over 200,000 on a Ford truck, pulling heavy loads with no problems. I put 100,000 miles on a Dodge, that never saw the inside of a service department, except for oil changes. I have a Dakota with 118,000 miles that runs like new, uses no oil, no problems what so ever. I had a GMC Duramax Diesel, not one problem, pulled my RV like it wasn't even back there. My point is, the American trucks can stand up to the Toyota and Nissan easily, so why buy a truck and send your money to Japan? Why are people so hell bent on making these foreign companies rich at the expense of American companies? I just don't get it. Oh, somebody wants to "race me for pink slips" in his Toyota. I don't buy a pickup truck to "race", but maybe that's it, you buy a Toyota because it's "faster" in the quarter mile. Yea, that keeps me up at not "worrying" about weather or not that Tundra might be "faster" then my truck in a drag race....please. Let's keep our money at home folks, it matters.  

i can tell you why i dont like it. yes, some of it for me personally has to do with it being a j @p car, but more of it has to do with other reasons. personally i drive a f150. i had a chevy and didnt feel it was as strong for real work as the ford, dad had a dodge couldnt keep a tranny in it. as for the toyota it doesnt really do anything good. yes ok its got a powerful motor but it also gets the worst mpg, which is ironic considering the j @ps are the guru of gas mileage but give them a v8 and they become confused how to get gas mileage. case and point the toyota and nissan are the worst mpg of full size trucks. also they dont have a real truck. i drive a f250 diesel at work and a thirsty 1/2 v8 just wouldnt cut it where i work. all the tundra was built for was the giant suv pickup craze for all the hollywood blvd pickup buyers. woman who think it makes them feel important or guys who need an ego boost. bottom line its ugly, its thirsty, and its built by the frickin j @ps if you want to know who makes the best pickups have a look at the construction companies in your town,construction companies buy vehicles on what works best not brand loyalty. if its anything like my city its mostly fords because they ARE built for work, period. yea they have fancy models but its built for work first and frilly comfort crap second unlike the tundra. btw my company only buys fords and my work truck and all the beatings it has taken is what caused me to start buying fords. i used to be chevy guy. now i wont buy anything but ford unless something stronger comes along.if youre gonna buy a truck and just drive it around town just to drive a truck to be honest any full aize offering would work for that, but if you want to actually be hard and work the truck the tundra just doesnt stack up. sorry for the long post  

That's telling it like it is Hayes and something else, Toyota leads in truck recalls. Another reason to stick with GM,Ford, and Dodge. Keep your money in America, are the financial problems of the last few days waking anybody up?  

Dude the Tundra is built in Texas, plus toyotas are built in the USA where everything else is built in Mexico and Canada. Toyota is the best and they will keep beating the Big 3 at their own game, on their home turf.  

Hey mr Material how's it going ? Sorry I haven't made these bitchie and whinnie crapota lovers mad lately , i'm in a hospital due to my M.S. [***].  Now it seems to why crapota  lovers can't stand the BIG 3 , because our trucks have better frames and engines. Don't believe me go to Youtube , type toyota shimmies their beds wobbles all over the place , huh? I thought crapota was so-called better than the BIG 3 not the shittist. But my friends Chevy , Ford and Dodge's don't have exploding engines our f@#ked over frames . And the BIG 3 also get 5 star crash ratings while crapota barely gets 4 , plus consumers  report hasn't picked crapota ramdra and don't 4get the crapmy in 5 YEARS DUE TO LOUSY QUALITY & ENGINEERING ISSUES unlike the BIG 3 . So put down the REAL TRUCKS all you Crapota p@#SSIES want because the BIG 3 will always be PICKED by consumers report every year! So quit you're bitchin' and whinin' and go wipe the tears off you're face.  P.S. to the retard says he can beat the HEMI in race , obviously hasn't drove 09 RAM just his piece of *** . Check out the Youtube videos dipsh*t SO *** GET OVER IT ALREADY PLEASE !!!  

Hope you're feeling better soon My Brother, the Big 3 and America need you! Real Americans support their country! This is our country, these are our truck! Ford, GM, Dodge  

The big three sucks, just get over that TOYOTA trucks are better, plus they have more power