After my trip up to Truckee, I was able to squeeze one last use out of the Ram. It was time to put an end to that damn storage that's been a pain in my side for the last few months. Three pieces of furniture were all that remained in the once packed 10'x15' space. In two trips we closed the account and I gave up my garage for the foreseeable future.
It was suggested by a few readers comments that I'm not an enthusiast if I prefer the Ram over the GT-R and that I only like the Ram because I had something to move. Am I going to deny that I used the Ram to do a lot of dirty work? Obviously no. It has been immensely helpful to me in the last year. But in all honesty, I loved driving this thing empty. It came with the added bonus of being able to haul my stuff around.
Don't get me wrong, I like the GT-R. It was a blast to drive, but I prefer trucks. I don't think that makes me less of an enthusiast. Just makes me a truck guy. Why don't I buy it? Believe me, if I could buy this thing, I would. It just aint' gonna fit into my life at this moment with a mortgage, an engagement ring and car payments. I've only so much money to go around, but it does make me look to about two years down the road when I can plunk money down on a truck of my own. A year in the Ram has really shown me that I should have bought a used pick-up as I had planned instead of my Mazda 3. The deal I got on the 3 was so smoking good at the time that I went for it.
In the mean time, I'll definitely be looking forward to the next truck that comes into the office. And yes canadaphant, I think the Ram might miss me. (That comment made me laugh for half the afternoon).
Scott Jacobs, Senior Photographer @ 33,287 miles
half_ton says:
11:06 AM, 06/22/10
I agree; choosing the Ram ove ther GT-R doesn't make anyone less of an enthusiast . . . it means they made a PRATICAL decision. Besides performance credentials aside who can live with the GT-R as a daily driver?
retus says:
11:39 AM, 06/22/10
That's what I did. Choosing between MX-5 and Frontier I went with CrewCab frontier. And I'm sure I made a good choice.
blueguydotcom says:
11:40 AM, 06/22/10
Scott,
I went through the same thing recently and I must admit (as I have a rental truck lined up for this weekend) that a used pick up would probably have been a better use of funds than my 2010 Mazda3 lease. Today's trucks are so livable and practical that it'll be tough not to get one in a few years. I had a friend's Nissan Titan for a month in December and really used the heck out of it.
questionlp says:
12:20 PM, 06/22/10
I guess it comes down to how you define an enthusiast and what scope you're talking about (sports car enthusiast, off-road enthusiast, truck enthusiast). Not to mention, you can easily be an enthusiast and still think and act practically.
While a 2+2 coupe (say an S5 coupe) is not the epitome of practicality, it is more practical than a roadster or 2 seat coupe (Boxster or Cayman). The former may not handle well compared to the Boxster/Cayman, but I have two additional seats and a large trunk opening for the times I need to haul more than my derriere.
Back on topic with the Ram 1500, I would absolutely consider one if I needed to constantly haul larger items or tow new or retired toys :)
thejohnp says:
01:53 PM, 06/22/10
Hopefully we'll see a Ford Raptor join the IL fleet at some point.
hybris says:
07:18 PM, 06/22/10
Its good that there is a truck guy in Edmunds maybe now you can get a basic pickup ie reg cab long bed 4x4 in a working man's trim.
actualsize says:
09:11 PM, 06/22/10
@hybris: there's more than one truck guy here...
mhauer says:
10:26 PM, 06/23/10
I noticed something about the new Rams that I absolutely hate. On the lower trim levels, without the rear-exit dual exhaust, the rear bumper still has the two cutouts at the bottom. It looks utterly ridiculous. You'd think they could just manufacture a regular bumper, sans cutouts, for the lower trim level trucks.