Didn't I already cover this?

 

I love that article!

The L got a 10 for engine and fun factor

Did you see where it says "With the stock Goodyear Eagle F1 GS rubber straining for grip, easing into the throttle, then mashing it to the floor garned the best time of 5.24 seconds to 60 and 13.75 seconds at 101.56 mph for this 4670-lb truck."

I love that

Or this, from the logbook: "Yeehaw! Fantastic off-line torque. Easily smokes the tires through third gear. Tons of fun to drive through the twisties. What a well-balanced truck."

And this "Whereever we stopped, the Lightning drew a crowd--and lots of burnout requests."

 

Personally, I like the Dodge SRT/10. However, it is literally IMPOSSIBLE for them to make the truck for less that $50k. Look at it this way: SPO (or whatever the company is), is taking stock 2wd Rams, and CONVERTING them to the SRT/10. The engine alone through mopar is $15k. That doesn't include the expensive-as-heck T56 trans, nice leather interior, tonneau cover with spoiler, 24" friggin rims, the suspension that supposedly puts it at .94G's on the skidpad, etc...

Honestly, I'd be suprised if $50k was all it ended up costing.

Not to mention the fact that, with the way Chrysler dealerships are, you'd be lucky to touch one for $60k, if the sticker is $50k.

A dealer by my house ended up selling a Prowler for $30k over sticker.... He had an offer for $50k, and refused it!

 

Yup, that why I stated "I ALSO think", I was agreeing with your statement about the price, you mentioned nothing about the ghetto wheels.

 

For a '99 and '00. Remember, tq peak went up on the '01s.

Notice that's at max torque. Imagine at higher rpms (& lower tq #'s) what the % is then. This is in a controlled environment on a machine that "cheat" measures.

Unfortunately we can't get a spreadsheet of the whole curve. Until one can give us dyno #'s of JUST the motor, stating "11.2%" is as far off as people stating 20% out of their heads. Our motors make more than 360 or 380 hp at the crank.

BfB

 

I thought the article was pretty good in respect to the Lightning. Let's face it, right now there is NO competition out there for our trucks, and the inclusion of the Dodge Dakota and Toyota were just because they had to have multiple brands/units for a comparison test. If you read the article, there's no doubt they liked the Lightning best and the apologist statements about the cup holders and cubby holes were just bones they threw the others so they wouldn't feel shut out. The other trucks were literally not in the same class as the L: they are mid-size trucks, not full size.

Of course, the dynos results were laughable! Also laughable was the sidebar of "Other Favorites" predicting the SSR to list in the mid-$30s; more accurate is their estimate of the SRT-10 coming an at $65,000!

All-in-all, the Lightning did very well, and obviously was the unit they preferred by a wide margin. They even managed to get some decent sub-14 second !/4 mile times (Car & Driver testors take note!)

 

30k for a new L and 1600 in mods and I'm already much quicker than the SRT-10 numbers they have listed... who knows, maybe it will be quicker.... with 500hp, your would think it would be...

my question is, what's up with that 0-60 time of 5.0??? if he's running a 12.9 1/4 that 60 should be more like 4.6... if someone ran a 12.9 1/4 mile with only a 5.0 0-60, that thing must pull harder than my uncle's f-40 after 60....

something doesn't compute there...

 

Hey:

Their 1/4 mile ET and MPH are still quicker than my Lightning. THough the hp is about 35 shy.

Steve

 

After thinking about this for a while, isn't comparing the Lightning to the Dodge thing kinda like apples and oranges. To me, the Lightning is like a stock Corvette and the Dodge would be more of a "tuner" car like the supercharged 'Vettes that are $20-30k MORE than a stock Vette. Or even like a stock 3-series BMW and a M3 or M5.
Since the Dodge will be limited production and WAY more money, I can't see how it is an equal comparison. Bang for the buck, it goes to the Lightning hands down.
Like someone said, the Lightning is as about as expensive as most would go for a performance truck. I don't see a large market for $50k+ trucks, especially a Dodge. I think, for the money, the Lightning is a bit steep, but well worth the $$ once you own one. Not to mention, the Lightning isn't downright fugly.

 

When your bored some time price out a Lariat with all the options(like the "L" has) and see how much extra the ZR tires, tuned suspension, heavy duty trans, ground effects, blower, intercooler, and any other Lightning specific item actually adds to the price. When I did it back in '99 all the extra goodies were in the $1700 range. Damn cheap for what you get.

 

OK I'll bite,

Tires and wheels $1600 - stock($700) = $900
Tuned suspension = 4 shocks = $200
Entire engine $3500 - $1800(stock engine)= $1700
interor = ($1500, I really don't have a clue here?) = $1500
Transmission throw an extra = $1500

total $5800 + stock $18,000 truck = $24,000

Please remember that if your Ford you don't have to build 2 enginees, 2 sets of tires/wheels, ect. So I subtracted these amounts from above.

This isn't to bash the price of a Lightning it's really more to justify how a $24,000 Lightning compares to a $50,000 - $65,000 Dodge POS!

 

I consolidated three vehicles to one when I bought my L. I had a Grand Prix GTP, a Mustang GT Conv ('89 5.0) and a 93 F-150 XLT Ext Cab.. The L outdoes all of them except the top doesnt come down.. What else out there in the market does everything the L does? how much would you have to pay to get the same performance?
I say you would have to find a sports car that could tow 5000 lbs..
Thats why I bought an L..
If you think this is stupid, ok, but just dont post it...
ha ha

 

There's no way you'll get a Lariat for $18k and if you are comparing what it actually cost Ford to build it's irrelevant. No one can purchase one for that price just as no one can purchase any other sport vehicle for builders cost. You have to compare prices with what is actually available to the real world and it has to come with a warranty.

 

I agree with many of the above post as to the power of L. I don't know where they 'found' that Toy with the TRC blower, there isn't a dealer around here that has a mechanic that could order the parts much less do the install, and I don't believe the toy's as tested price either, I could have a barely used Gen II L and a new KTM dirtbike for the real cost of that thing.

As for the new rodge dam, don't worry about seeing any of those to soon, even if the truck is a success, the dealers will hold them for the 'speculators' willing to pay $20k over sticker to get one.

For an even Better Laugh flip towards the back of the mag and read about the "Project Toyota." Those guys managed to spend almost $ 2100 to gain something like 4HP

 

If you read all of my above rants, I stated that I don't see how dodge can charge 50k - 65k for a 18k truck with a 15k engine.

So then someone else mentioned the Lanat, and it got me to thinking that um, well it might cost you a lot but I bet it doesn't cost Ford alot! Ford probably makes 6k off the L 30k - 24k = 6k, so why is Dodge trying to make 20k - 35k per truck.

IMO the L is expensive @ a 6k profit for Ford, ~25k profit for Dodge is just stupid.