Photo credit: Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F).
The full-size truck segment is fiercely competitive and filled with intensely loyal fans. You’re either a Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) guy, or a Chevy guy. I grew up in the Midwest, and you’d be surprised how often that’s the first question out of someone’s mouth. Not “What’s your name” or “What do you do,” but “Are you a Ford or Chevy guy?” That’s how important it can be.
For those loyal Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) followers, you earned another bragging point today, because the 2013 Ford F-150 topped General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)‘ redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Silverado in a head-to-head test. Here are the details, and what it means for consumers and investors alike.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s 2013 F-150 beat out five different competitors, including some 2014 models, in tests conducted by PickupTrucks.com and Popular Mechanics. It did so pretty thoroughly, too.
“In our performance-oriented competitive events, the Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) half-ton was dominating,” says Mark Williams, editor of PickupTrucks.com. “It finished in either first or second place in 11 of 13 events. If this were the Olympics, there would be a new Ford F-150 on a cereal box.”
The competitors in the mix were the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2014 GMC Sierra 1500, 2013 Nissan Titan, 2013 Dodge Ram 1500, 2013 Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) Tundra, and, of course, the champion 2013 F-150.
All the competing trucks were put through grueling performance tests, including 0-to-60 mph acceleration, both loaded and unloaded, as well as braking, overall handling, towing, and fuel economy.
“The results of this test show why F-Series has been the best-selling pickup truck in America for more than 30 years,” says Doug Scott, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) truck group marketing manager. “We know our light-duty customers are looking for a pickup truck that delivers the leading combination of towing, payload, horsepower, torque, and fuel economy, and this shootout proves F-150 continues to lead the pack.”
To put some visibility to his words, here’s how sales of the top four trucks in the competition look.
The F-Series has remained on top for some time. It’s been America’s best-selling truck for 36 years and America’s best-selling vehicle for 31.
Now, as loyalist General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) fans will point out, that isn’t a totally fair comparison, because its truck sales are split between two models, the Silverado and Sierra. Here’s how that graph looks when you combine those sales and then compare them with the F-Series.
This is a good depiction of how fiercely competitive Ford and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) truck sales are. If you count them up, since 1998, Ford tops GM in seven of the years, and GM takes home the top spot for eight years. More importantly though, is the recent trend in which Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has consistently sold more trucks since our nation exited the recession, no doubt in part because some consumers refuse to buy GM after it took a bailout, and also because the Silverado is years overdue for a redesign — which it finally gets in the 2014 model. For consumers, one thing is for sure: Though the F-Series seems to have a slight advantage, both trucks are impressive and lead the U.S. in sales for a reason.
