This is a timely thread as I have been shopping full size trucks for the past few weeks.
If you plan on towing more than 5000 pounds then you definitely want to watch for what rear end gear comes on the truck you are looking at. Below 5000 pounds, pretty much any V8 powered SUV or truck is going to do the job.
For the Ford trucks, the standard ratio with the 5.4 liter V8 is a 3.31. A 3.55 is optional and if you get the FX4 model or the "Max Trailer Tow" package it comes with a 3.73.
On the GM products, the 3.08 mentioned above is on the high fuel efficiency models, I haven't actually seen any of those, the most common rear end on the 5.3 liter V8 models is a 3.42 and a 3.73 is optional.
My shopping has been rather frustrating. The GM dealers are giving away the remaining Saturn, Pontiac and Saab vehicles but they don't want to bend on the leftover '09 Chevrolet and GMC trucks. It has to be some kind of mandate from corporate because all of the GM dealers are uniformly lousy in their quoted pricing.
There are plenty of '09 Chevrolet and GMC 1/2 ton crew cab trucks available in my area but I'm getting better price quotes on a '10 Ford F-150.
Since we the taxpayers own 60% of General Motors, I might like to see more aggressive pricing on old inventory!
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