Pretty much every major power plant is steam powered be it nuclear, coal, or NG fired. Currently every US nuclear powered vessel is steam powered. Diesels still use pushrods too.
Not a classic analogy I admit. Tried to save it with “coal fired “, but it was still weak.
A 4 cyl in a full size truck is a non-starter. No way. No how.I’m going to go against the grain a bit here. Apart from commercial fleets/contractors, there’s a very small group of people (I’m one of them) who for whatever reason are interested only in a basic, no-frills, 2wd truck. Appearance/styling/color doesn’t come into play for me – function over form, substance over style. So, I looked at/compared the standard equipment on a 2024 Ford F150 XL 2wd Screw short bed against a 2024 Chevy Silverado WT 2wd Crew Cab short bed. Base engines, open rear diff., 17” tires/steel wheels, etc. My previous and current ride have been XLT’s (a 157” WB Screw and now a 145” WB Scab) but I’m fine with what an XL (or WT) can offer me.
I drive a ½ ton mainly for ergonomic reasons - I’m tall, big, and old (not a good combo for more fuel-efficient econo-boxes or truck-lets). Want to be able to carry 4 people in relative comfort. I don’t live in snow country, don’t offroad, not a boat puller/launcher anymore so 2wd works fine for me. My current driving regimen is vastly different than 5 years ago – now only ~8000 miles/yr., very occasional light towing, have a work-around (small 6x12 alum. utility trailer) for those few times a 5.5 ft bed is problematic.
My “must have” features list is pretty short – class IV trailer hitch receiver, cruise control, power & heated sideview mirrors, dark tint glass on rear pax windows, rear window defrost/dark tint, 17” or 18” tires/rims (so my wife can get in/out with add-on step rails/nerf bars – found that 20” wheels don’t work for her even with step rails).
I’m partial to F150’s but have test-driven/researched a couple of Chevy WT crew cabs and a GMC Pro reg. cab short bed, just to see if crossing to the dark side is something I’d consider.
On paper when comparing F150 XL/Silverado WT standard equipment, and after the Chevy test-drives, I was very surprised at how much more content/”stuff” is standard on the base F150 compared to the base Silverado. Yes, a no-options XL MSRP is about $3600 higher than the WT MSRP but $1350 of that is due to the powertrain ‘credit’ Chevy gives you for their 2.7 4-banger/2nd gen 8 speed. I can make a case the cost difference is worth it; others may feel differently.
Biggest difference I became aware of during the Chevy test drives – the 2wd WT trim does not offer selectable drive modes like the F150 XL does. No Eco, Sport, Slippery, etc., and no gear indicator display in instrument panel. Got to go to a higher trim level to get that (Chevy forum folks told me LT and above has it, IDK….). Most of my “must have” list items are standard on the ’24 F150 XL, the Silverado needs the WT Value Package option to get hitch, cruise, power and heated mirrors, dark tint glass, rear window defroster/tint. Getting a 36 gal. tank and blind-spot/cross traffic and LED headlamps and reverse sensing as standard on the F150 are a pretty good deal to me. Of course, if you want a rear window defroster with privacy glass on the F150 you still have to get that as an option – that drives me crazy and is pretty silly in my view.
The Chevy did have some features I liked – higher payload, shorter turning diameter (that was a surprise), the cornerstep rear bumper, recovery hooks (padeyes) as standard on a 2wd truck, and their gauge display with actual numbers. Chevy’s marketing/sale ploy of going back to the 5 yr./100,000 mile powertrain warranty for the base 2.7 L3B/8L80 combo doesn’t mean that much to me as I usually don’t stay with a truck that long, but it’s interesting.
Some oddities I found – the base F150 XL has an auxiliary input jack for audio; I thought those went the way of CD players but gives people at lot more aftermarket audio choices now. On the Silverado WT I could display engine hours – but not idle hours. Strange for a trim that fleets typically use. I also discovered that as a cost-cutting measure, all WT trim trucks do not have felt hood insulators. For ~$30 you can get the OEM insulator and 6 x aftermarket plastic retainers so not a big deal, but still…
Anyway, I’m doing some real-word pricing comparisons now, the lower trim in-stock Silverados currently have some pretty hefty incentives and dealer discounts in my area and I’m tempted to cross to the dark side, but we’ll see..
