I've recovered from my "burn-out", although the desire to spend less time in wrecking yards pulling parts is still with me. I've considered getting rid of the F-150, and buying a new Chevy Colorado. There are substantial discounts at the moment, and it seems like a decent truck. Does anyone have any experience with them? I wouldn't expect it to tow my Camaro, but it would be a good parts chaser/daily driver/surf fishing companion. Still seems a little odd with a 5 cylinder engine, though.

If you've already had bad luck I wouldn't buy a GM model in it's first year.

Looks underpowered for the size.

even with a i5 it's still faster than an old s10 with a v6. but i think it's still under powered for towing a fbody with a trailer tool's ect..........

but my 98 should be putting 350 lb ft after the SC install this weekend

I'd spend the extra money and get a Silverado. I looked at the Colorados when they first came out and thought they were small and the price wasn't that much different than a full-size.

I drove the Colorado and liked it, but for less than 15,000 I can buy a Silverado. It's a 4.3 V-6 auto, ( I tow very little, and not very far), but I wonder how it is on gas, hauling and towing when I need to. My short bed '84 F-150 4x4 with a 351-4bbl, is a little "twitchy" towing. I liked my '86 2wd, 300 cid 6, long bed better. Your thoughts?

I'm guessing a Hemi Ram is out of the question? I've been considering one myself. I drove one and was rather impressed and even my wife wants me to go get one. A basic tow vehicle (air, cruise, towing package, cd, etc was about $24-ish with rebates).

Just a thought.

I'd be using the Silverado for daily driving, so mpg comes into play here. What are the ratings on the Hemi? I've yet to drive the V-6 1500, so I don't know if it will work for me or not. With all the deals around right now, it looks like a good time to buy something. The last time this happened, I ended up with a Camaro.

I drive a big sturdy Ram as a "farm"/errand truck, but as a daily driver the Ford F150 is worth considering. I drove a rented one for a day of mostly interstate driving, and was very impressed. It drove very car-like and got about 20mpg - not bad for a fullsize gas pickup.

It's obviously not nearly as beefy as the F250, but for a daily driver the weight savings and reduced drag will help a lot with gas milegage.

I don't think dropping to a V6 in a fullsize will improve the mileage much unless you do a lot of idling. It's still a lot of weight and drag to pull around.

The Colorado is obviously intended as competition for the Dakota. I would have thought the Trailblazer's straight 6 would be a better choice, though of course a 6 liter LS1 would be better still.

Just something to think about - a midsize truck is sometimes a LOT easier to park than a fullsize, depending on how cramped the lots are.