Your magazine was my favorite -- until I read the 2008 Truck of the Year article. I want to know how much Toyota paid you to write such a crazy story. I'm sorry, but there's no way a half-ton pickup can outperform a one-ton diesel truck. You seem bent on convincing everyone that Toyota makes a super truck. I bought a 1997 F-150 in June of that year, and it now has 211,625 miles on it and still doesn't use any oil. I also have a friend who has a 1979 F-150 with 439,000 miles on it, and he still drives it to work everyday. But neither of these pickups can outpull my dad's F-250 diesel! Give me a break! What are you trying to prove?
Dawn Shelton
Via the Internet
Dear Reader --
It's not our job to prove or promote anything here. We just report what we've discovered after our series of courses, loops, and objective and subjective testing. We don't assume everyone will come to the same conclusion, but then again we don't assume everyone has the benefit of driving as much as we do, either. Remember, by designating a winner from a particular segment, we're not stating every other vehicle in that same segment is a piece of junk. As the story explains, we measure against three separate criteria: Significance, superiority, and value - significance to the auto industry in general (very broad), superiority in its class (very specific), and how much you get for your dollar (very real). These criteria allow us to compare vehicles that don't compete head to head, but do exist within the general category of trucks, cars, or sport/utility vehicles.
-Truck Trend