The Art of Staying True to One's Core: A Conversation with Gabe Coughlin

Gabe Coughlin, a seasoned automotive journalist and enthusiast, sat down with us to discuss his thoughts on reinvention and staying true to one's core. "You know, when you start to reinvent something that was meant to be simple and straightforward, it just doesn't go anywhere," he said. "I mean, take the Tacoma, for example. It's a very traditional truck that has been selling well for years. You can even argue that the Frontier is more alternative than the Tacoma." Coughlin continued, "The key to success is staying true to one's core attributes and not trying to reinvent the wheel."

Heavy-Duty Trucks for Catastrophe Response

When it comes to heavy-duty trucks, there are a few options available for those in need of a reliable vehicle for catastrophe response work. Gabe Coughlin mentioned that he would tend to recommend the Silverado 2500HD as a top choice. "The Silverado has proven itself to be one of the most reliable heavy-duty trucks on the market," he said. "When we tested the 2500HD, it was tolerable in terms of ride and handling response, which was better than the Ford F-250 and Ram 2500." Coughlin also noted that while the Ford F-250 is a workhorse, its emergency handling limits are very low, making it less suitable for certain applications.

Diesel Engines: A Reliable Option?

When it comes to heavy-duty trucks, diesel engines have long been the go-to option for many. However, Gabe Coughlin pointed out that gasoline engines can be more reliable, especially when it comes to payload capacity. "The gas engine is going to be more reliable," he said. "And if you're doing claims adjusting, you'll probably find gasoline easier to come by than diesel." Additionally, Coughlin noted that the Duramax with an Allison transmission is a slick powertrain that's hard to beat.

A Non-Truck-Related Question: The Audi A6 2.0T

In a departure from heavy-duty trucks, Gabe Coughlin was asked about his thoughts on the Audi A6 2.0T front-wheel drive CR. "I think he's going to be happier with the A6," Coughlin said. "It's got a similar feel to the Miata that he liked before." However, Coughlin also noted that the A6 is a pricey car, with a difference of around $5,000 between the loaded Chevy Impala V6 and the base Audi A6 2.0T. He suggested that the A6 may be out of reach for some buyers, especially those in colder climates where they would need a more robust vehicle.

A Bridge Between the Impala and A6

Before wrapping up the conversation, Gabe Coughlin mentioned another car that bridges the gap between the Impala and the A6: the Audi Pat 36. "The Pat 36 is a wonderful car," he said. "It handles better than more expensive versions of the Pat, and it's got a DSG transmission that actually works well." This car, Coughlin noted, would be an excellent option for those looking for something between the Impala and the A6.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi and welcome to talking cars with Consumer Reports I'm Tom mler I'm Gabe shenhar and I'm Dr Fischer in this episode we're talking trucks we recently had quite a nailbiter of a test wondering which truck was going to wind up on top the Ram 1500 or the Chevy Silverado Gabe how how did it all turn out how it turned out uh is really interesting uh because uh we think that the ram is the better car in terms of being a commuter car but as a truck I think the Silverado trumps it in terms of payload capacity and um other track truck related things yeah the Silverado outscored the ram in our testing despite the fact most of us liked the ram better well like Gabe says the ram is the better car um I think every sums it up I mean we keep on talking about is the luxury truck and it really is it's it's it's quiet it's comfortable it's it's no the coil springs in the back give it the best ride of of any truck but unfortunately it doesn't it doesn't haul as much doesn't tow as much it doesn't do the truck stuff and actually the Silverado I mean the Silverado it's very very quiet too um it gets better fuel economy doesn't ride as well doesn't ride as well but um and doesn't have the powertrain of the Hemi which is wonderful 8speed automatic is terrific and it's such an effortless powertrain so I mean if I'm like need a truck to commute let's say I live in Houston and I need a truck to commute every day I'm taking the ram because I don't I'm not like carrying stuff or towing a lot of stuff like you well you know it's kind of funny um the folks at Auto blog you know that they have their Marathon podcasts which last about four hours I think but but they they made the point that in consumer reports testing we often go for the more car-like truck we're big fans of the Honda ridg line which we'll talk about later um you know we always like the Chevy Avalanche which was very car-like in this case though the silado wins on the numbers because it has about 300 400 lb more payload uh when you max out towing capacity it can tow you know it's rated to about, 1500 lbs more than the Ram uh so the Silverado wins there but I mean it's also there are other things at the Silverado does really really well it's got a roomy back seat uh it handles pretty well you know it's it's always been a Chevy Silverado uh advantage over its competitors the handling is pretty car-like if you can say that it is so is the access because the truck is is lower and again uh earlier you know we did a first drive with the Silverado where you know we always mentioned the access and you know people would complain oh but it's a truck yeah I need ground clearance the ground clearance difference is half an inch between these two trucks it it doesn't it doesn't really matter and there's the fuel economy this is the most fuel efficient full-size gas power truck I'm sure the Ram diesel will will beat the 16 MP gallon here but between these two trucks that's going to save you about 100 gallons 15 gallons of gas a year you know that adds up so I mean what really comes down to though is you know buy the numbers and you know we aren't just picking the best best car and like I said it's like what was it the uh the Subaru uh the Baja the Baja that you know if we put that in the truck category it probably would have been the best but um but really it wouldn't because we do take into account things like hauling and payload and all those things and actually we were we were kind of playing with the numbers before and actually if you take away the additional capacities that the Silverado has actually the these the two trucks are basally a parody they're basically the same they're very very close in what they do what puts it above is you know and obviously when you make a truck you make certain compromises so you know maybe you want to have you know stiffer suspension to be able to have that extra was a 400 pounds of payload um but that is going to hurt the the the ride when you have it empty I mean practically speaking that 400 extra pounds of payload makes far more difference probably Believe It or Not than the 1500 PBS of trailer towing CU you tow a trailer you've got to deal with tongue weight you have to deal with what's inside the cab most people they buy half ton trucks they're not Towing out at the hairy edge of of the max rating well and that and that's it so so really you know I mean regardless I know everyone likes to make a big deal about you know we say the Sado beats the ram whatever you know it it's it may not be the best truck for every everybody it depends on who you are what you need so if you're not going to be Towing that extra th000 lb if you're not going to be hauling the extra capacity you know really that Ram is going to be the better truck for you so just because one is above the other it doesn't mean it's the better one for you you got to figure out what you want to do in in fact for me and we've talked about this too I don't think I'd be buy either one of those I think I'd probably wind up with a ram V6 with the 8speed or actually probably that diesel that's coming out I'm going to wait for that diesel I did want to ask you guys what what full what fulls size truck would you buy uh well I'm not exactly the truck kind of guy um totally admitting it let's say you moved to Montana let me guess let me guess the best pickup truck for you GTI exactly chop off the rest of exactly well they made the rabbit pickup truck yeah but I'll say this I wouldn't buy a pickup truck without the easy gate that the Silverado has and the ram doesn't have and so does the tundra and the Titan but that's an awesome kind of thing I mean the lowering the gate it's fully damped it's low effort it's really handy it is a real nice feature I mean between the two trucks I also would buy the ram I think the 8speed automatic is terrific um Honestly though I'd start looking I'd probably buy a used Avalanche you know 09 or new I get the sixspeed automatic that rides probably a little bit better in the ram you know you get one used probably $25,000 something like that there you go yeah speaking of pickup truck fuel economy we also did some testing to find out to answer the age-old myth do you get better fuel economy with the tailgate down or up Jake yes well we didn't know the answer to this too so we tried it out and we spliced in fuel meter and we did did that and we did the tailgate up and down we also put a turno cover on it which it actually still has and you know the one mile per gallon difference between these two trucks well if you could go and put the tailgate down or do that and and equalize it that would be great Well turns out not so much it doesn't actually help actually wound a hurting a little bit too about half a mile per gallon about a half mile per gallon worse um with the cover or with the tailgate down right MythBusters did this you know a couple years ago we did a little more accurately you know like you said we splice in a fuel meter uh to find out the difference but we like the myth busting yeah no no nothing wrong with the myth busting now that's good stuff Myth Busters is better to watch than us tell you the truth um they're pretty good I think we're more handsome I really don't think we're gonna oh do I get to break well you already got the fa I do have the facial hair yes I also want to talk about the compact truck Market because it seems to be slowly dying away it's it's just kind of fading off you know there's really only two competitors anymore you know the the Tacoma and the frontier Tacoma and Frontier and also I mean the the thing is that when you get a crew cab four-wheel drive uh compact truck price-wise it really starts uh touching the the full size there is a lot of overlap our last Tacoma cost $33,000 yeah that's insane I mean these trucks need to be $16,000 well no maybe not that I mean we have a c we have a couple of people on the staff here their husbands own Frontiers Nissan Frontier which is a pretty good truck I'd much rather have it to a Tacoma uh it handles a lot better drives a lot better and they bought them for 22,000 bucks you know that's where a compact truck that's where it needs to be at and uh Chevy uh I mean GMS bring the canyon and the the other one color Colorado uh I think for 15 and uh they won't be 15,000 bucks they no they won't uh but we'll see I mean that that's always a tough market and I think the thing is they need to be more uh work rated they need to have diesel engines and then they're going to be more appealing well basically what they are in other other markets but but I think what what's happened is you know pickup trucks I mean okay some people are using for contractors or work trucks but really they're not they're they're everyday Vehicles so when you start equipping these vehicles that are I mean the compact trucks I mean they always were traditionally pretty you know Bol bolted bolted together you know I mean yeah really when you start equipping those yeah there's not much of a difference between a full size truck if you go to the other end and get something that's really a stripper and that's that's that's low price you know what you might as well buy a used one you know and especially when you start looking at Tacoma I mean Tacoma we got reliability information these things I mean they they run for freaking ever it's a Workhorse that's going to last forever but they cost a ton of money on the used Market they don't depreciate much I mean you know Tacomas don't Rich lines don't either but but here's the thing it's like if you look if you think about it it's like my everyday car and I'm looking for a 2 years old one that's one thing but the truth is is that you know what I could have a normal car I keep this as my third car if I do need to haul something and then you don't buy a 2-year-old Tacoma you buy one that's 10 years old and you got to make sure the frame has rusted out that thing think there's some extended warranty on that but um but yeah you get an old Tacoma you you don't pay a whole lot or maybe you buy a one of the guys here a Mazda b2000 or something I mean oh yeah that's an ancient one of the guys here has a ranger too which I don't they don't envy him no they're like cockroaches they run forever but that just means you're stuck driving them forever but but you know you rais an interesting point these full-size trucks behind us they're $42,000 and you know before you go into oh well you loaded up these are basically equipped the same as a $25,000 camera you know full power options a power seat and a touchscreen radio you know these aren't fancy trucks you know which can easily top 50 Grand yeah and that's the The Sweet Spot for a full-size pickup truck that's what most people buy and most people also get several thousand dollars off in incentives too um but also I want to talk about the Honda ridg line you know we we you know rated the ridgel line really high back in the day it makes a lot of sense it's it's a very clever truck it does you know that that tailgate slides out and storage in the bed but again it's 33,000 bucks Honda is only selling 15 to 20,000 a year it just hasn't hit it off with the public it's it's just not a enough of a truck well the thing is it doesn't really do anything well it's it's the hybrid bicycle okay I mean I'm yeah last night I did Triathlon okay and you go on the triathlon and everyone's doing this road bike and everyone's got the tri bikes and the road bikes well one guy was there with a hybrid bike and you know what he can't go mountain biking with it and he can't go Road biking with it it doesn't do anything well so what most people do is they have a road bike and they have a mountain bike this is the thing with trucks you know if you want to be a truck be a truck if you want to be a car be a car you take the ridgel line it's not a great truck it's not a great car and this thing is just buy one of each I argue the other side because guessed that because because I can saw this coming I mean I mean you know for that guy most of the bike riding he's going to do the hybrids probably the best for most people what they're going to do with the truck ridg Line's fine I mean you know it it it's got a big enough bed it's very comfortable the handling is really good and the numbers completely agree with you it's very it's very much like the Avalanche you know the Avalanche was a total flop in the market but it made a lot of sense it had a unified body and and bed it was you could the whole things completely um covered from the elements it never had top ratings you know TR yeah it never had top toe ratings or payload ratings but it had enough mhm you but again like you said it was well it also cost a million dollars you know I mean the the other thing about you know doing you know being kind of the the Jack ball trades and master nothing and you look at tires too we talk about this you know in America everyone has allseason tires you go to other markets and what are they do you summer Tires winter tires summer Tires and winter tires and you know what the whole time they're performing better so I mean if you have the possibility to have something that's really designed to be a truck and designed to be a car you're going to be better off just made sad cuz I'm not going to argue the tire point with you I agree completely on the tire point but but I think it's it's been proven that with all due respect to Reinventing something which I like the pickup truck is just a very conservative kind of a thing I mean it has to be to stay true to its core attributes and if you start to reinvent it and and and expand the possibilities it just doesn't go anywhere yeah R line Avalanche you're yeah that's an interesting point yeah because if I mean the Tacoma which sells pretty well still for a compact truck is a very traditional truck you can even argue the frontier is more alternative than than the Tacoma no you have a point there uh question from Facebook I wanted to get to about heavy duty trucks uh I have to purchase a truck for employment per purchases soon I want a 3/4 ton quad cab and a long bed he wants to haul a fifth wheel camper uh he's he I guess he's doing insurance work going to catastrophes to do claims adjusting I want to know the best truck for the the job uh and and which truck you know if he buys a used one cuz 3/4 ton trucks are really expensive what's his best choice I would tend to say uh Silverado because when we tested the 2500s uh it was at least tolerable in terms of ride and ter had a modum of handling response which was better than the Ford and the and the ram so i' tend to stay with a silver Auto there I mean again we're getting into that that Nether world of liking trucks because they do car things better but I mean in this case yeah you know the the F250 which is a Workhorse it has its emergency handling limits are very low the thing just plows straight ahead it's it's a work it's like a mule you know it's made to pull straight you know but it doesn't really it doesn't really turn yeah I mean despite uh looking like the most rugged and the toughest truck out there and having two live axles it uh in terms of uh payload it's it's not the best yeah the other thing is is that the Silverado going back in our reliability data it's by far the best the Silverado is by far the most reliable both Ford's had problems over the years with diesel engines uh even Dodge uh it was Dodge then now Ram that they've had some teething issues with Emissions on the cumins but one last thing if you want to save some money get the gas engine the gas engine is going to be more reliable uh if you're doing claims adjusting you probably can find gasoline easier than diesel uh and you'll save a lot of money in that's one big ass gas engine it's an 8.1 L some of them yeah yeah it's pretty big um I mean the diesel Towes better but there are costs with getting diesel but the Duramax with the Allison is just a slick power train it is slay no you're right finally we have a non-truck related question it comes from David limb he posted on Facebook he's been a longtime subscriber longtime for member uh he I helped convince him VI a Mazda Miata he has a pat like we used to have I guess he's shopping for his next car here's his question would you go with a loaded Chevy Impala V6 or a base AUD A6 2.0T front-wheel drive CR hasn't tested the front drive A6 so any guess here well that's a literally an out of the box kind of question wow pick up a truck it's out of a bed question out of the bed yes there we go I think he answered his qu the the question has been answered by what he drove before so if he's got a Miata and he like the pat um he's going to be happier with the A6 I mean the A6 is going to be a lot more money yeah there's probably $5,000 in difference I mean that kind of A6 though he has to consider that it's going to take him probably 6 months to get that kind of car because I don't think they're building many of these front-wheel drive four-cylinder a6s for that price they're probably inexpensive leases down in Florida or something like that you're not going to get them in the Northeast where it snows um also yeah I'm surprised you didn't mention this there is another car there's a car that Bridges the gap between the Impala and the A6 there is come on come on Gabe yeah you can do it come on you can do it the pat 36 there you go yay there you go yeah I mean when you get a loaded Pat 36 preium it handles better than than the more cooking versions of the pat it's quick it's oh it's wonderful I mean and that is the only car with a DSG transmission that actually works well yeah that that that's a real nice car that's something else you might want to consider so that's going to wrap it up for this episode of talking cars as always thank you for listeninghi and welcome to talking cars with Consumer Reports I'm Tom mler I'm Gabe shenhar and I'm Dr Fischer in this episode we're talking trucks we recently had quite a nailbiter of a test wondering which truck was going to wind up on top the Ram 1500 or the Chevy Silverado Gabe how how did it all turn out how it turned out uh is really interesting uh because uh we think that the ram is the better car in terms of being a commuter car but as a truck I think the Silverado trumps it in terms of payload capacity and um other track truck related things yeah the Silverado outscored the ram in our testing despite the fact most of us liked the ram better well like Gabe says the ram is the better car um I think every sums it up I mean we keep on talking about is the luxury truck and it really is it's it's it's quiet it's comfortable it's it's no the coil springs in the back give it the best ride of of any truck but unfortunately it doesn't it doesn't haul as much doesn't tow as much it doesn't do the truck stuff and actually the Silverado I mean the Silverado it's very very quiet too um it gets better fuel economy doesn't ride as well doesn't ride as well but um and doesn't have the powertrain of the Hemi which is wonderful 8speed automatic is terrific and it's such an effortless powertrain so I mean if I'm like need a truck to commute let's say I live in Houston and I need a truck to commute every day I'm taking the ram because I don't I'm not like carrying stuff or towing a lot of stuff like you well you know it's kind of funny um the folks at Auto blog you know that they have their Marathon podcasts which last about four hours I think but but they they made the point that in consumer reports testing we often go for the more car-like truck we're big fans of the Honda ridg line which we'll talk about later um you know we always like the Chevy Avalanche which was very car-like in this case though the silado wins on the numbers because it has about 300 400 lb more payload uh when you max out towing capacity it can tow you know it's rated to about, 1500 lbs more than the Ram uh so the Silverado wins there but I mean it's also there are other things at the Silverado does really really well it's got a roomy back seat uh it handles pretty well you know it's it's always been a Chevy Silverado uh advantage over its competitors the handling is pretty car-like if you can say that it is so is the access because the truck is is lower and again uh earlier you know we did a first drive with the Silverado where you know we always mentioned the access and you know people would complain oh but it's a truck yeah I need ground clearance the ground clearance difference is half an inch between these two trucks it it doesn't it doesn't really matter and there's the fuel economy this is the most fuel efficient full-size gas power truck I'm sure the Ram diesel will will beat the 16 MP gallon here but between these two trucks that's going to save you about 100 gallons 15 gallons of gas a year you know that adds up so I mean what really comes down to though is you know buy the numbers and you know we aren't just picking the best best car and like I said it's like what was it the uh the Subaru uh the Baja the Baja that you know if we put that in the truck category it probably would have been the best but um but really it wouldn't because we do take into account things like hauling and payload and all those things and actually we were we were kind of playing with the numbers before and actually if you take away the additional capacities that the Silverado has actually the these the two trucks are basally a parody they're basically the same they're very very close in what they do what puts it above is you know and obviously when you make a truck you make certain compromises so you know maybe you want to have you know stiffer suspension to be able to have that extra was a 400 pounds of payload um but that is going to hurt the the the ride when you have it empty I mean practically speaking that 400 extra pounds of payload makes far more difference probably Believe It or Not than the 1500 PBS of trailer towing CU you tow a trailer you've got to deal with tongue weight you have to deal with what's inside the cab most people they buy half ton trucks they're not Towing out at the hairy edge of of the max rating well and that and that's it so so really you know I mean regardless I know everyone likes to make a big deal about you know we say the Sado beats the ram whatever you know it it's it may not be the best truck for every everybody it depends on who you are what you need so if you're not going to be Towing that extra th000 lb if you're not going to be hauling the extra capacity you know really that Ram is going to be the better truck for you so just because one is above the other it doesn't mean it's the better one for you you got to figure out what you want to do in in fact for me and we've talked about this too I don't think I'd be buy either one of those I think I'd probably wind up with a ram V6 with the 8speed or actually probably that diesel that's coming out I'm going to wait for that diesel I did want to ask you guys what what full what fulls size truck would you buy uh well I'm not exactly the truck kind of guy um totally admitting it let's say you moved to Montana let me guess let me guess the best pickup truck for you GTI exactly chop off the rest of exactly well they made the rabbit pickup truck yeah but I'll say this I wouldn't buy a pickup truck without the easy gate that the Silverado has and the ram doesn't have and so does the tundra and the Titan but that's an awesome kind of thing I mean the lowering the gate it's fully damped it's low effort it's really handy it is a real nice feature I mean between the two trucks I also would buy the ram I think the 8speed automatic is terrific um Honestly though I'd start looking I'd probably buy a used Avalanche you know 09 or new I get the sixspeed automatic that rides probably a little bit better in the ram you know you get one used probably $25,000 something like that there you go yeah speaking of pickup truck fuel economy we also did some testing to find out to answer the age-old myth do you get better fuel economy with the tailgate down or up Jake yes well we didn't know the answer to this too so we tried it out and we spliced in fuel meter and we did did that and we did the tailgate up and down we also put a turno cover on it which it actually still has and you know the one mile per gallon difference between these two trucks well if you could go and put the tailgate down or do that and and equalize it that would be great Well turns out not so much it doesn't actually help actually wound a hurting a little bit too about half a mile per gallon about a half mile per gallon worse um with the cover or with the tailgate down right MythBusters did this you know a couple years ago we did a little more accurately you know like you said we splice in a fuel meter uh to find out the difference but we like the myth busting yeah no no nothing wrong with the myth busting now that's good stuff Myth Busters is better to watch than us tell you the truth um they're pretty good I think we're more handsome I really don't think we're gonna oh do I get to break well you already got the fa I do have the facial hair yes I also want to talk about the compact truck Market because it seems to be slowly dying away it's it's just kind of fading off you know there's really only two competitors anymore you know the the Tacoma and the frontier Tacoma and Frontier and also I mean the the thing is that when you get a crew cab four-wheel drive uh compact truck price-wise it really starts uh touching the the full size there is a lot of overlap our last Tacoma cost $33,000 yeah that's insane I mean these trucks need to be $16,000 well no maybe not that I mean we have a c we have a couple of people on the staff here their husbands own Frontiers Nissan Frontier which is a pretty good truck I'd much rather have it to a Tacoma uh it handles a lot better drives a lot better and they bought them for 22,000 bucks you know that's where a compact truck that's where it needs to be at and uh Chevy uh I mean GMS bring the canyon and the the other one color Colorado uh I think for 15 and uh they won't be 15,000 bucks they no they won't uh but we'll see I mean that that's always a tough market and I think the thing is they need to be more uh work rated they need to have diesel engines and then they're going to be more appealing well basically what they are in other other markets but but I think what what's happened is you know pickup trucks I mean okay some people are using for contractors or work trucks but really they're not they're they're everyday Vehicles so when you start equipping these vehicles that are I mean the compact trucks I mean they always were traditionally pretty you know Bol bolted bolted together you know I mean yeah really when you start equipping those yeah there's not much of a difference between a full size truck if you go to the other end and get something that's really a stripper and that's that's that's low price you know what you might as well buy a used one you know and especially when you start looking at Tacoma I mean Tacoma we got reliability information these things I mean they they run for freaking ever it's a Workhorse that's going to last forever but they cost a ton of money on the used Market they don't depreciate much I mean you know Tacomas don't Rich lines don't either but but here's the thing it's like if you look if you think about it it's like my everyday car and I'm looking for a 2 years old one that's one thing but the truth is is that you know what I could have a normal car I keep this as my third car if I do need to haul something and then you don't buy a 2-year-old Tacoma you buy one that's 10 years old and you got to make sure the frame has rusted out that thing think there's some extended warranty on that but um but yeah you get an old Tacoma you you don't pay a whole lot or maybe you buy a one of the guys here a Mazda b2000 or something I mean oh yeah that's an ancient one of the guys here has a ranger too which I don't they don't envy him no they're like cockroaches they run forever but that just means you're stuck driving them forever but but you know you rais an interesting point these full-size trucks behind us they're $42,000 and you know before you go into oh well you loaded up these are basically equipped the same as a $25,000 camera you know full power options a power seat and a touchscreen radio you know these aren't fancy trucks you know which can easily top 50 Grand yeah and that's the The Sweet Spot for a full-size pickup truck that's what most people buy and most people also get several thousand dollars off in incentives too um but also I want to talk about the Honda ridg line you know we we you know rated the ridgel line really high back in the day it makes a lot of sense it's it's a very clever truck it does you know that that tailgate slides out and storage in the bed but again it's 33,000 bucks Honda is only selling 15 to 20,000 a year it just hasn't hit it off with the public it's it's just not a enough of a truck well the thing is it doesn't really do anything well it's it's the hybrid bicycle okay I mean I'm yeah last night I did Triathlon okay and you go on the triathlon and everyone's doing this road bike and everyone's got the tri bikes and the road bikes well one guy was there with a hybrid bike and you know what he can't go mountain biking with it and he can't go Road biking with it it doesn't do anything well so what most people do is they have a road bike and they have a mountain bike this is the thing with trucks you know if you want to be a truck be a truck if you want to be a car be a car you take the ridgel line it's not a great truck it's not a great car and this thing is just buy one of each I argue the other side because guessed that because because I can saw this coming I mean I mean you know for that guy most of the bike riding he's going to do the hybrids probably the best for most people what they're going to do with the truck ridg Line's fine I mean you know it it it's got a big enough bed it's very comfortable the handling is really good and the numbers completely agree with you it's very it's very much like the Avalanche you know the Avalanche was a total flop in the market but it made a lot of sense it had a unified body and and bed it was you could the whole things completely um covered from the elements it never had top ratings you know TR yeah it never had top toe ratings or payload ratings but it had enough mhm you but again like you said it was well it also cost a million dollars you know I mean the the other thing about you know doing you know being kind of the the Jack ball trades and master nothing and you look at tires too we talk about this you know in America everyone has allseason tires you go to other markets and what are they do you summer Tires winter tires summer Tires and winter tires and you know what the whole time they're performing better so I mean if you have the possibility to have something that's really designed to be a truck and designed to be a car you're going to be better off just made sad cuz I'm not going to argue the tire point with you I agree completely on the tire point but but I think it's it's been proven that with all due respect to Reinventing something which I like the pickup truck is just a very conservative kind of a thing I mean it has to be to stay true to its core attributes and if you start to reinvent it and and and expand the possibilities it just doesn't go anywhere yeah R line Avalanche you're yeah that's an interesting point yeah because if I mean the Tacoma which sells pretty well still for a compact truck is a very traditional truck you can even argue the frontier is more alternative than than the Tacoma no you have a point there uh question from Facebook I wanted to get to about heavy duty trucks uh I have to purchase a truck for employment per purchases soon I want a 3/4 ton quad cab and a long bed he wants to haul a fifth wheel camper uh he's he I guess he's doing insurance work going to catastrophes to do claims adjusting I want to know the best truck for the the job uh and and which truck you know if he buys a used one cuz 3/4 ton trucks are really expensive what's his best choice I would tend to say uh Silverado because when we tested the 2500s uh it was at least tolerable in terms of ride and ter had a modum of handling response which was better than the Ford and the and the ram so i' tend to stay with a silver Auto there I mean again we're getting into that that Nether world of liking trucks because they do car things better but I mean in this case yeah you know the the F250 which is a Workhorse it has its emergency handling limits are very low the thing just plows straight ahead it's it's a work it's like a mule you know it's made to pull straight you know but it doesn't really it doesn't really turn yeah I mean despite uh looking like the most rugged and the toughest truck out there and having two live axles it uh in terms of uh payload it's it's not the best yeah the other thing is is that the Silverado going back in our reliability data it's by far the best the Silverado is by far the most reliable both Ford's had problems over the years with diesel engines uh even Dodge uh it was Dodge then now Ram that they've had some teething issues with Emissions on the cumins but one last thing if you want to save some money get the gas engine the gas engine is going to be more reliable uh if you're doing claims adjusting you probably can find gasoline easier than diesel uh and you'll save a lot of money in that's one big ass gas engine it's an 8.1 L some of them yeah yeah it's pretty big um I mean the diesel Towes better but there are costs with getting diesel but the Duramax with the Allison is just a slick power train it is slay no you're right finally we have a non-truck related question it comes from David limb he posted on Facebook he's been a longtime subscriber longtime for member uh he I helped convince him VI a Mazda Miata he has a pat like we used to have I guess he's shopping for his next car here's his question would you go with a loaded Chevy Impala V6 or a base AUD A6 2.0T front-wheel drive CR hasn't tested the front drive A6 so any guess here well that's a literally an out of the box kind of question wow pick up a truck it's out of a bed question out of the bed yes there we go I think he answered his qu the the question has been answered by what he drove before so if he's got a Miata and he like the pat um he's going to be happier with the A6 I mean the A6 is going to be a lot more money yeah there's probably $5,000 in difference I mean that kind of A6 though he has to consider that it's going to take him probably 6 months to get that kind of car because I don't think they're building many of these front-wheel drive four-cylinder a6s for that price they're probably inexpensive leases down in Florida or something like that you're not going to get them in the Northeast where it snows um also yeah I'm surprised you didn't mention this there is another car there's a car that Bridges the gap between the Impala and the A6 there is come on come on Gabe yeah you can do it come on you can do it the pat 36 there you go yay there you go yeah I mean when you get a loaded Pat 36 preium it handles better than than the more cooking versions of the pat it's quick it's oh it's wonderful I mean and that is the only car with a DSG transmission that actually works well yeah that that that's a real nice car that's something else you might want to consider so that's going to wrap it up for this episode of talking cars as always thank you for listening\n"