Ray

We have seen the Dodge Truck ads ...So what's a Hemi and what so special about it ..??

dunroving

A Hemi is a bi-a**ed engine. As to what is supposedly special about it, presumably it's been tweaked to have more power and torque than the competitors' engines. That's the usual story in truck advertizing. The big 3 (Chevy, Ford, Dodge) are constantly trying to out-gun each other's engines.

DaveC

Talking of trucks, part of the deal for me moving over here was that my wife let me buy one! It's a choice between the Dodge RAM1500 Quad or the Ford F150 Supercrew. We'll probably be buying a 2003 model.

Anyone got any thoughts about either of these 2? I've been favouring the Dodge but I keep hearing that they're expensive to maintain and the resale isn't as good.

dunroving

I drove the old model (pre-1997) F-150 and loved it. I found the handling better than a Dodge Ram. Best resale value is for the Chevy, I believe. Have you considered one of those?

effi

My husband is on his second Dodge truck. He bought the new four door at the beginning of the year. It is great, the warranty on it is so good, that it costs very little to maintain. The first one he had for about 4 years. Nothing ever went wrong with it, only ever had to put gas in it. The trade in on the first one was good too.

Pimpbot

Just for a looks stand point, I'd take the Dodge. But either would be fine by me. I've been told I can buy a truck, after we buy a "family" car.

effi

Why not have the truck as the family car? Now with the new 4 door version there is tons of room, and they are so sophisticated inside nowadays. Go on, I am sure you could find a way to get round her.

Pimpbot

I've tried, but my wife doesnt really want to drive a big hulking truck everywhere. Its actually going to work out better for us though, because once we get the "family" car, the trucks all mine

Yosser

Those Dodge commercials are funny especially when the 2 teenage lads try racing the dude in a truck towing a boat but still kicks there ass, cause he's powered by a 'HEMI'.

I agree the dodge trucks like really nice, I heard there the most fuel thirsty though.

I like the look of the Nissan Titan, very nice too.

Pimpbot

I found this on the Hemi.

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/new-mopar-hemi.html

DaveC

Thanks for the feedback. Like Pimpbot, I like the look of the Dodge and they have some smart colours to choose from. When thinking about putting a baby seat in the back, on second glance the rear doors on the Dodge don't seem as big as those on the F150. We're going to have to go and test drive them both and make a decision soon. The Chevy doesn't do anything for me, I'm afraid.

Pulaski

Honestly, stay clear of Dodge trucks, they have the worst reputation for reliability - despite what Effi said above. There is a good reason why they have the longest warranty - they break down lots, notably with transmission problems. A local wrecker driver told a friend of mine that he literally spent most of his time (more than for everything else added together) recovering Dodge trucks, and Jeeps (which are manufactured by Chrysler-Dodge. )

When you are out-and-about have a look at what tradesmen in your area are driving - I'll pretty much guarantee that they are mostly driving Fords and Chevys.

Back to the original question, a "hemi" has, or at least had a hemispherical combustion chamber (the space at the top of the cylinder where the air and fule mixture is compressed immediately prior to the ignition point). I'm not sure why this made the engine more powerful, but it did, and more thirsty too!

The current "hemi" engines have the relatively large combustion chamber, but it isn't strictly speaking a hemisphere any more.

Pimpbot

Thats not the case here. I mostly see Dodges and Chevys around my part of town. Infact, there are 5 dodge Rams on my estate, compared to 1 Chevy and no Fords. And its not like there is a local dealership bias, as I live around half a mile away from McDowell road/Scottsdale autoplex, where all the manafactures have dealerships.

Pulaski

Driven by tradesmen (used for, not just getting to, work) or poseurs?

BTW Ford F series Trucks, and particularly the F150, are the biggest selling vehicles in the world, typically 800,000 per year! This has been the case for the past twenty-something years.

Pimpbot

Both. Infact, most of the F150's I see on the streets, have chromed wheels with a fancy grill to match.

My brother in law told me a few weeks back when we were discussing trucks, that Daimler(sp) were in the process of helping out Dodge with their transmission problems.