Cash Back on New 2009 Dodge Ram, Ford F-150

A year ago, the fact that both the Dodge Ram and Ford F-150 would be redesigned and on sale at the same time was huge news. Fast-forward to today — when trucks aren’t the top sellers they once were and are featuring huge discounts — and the excitement is more muted.

Still, plenty of people need trucks, and we’re guessing many have been waiting for these 2009s. If you’re one such person, the 2009 Dodge Ram and 2009 Ford F-150 are already featuring cash-back deals that could convince you the time is now. The Ram 1500 gets $1,000, while the 2500 and 3500 get $2,000. The F-150 SuperCrew and regular F-150 share a $2,000 incentive, too.

We found these incentives in every region we tried, but be sure to check Cars.com’s zip-code-specific page for deals in your area.

Today on PickupTrucks.com: 2009 Ford F-150 First Drive

The 2009 Ford F-150 lands amid deep trouble in the pickup truck market, but Ford's best-seller remains a champion in its segment and a long-running heavyweight in the entire automotive market (the recent ascendance of the Honda Civic not withstanding).

Our pals over at PickupTrucks.com recently test-drove the new F-150 on Ford's Michigan Proving Grounds, where the truck was developed. Covering everything from the new-and-improved transmission to a segment-best towing capacity of 11,300 pounds, their full report is now available.

First Drive Review: 2009 Ford F-150 (PickupTrucks.com)

2009 Ford F-150 Starts at $21,320

Ford has announced pricing for the 2009 F-150, and it will start at $21,345 for a regular cab XL work truck with the two-valve V-8 engine, not including the $975 destination charge. In comparison, a comparable 2008 regular cab with the 4.2-liter V-6 and automatic transmission started at $19,990. Ford eliminated the V-6 for the 2009 model.

Meanwhile, moving up trim levels, the 2009 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew trim will begin at $35,820. Ford says that truck is comparably equipped with the 2009 Dodge Ram Laramie crew cab, which starts at $41,320.

For more on the F-150's trim levels and pricing, visit PickupTrucks.com

2009 Ford F-150: Most Towing and Hauling Capability, Improved Efficiency and More! (PickupTrucks.com)

2009 F-150 Couples Increased Towing and Hauling With Better Fuel Economy

As PickupTrucks.com reports, the new 2009 Ford F-150 not only has better mileage, it also has the best-rated towing and hauling capabilities in its class.

Ford cites a re-engineered ladder frame that allows the F-150 to haul a segment-leading 11,300 pounds — a 300-pound improvement over last year’s version – in any cab configuration. You can add another best-in-class figure as well: The cargo box is rated for a 3,030-pound payload.

As for fuel economy, Ford has improved the F-150's by an average of 8% across the lineup, and up to 12% on some models. Engines with the more fuel-efficient 6R80 six-speed transmission will get 15/20 mpg city/highway, and the "super fuel economy" version, called SFE, will use low-rolling-resistance tires and a tall rear axle to push that number up to 15/21. Read PickupTrucks.com's full story for more details.

2009 Ford F-150: Most Towing and Hauling Capability, Improved Efficiency and More (PickupTrucks.com)

Ford Improves Gas Mileage

Fueleconomy.gov continues to release 2009 EPA estimates as we inch toward the new year. On average, we’ve seen slight gains from many existing models and larger ones for new models. Automakers are making modest changes to carryover models because buyers are demanding more fuel-efficient vehicles, and all-new models aren’t in the immediate pipeline for every car out there.

We’ve already mentioned fuel economy increases for GM, Chrysler and Hyundai products; now it’s Ford’s turn.

Ford F-Series Reclaims Crown as Best-Selling Vehicle in U.S.

July was a tough month for most automakers. It was worst for GM, whose sales were down 34.2% compared to July 2007. Chrysler was close behind at 29%. Toyota saw sales drop 18%, which was even worse than Ford’s 14% decline. However, people are still buying cars and trucks, even if at a reduced rate. The top 10 best-selling vehicles list has once again shifted. Huge discounts have pushed the Ford F-150 pickup back to the top of the heap, even though sales are down compared to last year. Some good news for domestics included the Chevy Malibu seeing sales increase more than 60%, and the Ford Focus going up 15%. Top Ten list is below.

What Ford Will Look Like in 2010

This morning Ford announced a rather large loss in the second quarter of 2008 — $8.7 billion. Because the company needs to reassure stockholders and Wall Street of its future, Ford has detailed its product plans for the next two years in rather explicit detail. It seems dire economic times have broken through the secretive process Detroit automakers have had in place for decades. Check out our in-depth look at what products Ford will field in the next two years from Europe and North America, and if they’ll be worth the wait. We detail future Lincoln and Mercury products in a separate post.

Toyota Corolla Best-Selling Car in the Country, Sort Of

Sales numbers for June are rolling in, and the list of the top 10 sellers in the country has once again shifted. Last month the Honda Civic took the top spot away from the Ford F-150, and now the Toyota Corolla has taken the No. 1 mantle. Before Toyota can claim the spot, though, we must tell readers that Toyota includes Matrix sales along with that Corolla number because they’re built on the same platform.

We don’t agree with that form of accounting, but Toyota’s Camry came in second, so even without the added Matrix sales it still would have come out on top. The Civic slid to third.

Overall sales were down for Ford, GM, Chrysler and Toyota — yes, Toyota — as people start pinching pennies. Many other automakers saw upticks — most significantly Honda, but Kia, Hyundai and Subaru also saw numbers go up. Hyundai sold more than 50,000 vehicles in a month for the first time ever last month, with the Accent, Sonata and Elantra seeing big increases.

Below is the new top 10.

Ford Delays 2009 F-150 Launch

From PickupTrucks.com: Amid rapidly declining demand for full-size pickups, Ford Motor Company has announced it will delay the on-sale-date of the 2009 Ford F-150 by two months to the fourth quarter of 2008. The late launch will also help Ford dealers sell down inventories of the current F-150 before the new model arrives.

Read more here.

Ford Not Publishing Employee F-150 Pricing, Forcing Dealer Visits

Earlier this week, Ford announced that it would apply employee pricing to the outgoing 2008 F-Series line of trucks. At the time, they hadn’t announced how much people could save with the deal. Sometimes when a promotion is implemented this quickly, it takes a few days to update websites, etc. However, Ford has confirmed it is not going to be releasing the employee pricing deals at all and that truck shoppers will have to visit their dealer to find out how much they could save. When employee pricing was first used in the summer of 20062005, those adjusted prices were published.

The only numbers posted on Ford’s website is that the starting price of an F-150 will be $16,274 with the employee deal instead of the MSRP of $17,700. That’s a savings of $1,426. In the small print they detail the truck shown, a 2008 F-150 XLT, and list its employee price as $21,061. The XLT starts at $23,910. The savings would be $2,849. In past employee deals, savings also tended to rise with the price of the vehicle.

As we know all too well at Cars.com, car shoppers tend to research their car purchases online before they go into a dealer. We think Ford’s decision ton hold back the pricing info may stunt the sale’s effectiveness. What do you think?