My 'Dark Horse'

We have all seen then the bumper stickers that state I would rather near a Ford than drive a Chevy. For many people, it is the truth. There is a great deal of consumer loyalty when it comes to Ford and Chevy. In fact, there is even a Playstation 2 game called Ford vs. Chevy. It might have to do with owning a particular car that excelled so they stayed with that manufacturer. Maybe their family owned Ford’s or Chevy’s and they went with what was familiar.

Ford and Chevy continue to be stiff competitors out there. Ford does seem to excel though in many areas. If you want speed the Ford Mustang will out do the Chevy Corvette hands down. Chevy is in the process of making a come back with the Chevy Camaro but fans of the Camaro aren’t taking to the new design very well.

Ford Pickups are acquirable in a variety of sizes from small trucks to massive work trucks. The Ford F-150 is their basic full size truck, but they have smaller models, such as the Ranger, and larger models like the F-850 for super heavy duty hauling. Chevy has several of them as well. The country ratings for Ford are slightly superior though when several of the same style of pickups were compared to apiece other.

Mini vans are very favourite these days as they look sporty and they offer plenty of room. The Ford Windstar and the Chevy Venture both offer plenty of room. Yet the Ford Windstar is more stylish and offers more features.

Ford also has the Ford Escape, which Chevy does not really have a good answer to. The Escape has good mpg, at about 24, but it still has the power to tow 3,500 pounds with the towing package. It’s a great car for anyone who does need the extra room and towing power larger SUVs offer, because the Escape is great on gas, simple and fun to drive, and affordable.

Price is always a huge concern when purchasing a new or used vehicle. The cost of used cars really depends on the calibre of the car and the amount of miles on it. New cars are pricey, but Ford and Chevy often compete to get business. I can nearly guarantee that if you tell the Ford dealer how much Chevy quoted you for a similar car of theirs, they would meet or match the price. If they won’t, you can go to another dealer, or ask for concessions to make the deal more captivating to you.

In many areas such as price, speed, and safety, Chevy appears to have some catching up to do. One problem they have is they always seem to be following in the footsteps of Ford rather than introducing something new to attract new customers. While the age old debate between Ford and Chevy owners will continue on, it is important to base that decision on some solid facts. Just because your grand-daddy stated that Ford was the ideal doesn’t mean that they still are. And it certainly doesn’t mean that Ford is superior for the particular type of car you are buying.

You can find excellent information on Ford and Chevy comparisons in Consumer Reports, country ratings, and various online resources. Make sure you look for unbiased information though or you will end up with nothing more than the view of the reader.

As you can well guess, most reviewers are biased in a review like this. Safety ratings, MPG ratings and other figures are good things to look at when comparing. Don’t forget though, that there can be a good deal of variation from model to model and from year to year. So it’s very important to compare apples to apples. Don’t try to compare a 2007 Ford Explorer to a 2003 Chevy Blazer.