Sorry for the clickbait thread title. But hear me out....
Been knocking around the idea of getting a truck for some time now and could really do with something midsized but hate, hate, hate all the offerings there. Tacoma is from the Paleolithic era and underpowered, Ranger is 4-cylinder only and a decade old itself. Nissan, LoL. You get the idea. Which brings me to larger trucks, specifically in the F-150, Silverado, Ram 1500 category as I have no need for a heavy duty truck. Not that need dictates all of my buying decisions but there is no way I would enjoy putting up with all the compromises of and HD truck if I didn't need the capability it brings. So Raptors....
I've like it ever since it broke new ground back in 2010 but the 2nd Gen left me a bit cold. It was the turbo 6 powerplant. Can't get past it. This is not a debate on the merits of exhaust note or cylinder count, enough keystrokes have been expended there for sure.
In unrelated (but related) news, this week I had my name added to a dealer's Corvette Z06 list. I'm not going to get one of the 'first' cars and that is fine. What I am going to get is an MSRP deal, expected by the dealer, myself and most educated Corvette folks to be $89,990 for openers. I don't need to bore you with details but 5.5L naturally aspirated V8 that raves to 8600 rpm and all that. It is going to be my personal, final love letter to petrol before it is all over. A 'forever' car if you will, built to my spec (which will light on options, no crazy aero, carbon brakes or carbon wheels). The only way it could be better (aside from maybe being not so ugly) would be if it had a manual transmission. That's why there does exist the small chance I could jump ship to a Porsche Coxster GTS 4.0 with a manual. But the way Porsche dealers tend to play games with allocations, and price their cars, that is a slim possibility at best.
Anyway, this got me thinking about writing a check for $90K, what value for money it provides and whatnot. That got me thinking about the MSRPs I'm seeing for these Raptors (never mind those foolish enough to be paying ADM, LoL) of $80-83K.
Viewed through the lens of "COVID disruptions, chip shortages, free Biden bucks for my kids, etc" I'm sure you guys are justifying it to yourselves just fine. After all, look at the market. But when I think of what the C8 Z06 is, as an engineering feat, with its mid-engined architecture, DCT trans, removable roof, the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 in history, etc, I can't help but kind of laugh at Raptor prices. At best, it's a breathed-on F-150 with a bespoke suspension, some frame bits and a tarted up 3.5. Please don't reply here and try to explain how it is 'basically' the engine from the Ford GT either. Because it's not. It is just terrible value for money in my opinion.
I understand that Z06s will doubtless run up to $140K with all the goodies (where, if you can get past the looks and brand image, it still is likely to represent good value). I also understand that I am getting a bit of in 'insider' deal at MSRP when some dealers have opened their lists at $50,000 over. I also understand that the Z06 is not a truck. I'm just trying to see what you guys think about the value for money a Raptor represents at $80,000+. It is based on the perennial best-selling vehicle in the U.S. with the ability to spread costs over hundreds of thousands of units after all. Anyone have thoughts to contribute beyond "Oh, you don't have a Raptor, ****"?
TL;DR: Raptors are a ripoff and I am going to buy a Corvette instead.
