@mainjet - good question - we did not go back to see our 1st special order but u are correct - it is the same truck just v8 motor. We knew we liked it because we nearly purchased the same v8 version as a 2022 model back in April 2022. We actually had an agreement in writing to buy a that 2022 longhorn V8 that was
someone else's special order that took so long to get
they walked away from it and so that truck fell into our lap, however at the last minute (after we'd already agreed in writing on the OTD price!) that dealer tried to slip in another $800 on their side and that's not how I negotiate so we walked away from that deal. The next day that dealer called us and said they would do the deal but they left us with such a bad feeling on how they do business that we said 'no thanks.' Of course, had I known that it was going to take another YEAR to get the same truck as a 2023 maybe we'd have paid that extra $800 but hindsight is 20-20 right?
So to recap: 1st dealer had a 2022 V8 Longhorn back in April 2022 but was a shady negotiator - No Deal! We searched for months to find another macked out Longhorn with a V6 (thinking we wanted that for gas mileage) but couldn't find one - No Deal!. We placed our 1st special order for the V6 version with 2nd dealer in Aug 2022 - they were nice but we got tired of waiting so we cancelled - No Deal! Finally, we placed our 2nd special order with 3rd dealer and went with V8 Longhorn in Jan 2023 and that's been the best experience of all - now God willing the truck will be everything we've been waiting for all this time.