Mine has the cord, but I ordered it, so it wasn't up to some knuckle head dealer. Had some random snowflakes down in Marshalltown today.

 

Just went out & put a meter on my truck.
Line Voltage:118
Current Draw (AMPS):5.72
Watts: 675

 

Interesting. Not too far off from my 750 watt guess...

 

mine came with the cord but i live in central saskatchewan and in the winter here you most definetley need the block heater plugged in,even with 0w40 engine oil in it.we usually dont plug in until temps drop below -10C.exept for the change to 0w40 synth.oil the only things i do is switch from the summer front to winter front(grill insert style) and keep a good quality anti-gel/conditioner in the truck.our fuel is changed to winter grade around mid-oct so gelling is not much of an issue but i keep the anti-gel on hand and add it to the fuel when temps head south.this is my third winter with this truck and i have never had any cold starting issues with it.i should add that the truck sits outside in the cold.
04.5 CTD 3500 4x4 LWB SRW 6sp Quadcab