F-150 SVT Raptor vs Vehicross

[logman]

I was taking to a friend of mine a few days ago, and he mentioned this new truck, and how awesome he thought it was. My first thoughts were ford f-150, ugh...... But, I still went online to see what this thing looked like, and how it stacked up against our beloved VX.

First thing I noticed was the fact that its just a standard F-150, BIG engine, upgraded rear axle, and shocks, and what looks to be some very uninspired cosmetic changes. The article I was reading was good, but something stuck out at me.

Noticeable differences between the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor and conventional F-150 include a distinctive grille that has the Ford name carved into it; front bumper, vented hood, front fascia and fenders, functional hood extractors, fender extractors with ‘SVT’ bored out, as well as visible FOX Racing Shox, the only internal bypass shocks available on a street truck.

The ONLY truck that has internal bypass shocks available on the street?! I don't think so!

I found the article at the link below

http://jalopnik.com/5075561/2010-for...tor-first-ride

Why spend a LOAD of cash on that truck, thats practically a living fossil, when you can spend a fraction of that and get a REAL Baja truck? (VX)

I just don't understand why ford thinks that thing is somehow going to be the truck the enthusiast want...

Untapped market?

I guess this is more proof that the VX is WAS, and still IS way ahead of its time.

Anyone here have any thoughts on this truck? am I wrong about this? I just feel that ford is going to have an even harder time trying to sell this thing than Isuzu had with the VX..

[rowhard]

Just look at the popularity of the off road championship, plus look at all of the conversions that have been done on pickup trucks driving around today and the only dirt they see is their unpaved driveways. Am sure Ford will sell plenty of them, once the economy turns around.

[logman]

Ahh, I did not see the other posts. Thanks Zeus.

I just found it funny how the article claimed that its the only truck on the streets with reservoir shocks. It's not even on the street yet last I checked.

[Gussie2000]

Hahahahaha it's amazing how american builders still believe that just doing some cosmetics changes here n' there will boost SUV"s & pick up's enthusiastics to their dealers.

You see what american builders don't get at all is the facts that customers are tied to see the same over & over,year after year with no significant improvements,yes... there's few exeptions,but the average car built in america don't bring to the podium any thing interesting.

For example,the famous 4.2L typhoon by GMC in 1992 was a boom & capable of going from 0-60 in just 4 seconds,yes still in 2006 jeep brought over the table the so call "MISTIQUE" grand cherokee SRT8 which came with a 6.1 L 420 HP & only capable of doing 0-60 in 4 seconds.Did jeep improve any thing there ?.

If the guys who wrote that articule were so impress about this F-150 because of the "OFF ROAD CAPABILITY'' then they have no idea about what the VX is capable off.

Probably they need to go back in 1999 & 2000 & look at the "Paris to Dakar rally" & see what the VX with a simple V6 performed so well that the won that race not one but twice in a row.

[Gussie2000]

Uhh... well... nah, I can't swallow what I think you're trying to say here at all. First, it doesn't sit well with me that you try to single out "American builders" as morons. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, GM, Ford, Chrysler/Daimler... all of them and more, release rebranded autos that aren't much more than a rebodied chassis. When the Rav-4 was introduced, it was nothing more than a Camry with bad aerodynamics - much like a Hummer H2 is a Tahoe with bad aerodynamics. The Crossfire sits on a hybrid chassis from an SLK and parts from other cars. And doesn't BMW sell a car called the 3-series...? To my understanding, adding some ground effects, tuning the suspension, making it perfom a little more suited to certain individual's desires, and all a sudden you have car called an M3! Kind of sounds like a performance version of a standard coupe to me but people adore them. Oh, but then again, the Raptor kind of sounds like a performance version of a standard 4x4 pickup truck, doesn't it?! Ford has SVT, Dodge has Mopar, Nissan has Nismo, Toyota has TRD, Mazda has Mazdaspeed, Mercedes has AMG - I see no difference in any of these performance-oriented divisions, no matter what country in which they build vehicles.

BTW, the SRT-8 is a full second faster than a Typhoon in the 0-60 (yet weighs more), is more practical, and handles better on the skid... all improvements. Porsche took a stab at it, so did BMW... and yet still, the American SUV's are the quickest... hmm.

Even in the Dakar rally, vehicles are organized by classes or types. The VX won in it's class, nothing more.

Now, if you were trying to say that ALL major auto-makers need to focus their attention on better economy, new designs and ideas, and affordable ownership... I could agree with you. You say "the average car built in America doesn't bring anything interesting to the podium". Well, prepare yourself... the thing about the "average car"; no matter where it was made, it's still "average"! So if those average cars are to be sold, how would you bring the buyers into the showrooms? Hmm, I hear performance vehicles work pretty well for that...

I agree & disagree with you.

I can understand that many american car consumers praise to the frase : BUY AMERICAN,i call that loyalty,but when american builders begin to reward that loyalty i may consider buying american.

For instant,when i was on the market for a SUV my 1rst choice were american,oh yes a jeep was my preference,especifically a liberty renegade.however,when research the background since 2000 when this models was put into production i notice that year after year jeep keept building the same jeep with the same issues,means that no improvements were done to overcome that & make then more reliable & sustain value over time up to today 2009.

On the opposite side of the street,isuzu built a 3.5L engine in 1998 with oil issues as all we know about,but in 2002 they overcome that issue & no oil burn related was ever found again,now,that's improvement ! isn't it ?

Of course there's few american cars that i trully like,the cherokee SRT8 is one of them,they are nice looking,powerfull,but the downfall....interior cheappy looking,cost of ownership is mind blowing for a american car compared to others SUV's on the same segment.The tahoe/yukon is also a great option by GM as same as the acadia,ford with the Edge,expedition & navigator are good options.

Please feel no offense about my input,just different point of views

[logman]

To the point of cars with the same chassis, but different body. The vehicross is a 2 door trooper with a new body, and some suspension tweaks and other things. I guess they kept the chassis because it was proven, and reliable.

In times like these, a huge, moded rebranded v8 f-150 is going to cost a lot. Unfortunatly most will not be able to afford it. Just like the 2010 chevy volt for ONLY 40 grand! Companies other than the failing 3 should take advantage of this time. I guess Honda is making a chevy volt competitor for under 20 grand!

[kodiak]

Cool truck, I like that they’re taking a chance and trying make something special. I haven’t seen a decent halo truck since the VX. Even thou it’s really just a big off road trim package and not a true halo vehicle.

P.S. What’s with all the plastic under the hood, It just looks so cheap.

[Ldub]

When the blu oval group can produce a vehicle that has a power steering pump that doesn't sound like an asthmatic organ grinders monkey, they might have a START at something worth buying.

[Gussie2000]

No worries, man, I'm not offended; I just interpreted your previous post as a very narrow point of view. I think it is misguided to isolate the American automakers for the reasons you specify. Toyota, as an example, evidently continues to sell the FJ with no changes made to it's problematic windshield or the structurally inadequate inner fenders. I am sure several automakers release a model and continue its sales even if they discover certain issues. At some point, all automakers just have to weigh out potential lawsuits and lack of sales against recalling a car or re-engineering a portion of it for the next model year - which is the lesser of two evils in each case? I'm not saying the American manufacturers are perfect by any means, far from it; I just think you make unfair comparisons and put other country's auto producers on an undeserved pedestal.

Hopefully, the governing bodies will help make it more profitable for automakers to build cars in America so that things don't have to get value-engineered beyond reason. I dunno, I hope you don't take offense to what I mean to say either...

Off course,i'm positivetly sure that the three big guys will overcome all those issues,actually they have started doing so,because there's no choice other than building better cars.

And believe me,the JEEP SRT8 still boost my attention a lot,every time i see one i just keep picturing my self behind the wheel & probably my next car will be one of those or an tahoe Z71 which i also love too.

However time will say !

Happy O' day

[psychos2]

I like it, I would buy one. shawn