OK, I get why Ford wants to build a more off-road capable version of the new F150 than the already capable FX4. Because they can. Although it's a waste of Ford's time and money (halo truck my ass), and the wisdom of equipping a consumer product with an extra long-travel suspension is highly suspect (red Rover, red Rover, my F150's rolled over), I grok the positive shock such a vehicle will give die-hard (one hopes) mud-pluggers. The modded machine's "Boss" V8, wider wheel arches and cosmetic bits ought to give them a major truckgasm. But Raptor? The name flies in the face of the F-22 Raptor's rep (so to speak) and steps on the marketing heels of the Cagiva Xtra Raptor motorcycle (and God knows what else). Luckily, Pickuptruck.com's Technical Editor says the name won't survive into production. Any better suggestions? You know, other than concentrating Ford's resources on a better small car.
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How many people actually buy expensive, brand new vehicles for serious off-roading? The true off-road vehicles I see around here are all modified 5 year old vehicles
When I lived in VA Beach I counted 1.5 jacked up trucks (yes even brand new ones) with huge mud tires per person. I think there is a market for this type of vehicle.
How about the F150 Yuppie? Or Corvair? Or Super Huge Idiot Truck? Or Ford’s Ugly Crappy trucK?
Long live the F150, in all its forms…
There are lots of people who will spend thousands of dollars to outfit brand new trucks with lift kits, oversized tires and all manner of offroad accessories. Ford is merely trying to get in on some of the aftermarket action.
Robert—I think Ford already have a better small car in the Verve concept—get it to market in the form I saw in detroit and you have a winner !
Why bother focusing their resources on a better small car? They would’t have any clue how to make a profit on it. But accessories for the F150? Making money on that sounds like a no-brainer.
Yay! I’ll see those all over the Garden State parkway, replendent, clean, shiny, and driven by guys wearing ties and vests.
Raptor? Hey, they had Explorers in Jurassic Park, didn’t they?
The Raptor name with it’s obvious allusion to jet fighters sounds more like a name for a sports car not a truck.
The raptor is a waste of time and money to whom? Why would an American company waste their time making another stupid small car? The majority of their sales are from trucks, remember big guy?? I can’t even count how many new ford and chevy trucks i see with thousands invested in lift kits and big tires. The raptor is a very smart move. We don’t need another small car, Chevy already makes more vehicles with 30mpg or better than any other import company, and ford makes plenty too. We dominate the truck market, why stop?? The F series is the most American made vehicle there is and is the best selling…ever.
I bet there are some illegal border crossers who just can’t wait to get their hands on (read steal) one of these.
The Raptor won’t be something that I’ll ever buy, but I’m all for Ford giving it the green light. Who knows – maybe the big ass engine will make its way into a car that I would want to buy.
As an automotive enthusiast, why should I discourage a company from making a high performance vehicle, purpose built for a tiny segment of the market? Generally, those are the type of vehicles that interest me…
Word on the street is that Ford was trying to keep this very quiet. According to that, the revelation of this in public seems to have angered some within the glass house.
However, I suspect it was a timed leak to keep interest in the F-150 moving. Sort of like Mulally’s “oops, I said to much” spiel with the new Taurus.
Ford’s B-car program is running full-steam ahead with a Verve-like vehicle due next year and plans for additional B-based vehicles. Fords C-car program will produce the C2 Focus in the U.S. in early 2010 and followed with a new Escape later that year. The amount of money invested in the “Raptor” is probably very small compared to a new car development program.
jmack,
Think about what you just said, where truck sales are heading and where gas prices are heading.
If you’d like to see the big 3 die even faster then they should do exactly as you say; meanwhile Honda, Toyota, and others are profiting in the small car segment because of the rise in price of gasoline and the big 3 not having anything competitive in those segments.
And the F-series sales being the best selling happens to only apply to the US and only as a single model…did I mention Toyota surpassed Ford in sales in the US a while ago?
Orian,
I did think about what I said, thats why I said it. Us working class people that have to have trucks are gonna buy regardless of gas being 5 dollars or 2 dollars. If you really understand what your saying look at Chevrolet’s lineup of small cars. 7 vehicles with 30mpg or better, how’s honda or toyota doing? Look at toyotas big suvs and trucks, the American suvs and trucks get metter gas mileage and are much more functional as a truck. Enjoy your honda fit, then lets see it pull a 12,000 pound trailer. American motor companys have more competitive small cars than imports do, you import lovers just don’t want to recognize it and like to manipulate the real truth. It’s a given we dominate the truck market but you can’t accept that we are moving into the small car market and doing well, it’s just our managment is god-awful.
No one who needs a pickup would buy that. They’re going to buy a stripper model. This thing is exclusively for people who want a pickup, which is a dying breed.
Good point ctoan. This is not the truck for people who need a truck. People who need a truck want something functional that is easy to clean and doesn’t have a lot of extras that could go wrong.
By the way, the only reason that Ford trucks “outsell” Chevys is because they aren’t splitting sales between Chevy trucks and GMC trucks. If you look at GMC and Chevy trucks’ combined sales numbers, they were nearly 40% of the market last year despite declining sales.
Like 20″ rims on a Caprice or Panther chassis, big(ger) tires on a pick up were just a matter of time.
There is no detail in the referenced article to define what “long travel suspension” really means. Outside of desert racing, IFS is a dirty acronym for rock crawlers and mud boggers. And, simply lifting the suspension does not make it “long travel”, as you generally sacrifice something (generally droop).
Now, if Ford wants to give us a truly long travel IFS, I am all for it. The desert racers have true long travel IFS systems in 4×4 configurations. Of course, having a special frame made to support that suspension seems a requirement…
But, I doubt it will happen – to do it right, you need different connectors for the half shafts, plus a different differential, to maximize the length of the half shafts to maximize travel potential. Of course, going back to gear driven transfer cases would be a great idea, as well. Not to mention a special chassis with higher/narrower frame rails. How likely is that to happen?
Also, a turbo? Great, I wonder what happens when you get some water in the turbo? I can’t imagine that will make the turbo happy. How about force feeding your engine dust, sand and other assorted grit? Seems like a winning idea to me.
Bruce
Jmack,
I own and drive an American sedan. It will be my last unless they really improve them.
As for towing 12000 lbs, I have no need. If I did I would buy a truck only for that purpose, not for every day transportation, and it would be a $16k or less work truck. I have no problem with people buying trucks that need them or can afford to pump their tanks full every day. That’s the beauty of America.
Now, what do the big three have to offer in the small car segment that is competitive?
I can name a Cobalt and its sister the G5, there’s the Aveo (Korean), and then we have the Focus. Dodge has the Caliber, but it really doesn’t fit well in this class.
Now lets look at what the imports offer:
Fit and Civic – both better fuel mileage wise and quality wise than any of the listed competitors from the big 3. Toyota has the Yaris and Corolla not to mention the Scion Xd. Nissan has the Sentra and Versa. Hyundai has the Accent and Elantra. Kia has the Rio and Spectra.
I left out hybrids entirely from the imports as none of the big 3 currently have an offering worth while in the car market.
I’m struggling to see where you’re getting your fuel economy figures from that says the big 3 has better fuel economy than the imports…if that were the case why are they failing in that market?