2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor – Off Road Trucking at Its Finest

Top Speed: 100 mph

Acceleration: 0 to 60 in 8.3 seconds

Engine Size: 5.4-liter V-8 (6.2-liter V-8 in the Boss model)

Power: 310 bhp at 5000 rpm

Torque: 365 lb-ft at 3500 rpm

Fuel Economy: 14-mpg city/18-mpg highway

Price at Time of Writing: $38,995

When Ford unveiled the F-150 SVT Raptor, reviewers were skeptical about the truck’s potential as an off-road vehicle. However, this revolutionary vehicle literally knocked their socks off. Performance is better than expected as the car reaches 100 mph even when off-roading considering it is a street-legal 6000-pound vehicle. selling my car

Excellent Suspension

While there is really no comparison between the regular F-150 and the Raptor, what really sets this truck apart from its predecessors and competition is the new suspension system. A Raptor is in very simple terms a wider stock F-150 with specialised suspension. Fox Racing designed the three-stage, internal-bypass shocks, and these two features combine to give the truck good body control, even in second and third stages and high speeds. new cars for sale

Off Road Capabilities

The newly designed suspension system combined with the truck’s upgraded drive train and electronic features make the Raptor perfect for off-road driving. On a regular road, the Raptor handles similarly to the regular F-150. However, take the truck off road and you will barely feel the difference. The suspension keeps the truck’s ride smooth and comfortable, even when navigating difficult terrain at high speeds.

In fact, some drivers feel the truck performs better off-road than on the road. The steering is accurate and the ride is smooth, even on rough terrain. The last thing to worry about is grip on rugged surfaces. This the 35-inch BFGoodrich tires handles very well. Simply press the off-road button and take the truck out on the sand. honda accord for sale

Huge Cosmetic Changes

The raptor looks like an off-road vehicle. Visually the headlights are the only item that looks similar in both cars. Other than that, everything from the hood to the tailgate has been redesigned. A new paint scheme and the popular bright orange color speak of the truck’s off-roading design.

Comfortable on the Road as Well

Some off road vehicles are monsters on the road, but the Raptor is not. It behaves much like the regular F-150 in on-the-road driving conditions. One noticable difference is the increased height. For a truck, it has relatively little road noise and tire roar, and the comfortable seating and contoured steering wheel make for a comfortable ride. However, it does feel heavy and underpowered at times, as the F-150 does. Put the car under a lot of g-force then you will notice how it under-steers. To be fair, these negatives are common in most trucks. On the good side most people will find driving this machine relatively simple.

If you are looking for a comfortable truck for day-to-day driving which can also throw sand in the wilderness then this is the car.

Technorati Tags: Dodge Ram, Ford, Ford F-150 SVT, SUV, Trucks

Car manufacturer Jaguar have released their new car model, the XJ. The XJ is the replacement for the older XF model so just like the XF, the XJ is required to bring in a large number of sales.

When the XF model was released last year, the sales that it brought in helped the company out of a financial slump it was in. The new XJ will hopefully do exactly the same.

Tata, owners of both Jaguar and Land Rover, have announced that they are now losing £1 million a day on the companies.

Because Jaguar are using this car to help save the business, they are changing the design of the car slightly. Although some Jaguar owners have complained about the new design, Jaguar stand by their efforts to make the car more modern. They have done this in an attempt to bring a new audience of car buyes to their doors.

Jaguar have made the design more moden by making it more sleek and stylish. The new design of the car is “right and correct for the 21st Century” said the designer director, Ian Callum, who is now hoping that Jaguar will see a new modern car buyers who wouldn’t have considered buying a Jag in the past.

Jaguar have also added some modern gadgets to the inside of the car like a virtual dashboard. This will allow you to customise your dashboard, you can even put your GPS on it. The car also comes with a large boot, a panoramic windscreen and finally, it’s all in a light weight aluminium shell.

This might sound like your sort of motor, however, it comes as a high price. The car starts at £50,000 for the standard model, going all the way up to £90,000 for the best model.

I don’t think this would really be an ideal car for driving lessons. Maybe if you went with an experienced Worthing driving instructor, it might be more successful.

Technorati Tags: Cars, driving lessons, Ford, jaguar, new cars

The remainder of the world knows this line of autos from the Ford Motor Company as the Ford Econoline Truck or the Ford E series. However, if you travel to the Philippines, you would then know that in this region and area, the Ford Econoline Van is marketed and known as the Ford Castle Van . Take a better look though and you would notice the Ford Castle Lorry is simply a similar automobile but has its differences with the Ford Econoline Van.

1961 was the year the production of the production of the Ford Econoline Lorry started. It was made to be a full size van and it was mounted and made using the FR VN platform. Competition for this van includes the Chevrolet Express, the GMC Savana, the Dodge Runner , the Mercedes Benz Sprinter, and the Freightliner Sprinter. This line of full size vans were made for both load and passenger transportation. Taking a look at Ford’s line up for vehicles, the Ford Econoline Lorry and the full Ford E series is very much related to the corporation’s F series which is a line of pick up trucks.

The Ford Econoline Lorry is on its fourth generation of versions for this car. The 1st generation was legendary for it became a success for utility firms that included the Bell Telephone System. It was then a cargo van and could take in eight passengers within. As per the second generation of Ford Econoline Vans, the engine was now moved from the rear up to the front. In 1975, the third generation came about. It held more ergonomic controls as well as a full frame design. Come 1983, the logo of Ford that was a blue oval was now integrated into the front grille of the wagon. The fourth generation came in 1992 and this was a redesigned version. This time, the Ford Econoline Van came with a huge choice of engines for patrons’ various preferences and needs.

What are the most expensive and fastest cars in the world? To find out, visit thesupercars.org and check it out for yourself. Also, have a look at Ford Ranger used car.

Technorati Tags: car, Cars, econoline, Ford, van

The much awaited Ford Focus Coupe Cabriolet will be unveiled soon enough. And all people who would be actually in a position to witness such an event will find out that, indeed, this new Ford Focus is a vehicle that is worthwhile and your while and your money.

The Ford Motor Company states the new Ford Focus Coupe Cabriolet holds an open air motoring feature. And apart from this, it also offers owners and passengers stability, comfort, as well as practicality. Of course, this is pretty much associated with the current range of the Ford Focus line of cars, making it a top selling car in the car Come October this year, interested parties can start purchasing this new model. And this month, the Ford Focus Coupe Cabriolet would be making its debut in the Great Britain at the English World Motor Show.

Created and manufactured by the Ford Motor Company, the Ford Focus range of cars has been produced since 1998. It took the spot that formerly belonged to the Ford Escort and the Ford Orion. It basically belongs to the compact car and the small family car segment. It’s been built in varied body styles that include the hot hatch with 3 doors, the sedan holding 4, the station truck which also holds four doors, and the hatchback with five doors. For its power source, it runs on a 1.4 liter to 2.3 litre I4 engine.

Either with the top down or up, the Ford Focus Coupe Cabriolet is a sight to behold. It is stylish and has a two-piece folding hardtop. This hardtop can be placed up or down with an efficient, neat, and very reliable system that only takes as much as twenty-nine seconds for the entire process to complete.

Have you ever seen a supercar? Check out some of the coolest and most exotic cars in the world at thesupercars.org and also check have a look at pre owned Ford Contour.

Technorati Tags: car, Cars, Focus, Ford

The US Energy Department have loaned Ford, Nissan and Tesla a total of $8 billion. This money is planned for developing new electric cars, which in turn will create new jobs in the car industry.

The money is designed to help increase the development of greener cars, aswell as increasing the amount of jobs in the industry.

The overall loan will be split up differently to each manufacturer. Ford has been given the majority of the loan, $5.9 billion. This money will be used to help them develop new technology for gasoline engines, aswell as developing new electric cars.

This money given to Ford has been very handy because of the extremely low interest rate of around 3.75%. Ford would have had to pay double figure interest rates if they had tried to optain this amount of money on the open market.

The second largest amount of the loan will be going to Nissan who are getting $1.6 billion. Nissan have said that the money will be spent on one of their car plants who are developing lithium ion batteries. These car batteries will be going into a new electric car being developed for 2012.

Tesla will only be receiving a small amount of the overall loan compared to Nissan and Ford. Tesla will only be receiveing a loan of $465 million. A lump of the money is going to be used to build a factory in California to develop their new Model S Sedan. The other part of the loan will be used to develop parts for other car manufacturers.

Now that these car manufacturers have been given this money, we should see some new electric cars come to the market in the next few years. Having the ability to choose an electric car when leasing would save you even more cash. I imagine a huge number of people with a Ford lease or Nissan lease would love to have an electric car as this would save them even more money.

Technorati Tags: car leasing, Ford, ford leasing, nissan, nissan leasing, tesla, US, USA

Ford are getting ready to increase the prices of their cars by 4% on June 30th. This is the third time since 2007 that they have rose their car prices. The first rise was in February by 4.7%, and then again in April by 3.75%.

Ford said that they know it may seem strange to raise prices particularly during a recession, however, to they also said that “there is no choice if we are to maintain a viable business”.

Ford said that the pound against the Euro had been stable for around 10 years at the end of 2007 at 1.43 euros, however, more recently the the pound had fallen to 1.16 euros.

Because the majority of Fords cars for the UK are made in Germany and Spain, they had no other option to raise prices. Before these prices rises occurred, Ford had to absorb the losses from the weak pound, however, they cannot continue doing this during a recession if they wish to be a stable business.

These price rises will not just be a problem during the recession, they will also have a negative effect on the car scrappage scheme which will seem less of a benefit when buying a new car. With the prices of Fords cars rising by around £600 to £750. The car scrappage scheme will be having less of an affect on the price now.

Although this is all bad news for new car buyers, people choosing car leasing over buying won’t see the price rises straight away. Even if you are not currently on a Ford lease, but you are looking, the leasing companies won’t pass on the price rises until they buy new vehicles, which, during the recession, won’t happen straight away. This news is pretty bad for new car buyers, however, it’s weakened slightly for leasing customers.

Technorati Tags: car leasing, car scrappage scheme, Ford, ford lease, ford leasing, recession, scrappage scheme

Every single driver will obviously have differing categories and stipulations regarding what makes a fantastic car. Some will be of the opinion that power, speed and performance are the mark of a truly great car and suggest that the Bugatti Veyron or something similar is the perfect car. Others will hold esteem in a more aesthetic nature and put forward cars such as the Porsche 911 and the Aston Martin Vanquish as the real purveyors of automotive perfection. I have always held the opinion that the truly great cars don't focus on one thing, but try to encapsulate the needs and desires of everyone into their designs and engineering. This is precisely why my favourite car is the brand new Ford Focus.

Now you may be laughing or deriding me for saying that I would rather own a Ford Focus than a Pagani Zonda or a Koenigsegg, but that simply isn’t true. I would love to own one of the many supercars or hypercars that are available on the market and if you gave me £1 Million to spend on a car I wouldn’t disappoint you. All I am trying to say that in a practical world the new Ford Focus is a lot less likely to frustrate you than a supercar. Let me explain exactly where I am coming from.

First of all you have fuel efficiency to take into consideration in the conundrum. Ford have become synonymous with engineering which seems to sip very frugally at the fuel reserves and the Focus is no different. With economical driving disciplines in place it is possible to get supermini standard fuel economy from a Ford Focus. This leaves you with more money in your wallet and having to spend less time stood at the pumps, refilling every few hours.

Secondly the issue of practicality has to be addressed. Everybody has to do a weekly shop, or pick up comestible goods from town or the city centre. In a Ford Focus this is a relatively painless task. Parking is very easy, boot space is magnificent and thanks to the Ford Focus’ ‘understated’ beauty, it won’t attract vandals to pull it to bits. Adversely, if you choose to do your food shopping in your new Ferrari 599, you are going to find parking excruciatingly difficult, discover you only have the luggage space to fit a small punnet of Satsumas and the vandals will tear your Ferrari badge and wing mirrors off before you can even say “hands off my car!”

I will admit, owning a supercar would be a dream come true, I have a very soft spot for the Lamborghini Gallardo myself, but in an increasingly practical world, it becomes almost impossible to think of an apt time to use one. With the cost of petrol, the congestion on the roads and the increasing number of uninsured drivers on the road, why would any drive for pleasure?

Take my advice and get the best practical car money can buy; the brand new Ford Focus. You will get great performance and fantastic economy, just don’t expect 0-60 in under three and a half seconds.

Technorati Tags: Automotive, Cars, Cheap Cars, Focus, Ford, Ford Focus

Ford has announced that it has seen growth in it’s market share in the US. The US manufacturer is the only major manufacturer who has not filed for bankruptcy in the US, they announced that they have sold 155,954 vehicles in the last month. The current figures show a 24% decrease in sales from the same month last year, however, the figures show a 20% rise in sales from last month.

The increase in sales that Ford have seen could be down to the other car manufacturers such as Chrysler and General Motors who have both recently files for bankruptcy.

GM released their current sales figures the day after they filed for bankruptcy. They said that they have sold 191,875 vehicles in May which is a 30% decrease from the same month last year, but an 11% rise on last months sales. The worst performance in sales come from Hummer, Saab, Saturn and Pontiac, all of which GM are planning on selling on.

As for Chrysler, they filed for bankruptcy on April 30th and announced that they saw 79,010 sales from May which is a 47% decrease in US sales from the same month in 2008. They explained that a large number of their monthly sales came from 789 dealers that have cut Chrysler prices because they plan to stop selling their cars next week.

Ford is currently in the process of changing their production strategy to try and take advantage of the bankruptcy situation. They plan on increasing their production by an extra 10,000 vehicles in the current quarter, plus an extra 42,000 vehicles in the next quarter.

All car manufacturers are seeing a decrease in sales due to the current credit crunch, but the drop in sales is not just down to public sales. Corporate sales have also been on the decrease, companies that offer Ford leasing aswell as a number of other makes such as Peugeot leasing are buying less cars because they are being hit by the credit crunch. A big problem is down to the public, when they plan to buy a car, they rarely consider the leasing options, which generally work out cheaper than buying your own car.

Technorati Tags: car leasing, chrysler, Ford, ford leasing, general motors, GM

Economically-speaking, things have taken a rather sharp turn for the worst haven’t they? With the budget announced recently and the scurrilous promises of politicians that we will drag our way out of the financial mess, it seems that the bubble has finally burst on the globally-held capitalist paradigm. However, we all still need to operate our daily routines despite the gloomy cloud of recession hanging over our heads. One of the most costly outgoings any individual or family have is likely to be buying cars. We all need to drive them and we all need to buy them, but when spare money is scarce and the risks of heavy investment are high, how do you go about buying a car?

The answer is to buy a used car. The used car market has long-since shook-off the shackles of being a shark-infested market and has become considerably more consumer friendly over the past decade. Out of the myriad of car manufacturers out there, I would highly recommend Ford as a paean of reliability, style and performance.

Depending on your requirements, there are a variety of used Ford models to choose from. For the new or young driver, rarely deviating from the A-to-B driving route of home-to-college, the Ford Ka is a perfect example of cost-effective yet stylish motoring. For the more serious drivers amongst us, the Used Ford Fiesta represents a great choice of punchy engines, stylish body work and reliable engineering.

I could go on, but I feel it is best that if you are looking for a Used Ford, you pop down to your local Ford Dealership and have a look for yourself. As a recent customer myself, I cannot stress how important it is to find a reputable dealer and go to the dealership armed with questions and queries. Make sure they can find the right Used Ford for you.

Technorati Tags: Automotive, Cars, Ford, Used Cars, Used Ford

So what’s the cheapest new Ford money can buy?  Pat on the back if you answered Ford Ka, shake of the head if you didn’t (the answers even in the article title!)  Yes after a staggering 13 years, the Ka is still going strong, but now it’s had a makeover…

To coin a well ploughed phrase ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ and to be honest despite its advancing years the old Ka didn’t look dated and still drove the wheels off the competition.I used to drive the Ka when I didn’t fancy taking my Triumph Spitfire for a spin and always found it a riot, with the 1.3 litre engine pulling a car that weighed as much as a bag of sugar along at a fair pace.  Even though it was bubble shaped it still handled well, even if the skinny tyres started to let go if you were overeager. 

It was a fashion accessory as much as a car, the type of item you’d find sticking its head out of a handbag rather than being topped up with oil.  It was a cheap Ford too with new ones starting from as little as £4,995.  Yes there was painted metal on the inside of the doors rather than sumptuous leather and ok the gear stick just stuck out of the floor like a van, with no attempted aesthetics, but it had charm.

So when I tell you the new Ka is a million miles away from this you’d be right to start worrying.  The first thing that strikes you is how grown up the new version is.  It’s still very funky but is essentially a Ford Fiesta that has been put in the wash on too hot a temperature.  This however is no bad thing as the new Fiesta is not only a great drive, but a brilliantly styled vehicle.  The Ka isn’t quite as pretty although without my glasses on I couldn’t tell the difference so it can’t be too bad.

To drive, the car is very similar to the new Fiat 500 – in fact it’s the same.  The reason for this is quite simple really; both the Ka and 500 are built in the same factory in Poland using the same parts.That’s correct, the new Ka isn’t a completely new and unique design after all.  Don’t despair though as partnerships are not necessarily a bad thing, just look at Starsky and Hutch or Tango and Cash.  The 500 is a hoot to drive and therefore so is the Ka, with it feeling every bit as nippy and fun around the city as a small car should be.

The interior is a massive improvement on the outgoing car, including a space-age centre console finished in silver and matching art deco door handles.  Even the gear stick now looks good as it protrudes from the dashboard, falling easily to hand.  The seats are firm but hold you in place well and the driving position is good unless you’re over six foot.  When you consider the majority of Ka ownership is women I don’t think this will be an issue.

One thing that will be however are the headlights.  For all the good in the rest of the car, it must be pointed out that they are dimmer than an asbo child with a pea for a brain.  On normal beam I had to keep checking they were on, when I switched to full beam the situation got worse as oncoming traffic kept flashing and blinding me to say my lights were too bright, yet the switch to full beam made no discernable difference from the driving seat.I had a similar problem with my current car and bought some high powered (but legal) replacement bulbs that have improved things significantly.  I suggest this is the first accessory you buy for the new Ka.

I feel I’ve put a dampener on the new Ka, but for it to remain a ‘cheap Ford’ in the current economic climate, GM had to be sensible and build it in collaboration with Fiat and unfortunately the headlights have slipped through the net.  No matter, the rest of the car is just as good (with a far superior interior) to the old Ka, just with a more grown up feel that does make the oldie look a tad dated when parked next to each other.  The 1.2 litre Zetec version costs £9,295 and returns an impressive 55.4mpg, resulting in a measly road tax cost of £35 for the year.

Just think with all that money you’ll save you can buy as many replacement bulbs as you like.

Technorati Tags: Automotive, Cars, Ford, Ford Ka, Ka, New Ford, Used Ford