By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

There have been a lot of rumors swirling around, but Mike Levine over at PickupTrucks.com is reporting that a new 5.0 V8 will be the standard engine in the F-150 by late 2010, and that it will be shared with the Mustang. And Autoblog is guessing that Ford will show off this new  Stang variant at the New York Auto Show in April. Stay tuned…

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Ok, so they are not exactly new, but they are new to Isaac, and only set him back $100 for the set. And they only rub the fenders of his his 1977 Ford F-150 4×4 a little…

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

There are always a ton of cool off-road vehicles at SEMA, and this year was no exception. We followed the ICON builds closely leading up to SEMA, and I got a chance to talk to Jonathan Ward about his awesome ICON FJ43 at the show. The Subaru Mountain Rescue vehicle pretty much dominated the Subaru booth. Mr. Angry really loved the Bushwacker Jeep with the paintball guns. Skyjacker always has cool rides in their booth, and their pre-production 2009 F-150 did not disappoint. And Jen went nuts for the retro style Tacoma in the Toyota booth. So what’s your favorite?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Skyjacker Suspensions generally has a pretty burly display at SEMA, and I was stoked to see the guys putting the finishing touches on this year’s effort. Through a deal with Ford, they managed to get ahold of this pre-production 2009 F-150 for their booth. I talked to Tom O’Neil, who said it’s running a 6" lift kit and a 3" strut kit. The big rockpile dumping out the back will have RC cars running on it once the display goes live. See more pics!

Continue reading "Setting Up At The Skyjacker Booth" »

For so long, Ford’s F-Series has been the most popular vehicle sold in America. All that changed this summer when gas prices spiked over four dollars nationally, giving Detroit–as well as other manufacturers–the answer to the question, "What will it take for Americans to truly change their vehicle purchase selections and driving habits?" We got our answer, and even with the recent retreat of fuel prices, seismic changes have taken place.

Into this maelstrom comes Ford with its most important product launch since the Mustang in 1964: the next generation F-Series. While it bears more than a passing resemblance to the outgoing model and faces formidable competition, Ford invited us to the Michigan Proving Grounds in rural Romeo north of Detroit to see just how completely updated and upgraded the new F-Series is. Clearly, Ford is attempting to raise the bar. On all accounts, they have a winner on their hands. Continue reading…

Continue reading "2009 Ford F-Series: Updating America's Favorite Truck" »

A new study has found that people who take anti-depressants are worse drivers than folks who don’t. I don’t really know what to say about those findings, but I after I banged up my Jag, I was pretty depressed. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Like cowboys, Lone Star beer and the right to carry a firearm into church, pickup trucks have a special place in the hearts of Texans. So when his home owner’s association told Jim Greenwood he couldn’t park his new F150 in his driveway, he got pissed. The kicker? Escalades and other SUVs are allowed, because they "cater to a different class of people." Seriously. Dallas Morning News
• The United States is winning a lot of medals at the Olympic games, and that’s great, if you care. But right now, there are ten times more engineering students in China than there are here at home, and in the grand scheme of things, that means a lot more than some victories in an athletic competition. Wired
• The General is betting a lot on the Volt, so its a little surprising that the company is going to market the car as an Opel in Europe. What’s the deal? Doesn’t the company want everyone to know that bad boy is its baby? Motor Authority
• In other GM-related news, the General will not be plunking down dollars to sponsor the Oscars or the Emmys this year. Now, it could be a money thing, but it could also have something to do with the fact neither telecast is remotely entertaining. Detroit News
• Everybody knows Ma Mopar isn’t in the best shape, but if you were wondering how tense the execs are, the following exchange might give you a hint. When asked how long Chrysler could stay afloat, president Tom LaSorda fired back "We’re gonna rebound, it’s just a matter of when." Um, ok. Whatever you say man. Freep

Check out this Craigslist find in Las Vegas–a Mercedes 500 SEL mounted on a F150 4×4 chassis. Here’s the text from the ad in case it gets flagged or deleted:

I started this project about 3 years ago but lost interest in it , that is why it is for sale used a 1998 f-150 lariat 4X4 chassis and running gear,the chassis and running gear has 63 k and wasn’t wrecked new micky thompson claw tires 35 x 13.50 x 16 mounted on new 16 x 10 eagle 589′s they still have stickers I have too many projects so something must go !!! may take part trade and cash whatcha got? call 326-4815

Pretty cool, but the $7,500 asking price seems a bit steep, even with the new Mickey Thompsons.

My cousin, who works at our family-owned Sunoco station, received about 5000 stickers last month to hand out to customers, and managed to convince one of our mechanics, Kevin, to put a sticker or two on his F-150. Well, Kevin agreed to one, then my cousin slapped on an extra and so did another mechanic. It wasn’t until about a month later, when Kevin showed up to work with the truck freshly powerwashed, that all hell broke loose. It started with a row of stickers across the tailgate and down one side, and it just sort of went from there, with myself and assorted visitors all joining in. When the stickering frenzy tapered off at around 6 pm with only about three-quarters of the truck covered, Kevin stayed and worked on it himself, grumbling that "if they were gonna do it they might as well have finished it and made it look nice." So I pitched in to help him finish the job, with a lot of attention from passing motorists stopped at the red light at the nearby intersection. By the end, even my dad, who owns the station, was lending a hand. Soon we were finishing up the roof and small patches we missed, and I decided to cover up the grille emblem with a Sunoco sticker as a finishing touch. Here’s what we ended up with!

Continue reading "Sticker Shock!" »

The news on auto sales hit yesterday and it hit Ford hard–after 17 years in the number one slot for sales of a single model, their run is over. The F150 is no longer the hottest seller in the US market, having been displaced by the Accord, Civic, Camry, and Corolla. CarDomain member f150ramair has a great example of why these trucks have been so popular over the years, especially in the enthusiast community. These numbers kill off Ford’s one and only claim to fame right now, and it made an impact on Dearborn. I talked to a couple of engineers at Ford and got reactions that varied from disappointment to dismay. "We’ve known it was coming, but it was always a few months away. It’s not something we can pretend won’t happen," was one comment. Another staffer in one of the small car groups noted that "It hurts, but it will get us the resources we need." While talking to the people I know downriver, I could feel the effects of the cuts Ford has been through: fewer staff to do more work in less time. Ford has to collectively shift their thinking from the franchise player metaphor (the F150) to more of a team effort metaphor (solid sales in all segments). This is going to take some effort in a culture that has been singing the same hit for nearly two decades.

Some guy in California popped the hood of his F-150 to find a Pit Bull staring back at him. The pooch was stuck there for several hours, and before it finally wriggled its way out, managed to chew up the ignition system pretty good.