Well said. I couldn't agree more. This truck brings the kid out in me. It just looks like the perfect off road combination without having crazy over the top tire sizes, lifts, etc.

Congrats to Ford!! I want a Silver CrewCab please. I wish it came in more colors than just the silver, white, black and orange. I would like to see Red also as an option. Most high performance vehicles always have Red as an option. Wierd. Go Ford anyways but add more colors please!

Great truck, but I'm still waiting on the EcoBoost to become an option. Then it'a a silver SCrew!

Red is coming. :0)

Best off-road truck ever. It makes Hummer drivers feel inadequate.

No competition!

Raptor is a real off-road truck.

@ Toyota -
Thanks for pointing out the obvious!
Might of missed that minor detail without your input!

Ford are probably one of the few that really make an off road vehicle. Hummer is there too but thats in a different category.

"is every four-wheel-drive enthusiast’s dream of what a factory pickup truck should be"

Uhhh, no!

It is a sweet pickup but at that price it is more economical to buy a stripped pickup and build it yourself!

Full-size pickups are too big, wide and heavy for serious off-roading, I commend the Raptor for making strides but it is still too heavy for the real off-roading out there.

Wow...what a great truck. I can't wait to trade my tacoma in for this!

@ oxi - the quote should of read "is every four-wheel-drive enthusiast’s dream of what a factory FULL SIZE pickup truck should be" ;)
probably get flamed for that comment - lol.

White 2011 SuperCrew w/ all options but bedside graphics, I sure hope you depreciate fast :)

I wonder what the carbon feetprint is ?

Is it renewable,sustainable?

Can I sniff the exhaust pipe like my twinkle toe Toyota Prius and global warming believers ?

It isnt fair,we all should be the same,be the same,have a rooftop sniff fest coffee time...

As a firm believer in global warming as per the liberal agenda,I now am turning off my power, I only allow 2 minutes a day of power to combat existant global warming..have you checked out the U.K and Europe lately,as it it warm as it ever was there.

@oxi- I don't know if you have really looked at what all makes a Raptor different than a standard F150 4x4, but there is no way anyone could build its equivilant aftermarket and come out cheaper. It is way more than a bolt-on lift and bigger tires. To get an idea, look at what Mopar is going to charge for their Ramrunner upgrade package. As for as it being too big or heavy, that all depends on what type of off-roading you want to do.

@ Sean P. Holman "Red is coming. :0)"

do you know when Red will be available?

Racing Red will be available in 2012, or so I have heard.

Crazy fun money well spent. I still turn my head every time I run by one. If you want full warranty on a trophy, this is it for now.

this truck might be one of the coolest in the decade
i drove the 5.4 and it was a f'in beast
sucked up 80 mph whoop like it was its job
OR WAIT IT IS!!!!!!
those fox shoxs speek for themselves

I had one of these trucks pass me the other day... man what a truck!

On a separate note to Mike Levine,

Mike would it be possible for the website to upgrade so we all had one name that we use to login in with and post comments on the fourms that way no one else can steal or post fake comments under a users name? After reading the comments in the November top sales article I think this is something you should look into ASAP. Just my .02 cents.

@Shawn: I agree and have been looking into a solution. Stay tuned.

@Brad,

Then you do not know how to build a off-road pickup...

The Raptor or that Ram that is being built from the factory are slick pickups but they are for lazy people that want a turn key and no imagination.

A REAL off-roader buys a pickup or short wheelbase vehicle like a Jeep or FJ and builds them up the way they want them to like slow speed rock crawling, desert pre-running, deep mudding or like I am as an overland expedition vehicle.

Sure if I see a Raptor out there I am not going to trash it, that pickup will be capable but in the off-road world, most will be happy to see one out there but they will view the owner as a rich dude with money to burn while their trail rig will do the same job off-road if not better at half the price tag let alone scratches and dents rom hitting stuff off-road.

Here in Wisconsin the Raptor is too wide to survive the woods and not get scratched up and the weight will sink it pretty nicely. That does not mean it cannot perform off-road, just some points.

The Raptors did look good as safety vehicles for the Torc Series in Oshkosh and Crandon.

oxi,
Anywhere you go any truck,4x4 is too wide for most of the trails.But desert racing the Raptor/RamRunner is better than a smaller truck,size doesnt effect it ,only tight small trail(thats why dirt bikes were invented)
You have a Tacoma and it is a BIG truck ! Biggest so-called compact/mid sized, Its only 3-4 inches narrower than a full size truck of 10 years ago.It aint no trail queen,buy a Suzuki Samurai of the 1980's if you want a small 4x4,Tacoma long wheel base,wide it aint no tiny truck as you claim it is.
Real Off Roaders dont care about scratches,dents ect..My 83 RamCharger,77 Jimmy and 88 Bronco II (better 4x than your Tacoma smaller,lighter,short wheel base)Will and can go anywhere and more places that your Turdota can go,and I dont care about scratches.And yes,most people like a full size truck,even the off roaders,but serious dipshits use short wheel base,modified OLD trucks for rock crawling ect...Nobody buys a new truck and does serious 4xing !!
By the way,I would brag that your Turdota has 8,000 miles and no problems,as a Turdota are the most unreliable trucks/cars around.
99.99% of the new trucks never have a problem past 100,000 miles ! I had a new Chevy/Ford/Dodge and now another 2010 Dodge(33,000mi) and never once had a problem with any of them,my wifes 2007 Turdota(bought before we met)...well lets say the engine gremlins took over and destroyed it as they do 99.9% of Turdota/Lexus cars of today !!!

Someone tried to tell me that the reason Toyota is having so much problems with recalls is because they are building most of their cars in America now. I replied that's horse**** because all of the engineering is still done in Japan and Ford has already over taken them in quality and they build most of their stuff here in America. I'm not saying Toyota makes bad autos, I just think they are having a run of bad luck as of late. They got caught with their pants down and their legendary quality has been shoddy at best the past 5 to 10 years now but because it was a media darling and it had a name of excellence no one paid attention, except for the guys who were complaining about their trucks rusting apart, motors that were having sludge build up problems, and now brake and acceleration issues in auto forums like this.

When the Sh-t hit the fan it was not hard to find out the truth about how bad Toyota really was as of late, all the media had to do was to look at sites like this one and see all of the complaints. But now that it has fallen from grace, the media will do nothing but hound it for the next big story or for more ratings. I feel bad for Toyota in a way (hard for me to admit this I know) but at least they are trying to fix the problems and gain some face for it. I think the biggest problems with the Tundra is they went cheap on the engineering. It's a decent truck but it can't and won't go head to head in the real world from nothing that RAM, GM, Or Ford has. These companies have been building trucks almost as long as they have been in business. You just don't go and try to take them all on at once with an upstart truck that won't win over anyone except for the people who just don't know any better (see people who live in the city). No good ole boy, country boy, or farm boy is going to come near these trucks and these are the people who buy trucks more than anyone else.

Extreme kudos to the only vehicle manufacturer who pays attention to the enthusiast to such a degree. The Raptor was a HUGE financial risk and investment and is paying off in spades. The naysayers are just sourgrapin' this fine vehicle. The truck has a purpose, going fast in the rough. It also carries and tows. If one wants a heavy duty that would get disassembled while driving one fifth as fast off road, then one would buy a heavy duty.

The proof is in the sales and the enthusiasm.

By the way, Hennessey's supercharged 6.2 Raptor is for sale on Ebay. Over 600hp of ground shredding monster!!! WHOOYA!!!!

There's not a cooler truck on the road. Thank you SVT!

Most people seem to keep forgetting one key selling point of the Raptor, IT HAS A WARRANTY! You can go buy a base model truck/suv all you want, but as soon as you change something or mod it the warranty is void. How many TRUE offroad vehicles are there other than the PowerWagon or Rubicon that come with a warranty?

I love the Raptor I think its one of the coolest trucks on the road today.

But I would also love to see a Superduty set up to compete with the Power Wagon Ram. Offer a 6.2L V8 and the 6.7L Diesel as an option, give it front and rear lockers with 4.10 gears and 4/1 low range. Maybe some 35 BFG's like the Raptor has and a factory winch. That would be cool too.

@ Mike - can you get sales statistics on the Raptor separate from the F150 line? It would be a "nice to now" tidbit. thanks.

@ Shawn

The engineering is done here as well. OH, and the profit goes back into OUR economy too. its SOO shotty as you call it that JD Power named it Most Dependable Full Size FIVE YEARS IN A ROW.

what kind of truck do you own shawn? i'd bet ya my PERSONAL 2010 Crew max 4x4 Tundra will show your truck up at any truck competition you can think of. you say upstart truck like toyota hasnt been building trucks since the 50's in this country. they may not have been so popular back then since the detroit 3 were really built here then. they have just put a truck out there that youve realized is as good and better than your flavor of truck so you pick on it.

I PERSONALLY love mike rowe's NEW ford commercials with the people getting rid of their toyota's. LOL they show a base rav4 or camry and then show the escape limited or fusion sel LOL its nice that Ford will advertise who the BENCHMARK to beat is....... they're still comin up short shawn, look at ANY 3rd party source and Toyota is STILL ranked above Ford in every book.

@ hemi LOL - I agree with you as far as engineering done in the USA and money staying in the USA.
The Tundra is a decent truck.
2010 June statistics on initial quality paint a different picture.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/06/avalanche-frontier-sierra-top-jd-power-and-associates-2010-quality-study/comments/page/2/

Tundra went from a tie with F150 at 88/100 (2009) to 100/100.(2010)
I bet Toyota's recall problems are what are affecting the data.
It will be interesting to see 2011 data as to whether my theory is correct.

The ones that I thought were odd -
(2010)Chev Avalanche and GM Sierra 81/100
but
(2010) Chev Silverado 101/100.
Why is it Sierra and Avalanche improved by 8/100
but Silverado worsened 8/100.

That indicates to me that GMC still needs to get its corporate act together.

Ram showed the greatest improvement at 98/100 a 33/100 improvement.

The data shows that all of the 1/2 tons are good.

I like the F150 better than the Tundra and I think that for me the F150 is a better truck.
If power was my primary metric, I'd chose a Tundra.

The F150 has won all of the shootouts I've read even though the 5.4 was the most underpowered "premium" engine offered.
The F150 in now rated higher than the Tundra with initial quality.

TV commercials are BS regardless of which brand.

Facts are facts and I'm not putting a spin on it because I'm a brand loyal fanboi.

Hemi lol - I don't blame you for getting irritated.

@ Shawn - the internet is a vast wasteland.
In most cases it is impossible to verify complaints posted on the net.
Guys who have had a lemon or brand fanboi's can post with impunity.
Imagine the rocky ride "domestics" would of had if the internet existed during the '70s,'80's, and '90s.

@ Lou

I appreciate your comments, i also understand your angle. Your quoting "initial quality" studies right now. the one i'm citing is the "most dependable" study.

One thing most people dont see is that the initial quality problems arent really problems at all. Specifically Toyota actually had a class they put sales people through 2 years ago because the Toyota brand was being dinged in problems per 100 due to misunderstanding the operation of Toyota's wipers, headlights, cruise control, climate control and smart key systems since they are so much different than "the domestics" systems. believe it or not these items count. if a customer calls the service dept. because they dont understand how to use something then this COUNTS as problems per 100.

And your right about the ford winning the shootouts. I have a MAJOR problem with how they "scored" that 08 shootout. you cant deny if you look over that scoring that MANY items on it were simply subjective to the scorer. this simply means that the scorer could implement their opinion into the results. There were several items that one manufacturer had and the others didnt that only counted for a point or two and one that ford had counted as 5 or 6 points. this to me means that the test could have been swayed anyway they wanted. they made comments of trailer sway for instance, ford and dodge got points here and the tundra's trailer sway control is a bi product of vehicle stability control thats STANDARD on every truck. they gave points to tailgate assist and scored the titan higher yet the tundra is the ONLY one that assists when you open the gate. the Tundra was an SR-5 model and the ford and gm and dodge were loaded models so driving impressions shouldnt be weighted so much.......... you get the point. if you look at the core performance the ford was NOWHERE near 1st.

I'm being as unbiased as possible here but if you remove the subjective material from that shootout i think the Tundra would have come out on top, but im sure Mike would never have lived it down if he had called the tundra on top.

"I'm not saying the Tundra has a lack of ability. I'm saying it's not on par in many areas compared to current trucks. I hope Toyota gets the engineering and features right in the next Tundra." - Mike Levine

Is it any surprise to anyone?

@Hemi lol You are being the typical fanboi on here. I was trying to defend Toyota to a point but you had to go overboard and take my comments all out of context. The Tundra is a decent truck... compared to the offerings from the big 3. You (and Lou) can quote mistakes per 100 vehicles all night long if you wish but the real world is where the buck stops for these vehicles, So now everyone on this site, and other sites just put up trash? I know there are a lot of fanboi's on this site and others but the problems are being put on the net by Toyota owners themselves. You are correct that there is a lot of trash on the net though Lou. Lou very good follow up comment. I find your comments very insightful and yes I must say you are one of the most unbiased people on this site. Hemi your Tundra probably would walk away from my Ford, but mine is a 7 year old truck with a 2v 4.6 in it... but 100K miles later and no problems or rust issues it still is going strong.

Guys all I ask is please do not take what I say out of context. No one is going to get anywhere or change anyones mind on here by fighting among ourselves. We all love trucks and that is the important thing.

Way to stay on topic people... Anyway what does a Rapter have in common with two 4x4 towing beasts. This purpose built truck has no competition, yet. I think its a great truck, but 4x4 of the year? Makes no sense.

@hemi lol-"I'm being as unbiased as possible" That's a really shady comment coming from a salesman that works for a toyota dealership! You would be better off taking your sales pitch on WKRP, then trying to get on websites and informing people how the Turdra is better than what they are driving now. You are all in on toyota so spare me the unbaised BS!!!

No truck out from the factory can do what the Raptor does and as jim pointed out it comes with a warranty. There's no way you could take a new truck and biuld it the same with all the electronics for under 50K. My 06 f150 will be decommissioned next year and I have plans of setting it up for BITD for 2012. I still will buy a Rator even if I could build one. The Raptor is more proof than Ford is leaving the competition in the dust!!

@Randy and Shawn,

2 more Toyota HATERS we have found!

Randy and Shawn, my of-road pickup is being built as an overland vehicle which means I have to off-road at the same time carrying PAYLOAD!

I do not want to just carry a cooler or two of stuff off-road like a rollover happy on the street Jeep or Bronco II. I require survival gear on long off-road journey's. You see I am in a different category than your local wheelers off-road that do not need to carry much because they are weekend warriors.

A Jeep or Bronco II cannot carry as much as the Tacoma on the street let alone off-road. I have a different mission profile, understand that!

And the Tacoma is the best small truck out there hands down. No wonder it is the only pickup in the top 10 of Kelley Blue Book's retained value!

http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/2011-best-resale-value-awards

"Blending reliable performance with ruggedness, the Toyota Tacoma is both the resale value and sales leader of the competitive mid-size pickup segment. The Toyota Tacoma's 2011 Best Resale Value Award is its ninth in a row."

No other pickup is in the top 10!

By the way the Tacoma was designed in California, shows how much you know about your own country!

I was looking at JD Power's dependability statistics.
They are based on problems per 100 vehicles over a 3 year span.
The 2010 award would be based on 2007 model year trucks.
That is ironic in Toyota's case as that is when the current Tundra came out. They had tailgate, engine, driveline and other complaints and still rated better than the domestics.

They've won 5 years in a row.
That also means they have the most dependable trucks even when you factor in all the rusty frames from the 2000 - 2003 models.

Depending on who's study you look at - Ford F150 either tied or was slightly below the Tundra.

Everyone else was either average or below average.

This is what Tundra forums had to say:
"While the Tundra is not perfect, all the studies show that the Tundra’s quality is excellent. The F150, depending on the studies you look at, typically ranks 2nd or ties for first, so it’s likely that the F150’s quality is on par with the Tundra. As for the Ram, the GM Sierra/Silverado, and the Nissan Titan, J.D. Power shows that those brands are simply average (and average is not bad). Other studies echo these results. If you’re in the market for a new truck, it sounds like the Tundra and F150 should be options #1 and #1A, with the others being tied for 2nd."

My own research put the Tundra and F150 in first for quality and relaibility.
I don't trust GM corp. because the Sierra and Silverado are made on the same assembly line and have different ratings.
Most studys would put them in 2nd or 3rd behind F150 and Tundra.
Ram 1500 is unfortunately dead last. In some cases it is slightly better than the Titan.

I hope this puts all the quality and reliability arguing to rest.

Back on topic.

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Power Wagon.
Since Hummer is dead, no one other than Ram and Ford make a factory tuned offroader with factory warranty.

I agree with Oxi that most "offroad" packages are just rebadged trucks with extra bling that does little to improve offroad prowess.

Toyota should come up with something for the Tacoma that is significantly better than the TRD or T/X Pro package.

That would give the rock crawlers and heavy haulers the Power Wagon,
the "go fast" offroaders would have the Raptor,
and the trail guys could have the Tacoma.

@oxi..

Who gives a F#ck about the Tacoma or Toyota in general.. this is an article about the FORD Raptor. But once again you have to interject meanless crap dealing with something that is totally off topic.

Ring.. TTORA is calling.. they lost their troll.

@ mike levine

i didnt mean to sound harsh, just pointing out there was quite a bit of subjective scoring for that shootout. I still enjoy the read, but for my personal taste i like the setup of the tundra better than the others. i really wasnt sure what you mean by getting features and engineering right on the next truck?

@ everyone
Let me make it clear that i dont "hate" or "dislike" any pickup out there for the most part. i ONLY retort when people bash on the tundra when they simply have NO IDEA how they are built. most people wont even look at one because of where they came from and the truck their dad drove. i was the SAME way, my dad and grandpa always had a GMC. Being a car/truck lover since before i could drive i never wouldve considered a toyota........ thats UNTIL i studied and learned how they were built, where they were built, and how overbuilt they are for the modest ratings toyota sets for them. although I DO sell Toyota trucks, that is my job. I ALSO pay attention to how the others are built and study them as well, i do still work on and build cars in my spare time. (that comment simply due to the salesman comments that will come next). look i'm not sayin theres not a different truck for everyone but dont knock the tundra without at LEAST learning some facts about it.

@ shawn

i wasnt taking your comments out of context. i was correcting your comment about engineering in Japan, it was wrong. stating fords reliability as better than toyota is also wrong, i was simply clearing that up.. no to quote what you said "It's a decent truck but it can't and won't go head to head in the real world from nothing that RAM, GM, Or Ford has." now that shows i took nothing out of context. your just as guilty as me for getting up on the soapbox.

FWIW i generally ONLY comment on here when someone posts full on BS about the Tundra. I dont think its right for people to read things that arent true. yes i'm guilty of the rant as much as the next guy but at least i dont type BS about the other manufacturers. i would simply like someone to tell me what the Tundra lacks???? since the others have been doing it for a 100 years tell what toyota did wrong on the Tundra. still off topic but im not sure where else this could be discussed? any idea mike?

@ hemi lol - Mike was quoted out of context to make it appear like he was slagging Toyota's quality and or reliability.
I believe he was talking about integrated trailer brake with stability control systems.
Many guys quote out of context to make their arguments look good.
Mind you, they learn from TV - most TV Ads do the same sort of thing.
Most of the alleged facts posted on this site by fanboi's "disappear in a puff of logic."

@ lou

nice, i just caught the fact that mike levine didnt type that. wow, why people go to that length is beyond me.

and your right about tv good lord the lies on there.

@ lou

and again that goes back to advertisement. no one gave credit to toyota for trailer sway because it wasnt advertised as such.... as long as VSC is on the Tundra had trailer sway as a biproduct. i dont think it would be bad to have an integrated controller either though. it would be added safety, so long as the trailer 1. has electric brakes, not surge hydraulic, or no brakes at all. lets face it most people shouldnt tow the weight they do simply because they have no clue how to be safe to start with. you can have all the safety equipment in the WORLD and if someone loads all the weight on the tongue, loads the bed full of firewood and puts 5 people in the truck and cant figure out why they would "sway" out of control

Now the real question is now many people that buys a raptor, going to use it

@cthomp81 - that same question can be asked of any guy buying a pickup.

@Ex,

Nice language bud...

Really, a Raptor owner spending over $40,000 for this pickup will most likely NOT go off-roading with it, and I mean the real stuff.

The point was with hard core off-roaders, they will like to see this Raptor off-road but in reality the owner would be viewed as a yuppie with lots of money to spend and no idea how to off-road.

Four Wheeler Mag redeemed themselvese. In 09 they gave it to the Power Wagon, now the award goes to the Raptor, right where it belonged all along.

@Hemi How about we just agree to disagree? I don't "hate" Toyota but I will admit that its not at the top of my most admired list. Maybe I was a little harsh to say it can't hold up to the big 3... it does have a kick ass motor in it for starters and caused everyone else to raise the bar. If I were in the market for a compact it would be a Tacoma for sure... does that sound like someone who hates Toyota? I just have an opinion that the Tundra could be more than what it is, Toyota has been at this for more than a few years now so its time to raise the bar again or get left behind.

@Lou Thanks again for the follow up. I don't really follow JD Powers all that much (or any other sites like it such as consumer reports) I'd much rather get the real world opinion on autos no matter who makes them. But like you said you got to take everything you read on the net with a grain of salt.

@ shawn

i can accept that ;)

Man I am glad I own an F150 like MILLIONS of others across the globe. You know, we can be like the "peoples truck", you know, the F150. Hell, let's all make them the same color to bring out originality. Make sure that they are all Raptors or the top notch package, that way we can compare them to all other models and propagate how great they are.

This website is starting to become a big pile of redundant fanboi-ism that really gets tiring and old. Come on, I thought we were grown men and ladies on here. If someone wants a Tundra, so what? A GMC, so what, Dodge Ram, so? That is what originality is and some of you people would like nothing other than Ford to be the ONLY "peoples car" in the USA. Get real.

Hemi LOL and OXi, good lord guys, every off road article? We know how great you guys choices are, I am jealous I couldn't own a Toyota (sarcasm).

Article topic: Of course the Raptor would win this award, it is the ONLY factory made truck like this as of now, isn't it? The Ford propaganda gets old, with the same old propagaters always brand bashing on here like a bunch of school yard sissies. Do you have to do this to justify your purchase of a particular truck? Lord, some of you are just plain sad. Inferiority complex I suspect, or they REALLY have to justify the purchase they have made by bashing other's purchase. Real manly/ladylike of "suspected" grownups. Anybody can own anything, can have any problems, can be rich, etc. on the internet, surely you people know this, right?