Mike and staff-

From a Ford fan, that owns a Ram Power Wagon, try and do what you can to convince General Motors to produce the G.M.C. Sierra All-Terrain in some form. The friendly competition would be great for Chrysler (Power Wagon) and Ford (S.V.T. Raptor).

That is a great picture. You don't see enough Raptors in settings other than the desert. Good luck and I am excited for some fresh content on this site.

@Mike Levine

I dont know how long your trip was, but I am curious, what was the fuel mileage during your trip?

that raptor is a beastasaurus rex!

RAPTOR is a sharp looking truck i hope they stay out for a long long time

So Mike when are you going to buy one?

My Raptor is used as a Work truck, snowplowing! Yes fisher snowplows designed a setup for my company (7 other hot pick-ups). My solid white Raptor, everything but front grill was painted, even the FORD lettering on grill white. Pushes all the snow I need to.

Mike levine please help us MOPAR GUYS uncover the new LD Cummins 5.0 V8 rumored to be in testing...... As allpar has talked about it but cant get any more information...
i would be much obliged if you would help out and find some information im 20 now but hope to have a new RAM within the next two years

Mines 225000 and the thing wont die
although my rear end bearings are thrashed after i run it and tow on the weekends with my dad...

MOPAR FORD GM all DAY but IM DIE HARD MOPAR

sorry for the typo

my rear end bearings are wearing out... from the countless abuse of my right foot

I think your journey was great. I just want to know, what was the mileage during your journey?

"Plus, we're going to be working hard to uncover truck news that's not on the Detroit Auto Show's official agenda."

- Ask about the F-100 and Ranger again

- Why does 2011 F-150 have a newly added 4.10's in FX4 and 20" wheels?

- Will the all new F-150 be closer to a 2013 MY or 2014 MY?

- Why doesn't EcoBoost come with a 36 gallon tank? Will there be a bigger tank for 2012?

Nice truck, I'm sure you can put that to use on the asphalt in detroit.

"@Mike Levine

I dont know how long your trip was, but I am curious, what was the fuel mileage during your trip?"

I'm very curious about the fuel mileage number too.

woopud

Mike,

Any insite you can squeeze out of Toyota as to when we will see an updated Tacoma would be great! Also if you can get any information out of Toyota regarding how, and how soon do they plan on increasing the MPG's in the Tacoma & Tundra.

Thanks!

I agree, would love to hear when Toyota plans to update the Tacoma and what the changes will be.

Looking forward to your posts from the show Mike.

I second the request for any LD diesel pickup engine news!

WELCOME to Detroit Mike!

I hope all blog readers in the south Michigan area make to our show....

We are open 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM
January 15 - 23
Tickets are $12

The Toyota Tacoma is a great off-roader from the factory to build upon:

E-locker since 1995!

Coil sprung front since 1995!

Solid ground clearance for its weight!

No low hanging lower shock mounts between the wheels and rear diff. in the middle like most pickups.

The Ram Power Wagon is a great off-roader from the factory to build upon:

E-Lockers (rear AND front) since 2005!

Coil sprung front since 1994!

Electronically disconnecting front anti-sway bar!

12,000 pound Warn winch mounted behind the front bumper!

Skid-plating like a Hummer H1!

Adequate ground clearance and solid drivetrain for towing/hauling (real work)!

No puny independent front suspension or rear axles the size of twigs!

Any truck news is cool.

Nice truck, but this site is starting to seem like it's taylored for Ford propaganda. All I have seen since loging on to this site is Ford this, Ford that. Ford makes a great truck, I know, I own one now....what's up with the rest?

My F150 has been great, but it is getting old that PUTC is streaming Ford propaganda 75% of the time. Has it always been like this? I am just curious......

Red 4x4, did you read the HD Shootout? Then there was the Silverado HD off-road concept - no word on it actually making it to production... Other than that, what else is to report for GM? Toyota hasn't changed anything on the Tundra since the introduction of the 4.6 V8. The frame still flexes. Dodge, we still have to wait for info on the 2012 HD updates, I'm sure if Mike had info on it, he'd report it. We know one day, there will be 8 speed autos available, but thats all anyone knows. So Mike would have to make up stuff and embellish any bit of truth or rely on speculation, because nothing is going on. I don't want that, because that's what every other media outlet does. Do you have any info to help him out? We're all ears when ANYTHING new comes out.

@Alex and Red 4x4
I agree with both of you to a great extent.

Ford seems to be the only one with truck news.
2 reasons that I can think of:
1. Ford seems to be the only one coming out with new stuff and
2. I think that Ford's PR Department is at the top of their game.

Instead of big media releases, they dribble out information. Look how long they took to release all of the information on the EB 3.5.
Some vague specifications here and there. A photo of a truck with intercooler, ballpark HP numbers, then actual numbers, the whole EB torture test thing, and finally mpg numbers.

People have short atttention spans.
The popular media thrives on sound bites.
Ford's PR people have it down pat.
(No stupid Max and Al or Howie Long commercials)LOL

@Buy American or say Bye to America!

The Tacoma has something very valuable when compared to the Raptor or Power Wagon and that is a WEIGHT ADVANTAGE! That plays huge when off-roading, weight kills drivetrains and suspensions and sinks heavier pickups in simple off-road obstacles...

@Lou,

You said Ford was coming out with new stuff, where?

Direct ignition, variable-valve timing and 4 valves per cylinder have been around for quite some time in the Tundra/Tacoma engines...

That is old news, maybe new to Ford but not to pickups in general.

@Oxi - it is not new technology but the engines are new.
Ford's modular engines have been around since 1991 with the Triton truck engines coming out in 1997.
The first new set of truck engines in 14 years.
That is newsworthy.
These engines also set new benchmarks for the 1/2 ton class.
That is newsworthy.
A twin turbo V6 with diesel like power (we'll know for sure once they hit the streets)
That is newsworthy.

Yes it is new to Ford.

You need to read the 1/2 ton shootout of a few years back.
The F150 with 5.4 won the shootout.
No one has a new truck or set of engines out.

I don't want to sound like a Bob, but I cannot see how Ford can loose the next shootout with 3 new engines. (I'm not including the 3.7 V6 as it already won the work truck shootout).

oxi-

I do agree that the Tacoma has a weight, advantage to the Power Wagon and Raptors. You can not argue though, that with the weight penalty of the Ford and Ram, that they are no slouches in the strength department. They have the factory designed hardware to be able to be punished. They are well designed for their intended markets...not necessarily where Jeep CJs & Wranglers or Toyota FJ40s, FJ Cruisers & Hi-Luxs/pickups/Tacomas can navigate.

Off-roading takes on many different forms. It is not all about driving 75+ m.p.h. through the desert, competing in deep mud-drags, or rock-crawling with dual-transfer cases (>100:1 crawl ratio). All of the above can hold their own as designed!

Buy American or say Bye to America!

I agree they can hold their own. Like I have stated before, I doubt I will see one on the trails. At over $40,000 I would be less inclined to do real off-roading.

I was scaling back with my little $25,000 Tacoma off-road but mine is a daily driver likewise, so I cannot rip it off-road, maybe a few years from now... not afraid to hit the trails though and continue learning.

My, $43,000.00, Ram DOES go off-roading. I do not take it on some of the trails where I take my Wrangler Rubicon, but I do take the Ram where it will fit. I have the "trail pinstripes" to prove it. I bought it to use it.

@Buy American or say Bye to America!
"trail pinstripes" I like that one.
I haven't had the heart to customize my new truck yet. LOL.
All of the other trucks I've owned had the pinstripes top to bottom.
Even the 2 wheel drive van I owned had its share.
I've seen a few hardcore guys spray the sides of their trucks in bedliner. It looked like 2 tone paint from far away.

@Buy American or say Bye to America!

Kool, so I get to mod my Tacoma with $18,000 of goodies to match your priecetag, this will be fun when I will out perform you in most categories off-road...

@oxi - for $25,000 = the price of your Taco, I can buy a used truck and build something that can kill your Taco offroad.
For 16,000 I can buy a Ranger RZR XP 900. I add 9,000 dollars in mods and I'd slaughter any truck out in the bush.
Ohh, I forgot it's not street legal.
For 9,000 dollars difference I could buy a used truck to haul it around and still have a faster,more capable offroad rig!
OR
For 9,000 dollars I can buy a street legal KTM 450 EXC. Add a larger gas tank and some armor - all under 10, 0000 dollars.
Winter time?
Studded Trelleborgs, ice racing tires or buy a stud gun and build your own tires.
I've done it.
i have friends who've done it!

Whats your point?????????????

@Buy American
- I see your point.
- If a guy is talking about price points,
for 5,000 dollars more than a plain jane Taco (Oxi's 25,000 truck)
one can get an F150 supercrew 4x4, with 5.4, 6.5 box truck with 18" wheels, chrome package, box steps, tailgate step, sterio with steering wheel controls,sync, power seats, power pedals, backup camera, back up sensors, intergrated trailer braking system, box liner, fog lights, 9,500 towing capacity, 2 tone paint, skid plates, and limited slip rear.
That's what I did with approx. 25% off of MSRP with discounts and negotiation.
I'd buy a Raptor SuperCrew if you could get it in an XLT trim package.
That would put it probably around 5,000 more than my truck.
That would be a good deal as you couldn't build your own truck for 5,000 more.

The Raptor unfortunately doesn't come in a base model.
It makes sense for Ford to pair it with a high end trim package. There is usually a 15,000 dollar profit margin on those packages. Ford will recuperate R&D cost much faster that way.

I believe the Power Wagon can be purchased in a more plain trim but I've never seen a plain one on the lot.