Well it’s official, the Ford Raptor is now the baddest dude on the block. Not only is he big, standing a few feet over his competitors, but he’s as graceful as a ballerina and as capable as a billy goat. Seriously folks, if you are looking for a jack-of-all-trades pickup truck, then this is your boy. Senior Editor of Jalopnik, Mike Spinelli, recently took to the rock lands of MOAB, Utah to test out just how capable the Raptor truly was. He spoke of its new torsen limited-slip front differential, its new grille-mounted camera with a wide-angle lens, and the fact that these two things together helped them get “straight up Oprah’s Butt”, a feet that is, without a doubt, an accomplishment for any man or machine. But hell, don’t take my word on how good this truck is, or Spinelli’s for that matter, just click through for the video and watch for yourselves.

Source: Jalopnik.com

http://jalopnik.com/5870354/2012-ford-f+150-svt-raptor-first-crawl

Let’s face it: if you’re a guy, you could look at giant, bouncing Tatras all day long. In fact, it’s really hard not to stare, and to call them “distracting” is a vast understatement. After all, who wants to get work done when you could be watching ten minutes of jiggling Tatra action on You Tube?

Tatra, in case you don’t know the brand, is a Czech manufacturer of heavy duty trucks and military vehicles. A subset of the population, namely those with a strong death wish, finds racing these giant, lumbering beasts in the farthest corners of the globe to be good fun. Perhaps the only people crazier than the drivers are the fans, who crowd the course to get a better look at something the size of a Miami Beach condo, coming towards them at speeds normally associated with aircraft.

The video below gives you highlights of the Loprais Tatra Team’s exploits over the past five years. I guarantee you’ll see more Tatras that you ever though possible, and I guarantee you’ll want to watch the video over and over again. Go ahead and stare: we won’t think any less of you.

Source: You Tube

Whatever mad genius inside Ford’s SVT group was ultimately behind the development of the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, we salute you. No one else could have pulled off the idea of a hot-rod, off-road pickup truck, and sales have been brisk since the truck made its debut back in 2009.

There have been a few well-documented problems along the way, most notably a group of off-road enthusiasts who experienced bent frames after a high-speed desert run. Ford is quick to point out that the trucks were still drivable with a bent frame, but if a rear shock failed or tore loose, that may not have been the case. Despite the type of hoonage depicted in video ads for the Raptor, Ford insists that the truck isn’t bulletproof, and that if you hit something hard, at speed, damage will most likely result.

For 2012, then, Ford is shifting focus away from high-speed pre-running and onto rock crawling, boosting the Raptor’s off-road resume. The truck gets a Torsen front differential, which will better distribute power from a wheel with no traction to the front wheel with traction. This will boost the Raptors rock-crawling ability, but will also help it scale steep grades and get though mud, snow and sand.

There’s an off-road camera system for 2012 as well, designed to let the driver see exactly what’s in front of his truck. It broadcasts live video to the navigation system display, and can serve as backup to having a spotter when the going gets particulrly tough. Ford knows that Raptor owners will be playing in the mud, so the camera system even boasts a dedicated washer function.

Image: Ford Motor Company

Aside from those changes, there’s a new color (Race Red), a new interior trim accent package in blue anodized, new wheels (that have inside-mounted weights for protection from rocks and debris) and new exterior graphics. The graphics now feature a gloss, matte and textured finish, which Ford describes as giving a “racing” and “off road” feel. We love the Raptor, but could do without the graphics; making them even bolder for 2012 just doesn’t do it for us. Of course a few hours with a heat gun would solve the problem entirely, but we wish Ford would give customers the option of “graphics delete.”

Ford hasn’t priced the 2012 Raptors yet, but don’t be surprised if they cost a few dollars more than last year’s models.

Source: Ford

If you’re eagerly anticipating the upcoming release of Forza Motorsport 4 for the Xbox 360, we’ll give you the bad news first: thanks to EA Sports’ lock on Porsche cars in video games, Forza 4 won’t have a single stock Porsche vehicle in its list of cars. Unlike previous versions of the game, where EA licensed Porsche vehicles to Turn 10 for use in Forza, this time EA decided to lock down Porsche vehicles for use in their “Need For Speed” franchise only. Sure, that sucks, but you’ll still have access to RUF-tuned Porsches, just in limited quantities. You’ll also have access to the M12 FAV Warthog, carried over from the massively successful Halo series of first-person-shooters.

In the helpful video below, none other than Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson takes you through the Warthog’s features, like its “liquid cooled, hydrogen injected ICE-IC plant, coupled with an automatic, infinitely-variable transmission” and its “single unit nanotube skeleton tires.” Sure, this is straight out of science fiction, but I can tell you this: if you’re driving the Warhog on a track, you sure as hell won’t be yielding a line through the corner to other cars.

Source: YouTube, via Autoblog

Image: Jaguar Land Rover

The Land Rover Defender is known the world over as a non-nonsense SUV that will get you anywhere you need to go. Period, end of sentence. It has no luxury aspirations, but it enjoys a rabid cult following that ranges from British farmers through explorers and adventurers to well-off suburbanites who like to portray the image of adventure. The Defender will get you to the grocery store, even if you have to take game trails or forge your own path to get there; in fact, long after the human race has been wiped off the earth, giant cockroaches will probably be driving the last remaining Defenders, at least until fossil fuel runs out.

If you get the idea that the Defender, which has been built continuously since 1983, is a tough act to follow, you’d be correct. That’s why I’m taken aback by the renderings of the DC100, a vehicle that Land Rover says could be the 2015 replacement for the storied Defender. I know appearances can be deceiving, but the DC100 looks like more of a threat to the Toyota RAV4 than to the Jeep Wrangler. If shopping mall parking lot supremacy is the deciding factor for your next SUV purchase, the DC100 looks like a reasonable choice. If getting you to hell and back is your prime consideration, I’m just not seeing it in the DC100.

Image: Jaguar Land Rover

To be kind, the short front and rear overhangs should make tackling most obstacles no problem, and it looks like it has plenty of ground clearance. Those wheels would hold up for about ten minutes on any serious trail, though, and that’s assuming they don’t get you bogged down in the mud first. I won’t even speculate on the durability of the plastic front facia, but if the DC100 sees production, I anticipate a huge aftermarket front bumper business.

Here’s the good news: the DC 100 is nothing more than a styling exercise, or the most basic of starting points for a new Defender design. Land Rover is showing the concept to elicit customer feedback, and I suspect I’m not alone in my criticism. Look for updated designs as we count down the time until launch of the new Defender, and keep your fingers crossed that it will once again grace our shores.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

The Jeep Wrangler is one of the few vehicles on the market today that can trace its roots all the way back to the 1940s. Following World War II, the civilian version of the Jeep CJ was launched, but it bears little resemblance to the Jeep Wrangler of today. Modern Jeeps come chock full of amenities like air conditioning and audio systems, while the original Jeeps has four wheels, an engine and two differentials. As for safety equipment, the original Jeep didn’t even have seat belts, let alone air bags.

One thing has stayed true to form over all this time: modern Jeeps are designed to shed their top and doors for a true open air experience, just like the original models. They’re still capable off-road, and few stock 4x4s will get you into the same number of remote locations that even a base Wrangler Sport can. While they’re a lot more civilized than their 1940s counterparts, Jeeps are still a handful to live with on a daily basis. To those who actually take their Jeeps off-road, a little road and wind noise, plus a somewhat harsh ride, is the price to pay for go-anywhere versatility.

Enjoy the side by side comparison video of the 1945 Jeep CJ and the 2012 Jeep Wrangler, courtesy of MotorTrend.

Source: YouTube via Autoblog

The Mopar JK-8 kit, and a completed truck. Image: Chrysler Goup LLC

You can’t buy a Jeep Wrangler pickup, but if you have a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, $5,499, a paint booth, a welding rig and better than average bodywork skills, you can now build your own from a Mopar kit. Of course your local Jeep dealer would be happy to do the work for you, but I’m guessing that will be expensive.

The $5,499 Mopar JK-8 kit contains all the parts you need to turn your current Wrangler Unlimited into a short-bed pickup. You get a steel bed, new rear fenders and fender walls, sport bar extensions, a fiberglass cab and bulkhead, removable fiberglass roof panels (or “Freedom Panels”, in Jeep-speak) and other required bits and pieces. Even if you farm the paintwork out, you’re still looking at drilling spot welds to remove existing body panels, plus cutting and re-welding the sport bar assembly. It’s not a project I’d be willing to tackle, but your own mileage may vary.

When you’re done, you’ll end up with one of the few short bed Jeep pickups in America, so you’re probably guaranteed to have a rig that you won’t run into on every trail. On the other hand, the kit installed will probably cost a minimum of $8,000, on top of the purchase of a new or used Wrangler Unlimited. Is it worth it? I guess that depends entirely on how badly you want a Wrangler based convertible pickup truck.

Source: Chrysler

Image: Daimler AG

It’s hard to believe, but Mercedes=Benz’s uber-utility vehicle, the Unimog, turns sixty in 2011. Originally designed for use in farming and agriculture, the Unimog has been produced in dozens of variants throughout the years and is embraced by military and civilian owners alike. In Germany, ‘Mogs are used for everything from roadwork through fire fighting, and you can’t drive through a German town without seeing a few in action. In America, most are ex-NATO military trucks, imported for their durability and go-anywhere capabilities. Unimogs, like cockroaches, will easily survive the end of the world.

So how do you honor a truck like the Unimog on its 60th birthday? By building a radical, one-off concept, that’s how. The Unimog Cabrio Design Concept seen here was built from a U 5000, with the thought that Unimogs are always capable of being renewed. The futuristic design was inspired by a poison-dart frog (hence the vivid green color), because both the frog and the Unimog are mobile both on land and in the water. Licking the Unimog, while not advised, is still likely to have a better outcome.

Mercedes has no plans to produce the concept seen here, but on the plus side they have no plans to stop building the Unimog, either. I’ve always wanted one, just because they’ll go anywhere and can be repaired with duct tape, wire and hand tools. One of these days I’ll find a deal on a ‘Mog I just can’t pass up, and hopefully it’ll be before the start of the zombie apocalypse.

Source: Autoevolution

I’d be the first to admit that this video is more hype than substance, but I’d also be the first to admit that I’d love to be behind the wheel of one of the Amaroks in this video. The VW Amarok, in case you don’t know, is their compact pickup truck sold almost everywhere except the United States. Why don’t we get it here? “Too expensive,” is VW’s reply, since it would have to start at about $30k in the states. That kind of money buys you a 4wd Toyota Tacoma, and it even buys you a full size pickup if you don’t mind skipping some amenities. The fact that the Amarok is available with both gas and diesel engines only makes me want it more in the States, and I have to think that there’s a market for a compact turbodiesel pickup here. Watch the video below, then feel free to start petitioning VW to import the Amarok TDI.

Of course it did take four Amaroks to pull down the stack, and the same thing probably could have been accomplished with a single domestic heavy-duty truck. In fact, I’m reasonably sure that Mike’s Magnum SRT-8 could have yanked that structure down without even breaking the wheels. If you’ve got a smokestack that needs tearing down, I’d certainly be willing to give it a try if I can borrow the keys from Mike.

Image: Bremach USA

If you wanted a go-anywhere truck to haul you and your stuff out where the busses don’t run, Mercedes-Benz’s Unimog is perhaps the best choice in the world. What if you’re concerned with saving the planet, even after the zombie apocalypse, and you prefer your heavy duty 4×4 truck in EV flavor? Until now, you were out of luck, but Bremach is looking to change that with their T.Rex. Sure, you can still get it in fossil fuel versions (one variant comes equipped with a 6.0 liter Chevy V8), but tree hugging survivalists can also opt for a hybrid version, a compressed natural gas version or a full-on EV model.

Image: Bremach USA

How you’ll generate electricity when the world comes to an end is your problem, but the electric T. Rex is said to have a 150 mile range under “work conditions”. Bremach doesn’t define those conditions clearly, but it’s safe to assume they include hauling loads and climbing steep grades. The T. Rex comes standard with top-shelf hardware, including Brembo brakes and Bosch 4-Channel ABS. All variants use environmentally friendly synthetic lubricants and “green” fluids, and the Chevy V8 version still gets an estimated 20 MPG on the highway.

Image: Bremach USA

Bremach has been around for some six decades, even though the Italian manufacturer is virtually unknown in the United States. Like the Unimog, a T. Rex can be configured for virtually any off-road task, and specific variants are built for military, search and rescue and fire-fighting applications. All this functionality doesn’t come cheap, and the T. Rex carries a price tag on par with the Unimog; a heavily optioned EV T. Rex will sticker out at over $120,000, but you get the benefit of knowing your hard earned cash is saving the planet. Even after the zombies take it over.

Source: Autoblog