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Detroit, 6:12 AM
Wed Nov 11
30 posts in the last 24 hours
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All in all, I think it's a pretty bad ass truck. I wholeheartedly approve. #raptor
11/03/09
/Don't do this. #raptor
11/03/09
At least, unlike "stock" cars, this has at least a couple of traceable genetic ties to reality.
/another reason why I love WRC...race cars with working turn signals, wipers, doors, etc., and drivable on the street, if you're a masochist. #raptor
11/03/09
I watch Ken Block videos just to spy the Vermont plates on the Subies. Go Vermont!
11/03/09
I remember in Monaco one driver being pulled over for having only three wheels. Many times, they then get an escort...though not that time.
WRC is the coolest.
Rollover? Hope you land on the wheels and there are spectators to push. #raptor
11/03/09
Is anybody else throwing out this kind of enthusiast-targeted automotive shenanigan-in-the-real? An in-house tuner supercar? No? Well, sure, there's the Corv... uh, the Vipe...hmm, I guess not. I mean, sure the Corvette is a balls-out performance thrillride, but did GM stick that tasty engine into a bigass truck and fling it, overhand, into a desert race? No. Henry's pride and Nazi-flavored joy is racking and stacking a heap of VINless chassis with ginormous motors and you know what that means - it's racing time in Dearborn. Or the Baja Peninsula. Whatever. I mean, what the hell else are you gonna do with a ride with no VIN? Don't dare take it on the street. Hit the dunes! #raptor
11/03/09
Ford doesn't have to problem. #raptor
11/03/09
Well yes, the Belly-up Twins have certain evil overlords to whom they must explain themselves, which is good - it turns out that some of the stuff they've been doing simply has no explanation.
But what Ford is doing is also called Marketing. Build a halo car - or truck - win on Sunday, sell on Monday. Used to work, why not now? GM and Chrysler both have engineering divisions that, last I heard, had at least a 60-40 human-chimp ratio. They should be able to get some stuff together and build some shining examples of their own. The Corvette is an excellent example. The Viper was a pretty good example - last I heard, it was faster than the 'Vette around almost anything but a disco, and almost driveable by mortals. So playing up the approachability of automotive greatness, to the teeming hordes of pedestrians, might just sell a few cars and trucks.
Witness the Ford Raptor.
See, you can make a business case for a gigantic engine and a supersporty truck chassis. Pitch it past the shareholders - and the flinty-eyed government accountants - and see what shakes out. #raptor
11/03/09
Agreed this is solid marketing by Ford. I suppose that is the hard pill to swallow with respect to GM and Chrysler as they both have very talented engineers and designers, they always have. Hell, there was a time from the late 80s to the mid 2000s where nearly every NAIAS was a 100% certainty of a new Chrysler concept car that would blow everyone away. It's sad that sort of creativity has been squeezed out of the company. But I do believe that Fiat does intend to help Chrysler survive, it's in their interest as they'd essentially be getting a bargain deal on a solid automaker if they can pull it off. And Sergio Marchionne isn't going to want that blemish on his resume.
GM on the other hand, we'll see. The government has it's perverted hands so far up GM's rear, god only knows what could come out. #raptor
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11/03/09
What is it about this truck that makes it so, so beautiful? There is something about the design that is simple and American. Something that reaches into the lower levels of testosterone production and calls out for more. But, there is more to this simple, yet exciting design. I think it something that says, "this is all a truck needs to be", yet it provides more. Maybe it brings back memories of when trucks were trucks and not over bloated cars (I'm looking at you Honda). It's hard to put a finger on it. Simplicity like the Ranger, maybe? I don't know. #fordraptor
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11/03/09
"Raptor Baja Mega Macho 100-Grand On-Road Special Big Buck Edition High Roller."
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11/03/09
And I don't even like trucks that much to begin with. Drool! #fordraptor
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NOW I've seen it all...
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11/03/09
@SurabhiNycteus: Have you seen one of these, perhaps? Just because they build family cars doesn't mean Ford doesn't have the resources and ability to build something ridiculous, insane, and really special when they feel like it. #raptor
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11/03/09
1: Build crazy $40,000 desert-ready production truck.
2: Modify it to full Baja spec and sell 50 for $100,000/pop.
3: ???
4: Profit! #raptor