PickupTrucks.com Ultimate 4x4 Shootout

The mission was simple: find out who makes the best, from-the-factory four-wheel-drive off-road package. PickupTrucks.com pitted four trucks against each other in a decathlon of dirt. Model-year 2012 versions of the Ford SVT Raptor, Nissan Frontier PRO-4X, Ram Power Wagon and Toyota Tacoma Baja went head to head in 10 grueling events.

Click here for the results.

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Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: May 2012

Toyota dominated the sales landscape last month, with May sales up nearly 90%. That's versus a weak May 2011, when Japan's earthquake and tsunami had shoppers thinking Toyota, Lexus and Scion showrooms would have few cars in stock. It actually wasn't the case, noted Toyota spokeswoman Carly Shaffner; Automotive News data show Toyota maintained higher inventory in May 2011 then it did this past May, but the perception dried up demand and the automaker lost a third of its sales. Last month, it more than made them back: Camry and RAV4 sales more than doubled, Corolla/Matrix sales jumped 87.5% and Prius sales tripled. Even sales for the Lexus RX, which topped last month's Buzz Index, gained 82.1%.

Toyota wasn't the only mover.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: April 2012

Eight of March's 10 best-sellers returned to the table in April, but one of the newbies may surprise you. In March, an incentive-heavy Nissan Altima fell just 1,517 cars short of the redesigned Toyota Camry, clinching the No. 2 best-selling car position. Incentives remain high, but Altima sales dropped drastically enough to knock it off the top 10 list. Instead, shoppers drifted toward the Honda Accord and Toyota Prius.

The Accord, one of April's two newcomers, gained 25.6% last month, snapping three months' sales malaise to fall just 1,435 cars short of the hard-charging, recently redesigned Camry. The shift surprised us, given the Accord is in its final year before a redesign while incentives are about the same as a year ago.

There's little surprise that the Prius' sales catapulted 101.7% despite gas prices leveling off this month. Three new Prius variants — a subcompact Prius c, larger Prius v and rechargeable Prius Plug-in — accounted for 76% of that rise. Strip those away, however, and even the original Prius handily outpaced its year-ago sales.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: February 2012

Chrysler and Hyundai saw big increases in February sales as shoppers, spurred by positive economic news and rising personal income, hit dealerships to find incentives remain high. Dealer and manufacturer discounts, including trade-in bonuses and discount financing, totaled 16.1% off the average car's MSRP in early February, CNW Market Research reports. That's about even with January but much higher than February 2011's 13.3% in total discounts.

Sales for Ford's F-Series improved 25.9%, with the V-6 model — both naturally aspirated and EcoBoost (turbocharged) models — accounting for nearly 60% of sales. The Escape, an SUV that made the best-selling list for nine months running, dropped off as sales increased a modest 3.7%. Ford keeps piling on Escape incentives — up versus February 2011 — but perhaps enough shoppers are waiting for its replacement.

The redesigned Toyota Camry maintained a thin lead over the Nissan Altima to remain America's best-selling sedan, despite the Altima selling nearly 60% better. Nissan is cleaning up: Altima incentives are just a tad higher than they were a year ago, and the car is selling despite being in its twilight years. A redesigned Altima will debut at next month's New York auto show.

$4,500 Off 2009 Ford F-150

If you thought massive incentives would disappear because Cash for Clunkers is over, guess again. Manufacturers now have more reason to put cash on the hood because they aren’t getting any help from federal dollars. Ford is offering $4,500 in cash back on the 2009 F-150 through Oct. 5.

The 2010s are arriving on dealer lots, but there are plenty of 2009s still available according to inventory search on Cars.com. Besides new trim levels and larger brakes for 2010, there are few changes to the truck, as it was redesigned for the 2009 model year. If you want a 2010, there is $1,500 cash back plus 0% financing for 60 months available to those who qualify. Regular cab and Raptor models are excluded from both model year deals.

2009|Ford|F-150

2010|Ford|F-150

Ford Prices Raptor, PickupTrucks.com Races It

Ford’s extreme off-road F-150, the Raptor, goes on sale this winter, but as summer heats up we’re finding out how much it’ll cost. The point of entry for a 320-hp version will be $38,995, and the 400-hp version starts at $41,995. Both prices include destination. That’s a lot of money, but the Raptor is a lot of truck. Ford says production of the Raptor will be limited, but that the company will be flexible if demand warrants it.

PickupTrucks.com editor Mike Levine actually got to ride along in a specially tuned Raptor during this weekend’s “Terrible’s 250” race in the Nevada desert. Surprisingly, the race truck is similar to what people will get when buying one from Ford, except for some added power and suspension parts.

Check out PickupTrucks.com’s full coverage of the Raptor.

Racing in the Raptor R
2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Pricing Starts at $38,995

2010 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 at 2009 Chicago Auto Show

• Competes with: Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado
• Looks like: The 10th edition of the special edition gets even more special treatment
• Drivetrain: 320-hp, 5.4-liter V-8 
• Hits dealerships: Late summer 2009

After a decade-long partnership that has produced 14 light- and heavy-duty F-Series pickups that have sold more than 74,000 units, Ford and Harley-Davidson will introduce their latest two-wheel-inspired creation at the 2009 Chicago auto show: the 2010 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150.

The exterior emphasizes the Harley F-Series styling heritage. The front end features a strong six-bar billet grille (the sixth unique F-150 grille we’ve seen on the current truck, for those of you counting at home) that draws inspiration from the radiator fins of a V-Twin Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine. The front bumper is also unique, with a lowered appearance and integrated fog lamps.

Two outside colors are available: traditional Tuxedo Black or new Lava, a deep, dark cherry red with metallic flakes that pop in sunlight.

Ford Offering Deals for Two Weeks

According to Ford’s consumer website, its latest incentives are good only through Nov. 17 or 18, depending on the region. This is an unusual amount of time for rebates to run, so we’d expect bigger discounts or a specific themed sale later in the month that will last through the holidays. For the next two weeks, though, there are some decent savings on 2009 and 2008 models. The new 2009 Ford Flex is still carrying $2,500 cash back. A new 2009 Ford Fusion — you can read about the upcoming 2010 Fusion here — has up to $3,500 cash back depending on your region. We list the top cash-back deals below. Check out Ford’s site to see the latest deals in your area. 

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Sports Awesomest Grille Ever

PickupTrucks.com has broken the dam of information regarding Ford’s latest super-truck. It’s an offroad racing version of the all-new 2009 Ford F-150, and it’s named Raptor. If that doesn’t sound cool enough for you, just check out this thing’s grille.

We’re not going to get into all the details about this sucker here; for that, go to PickupTrucks.com NOW. No, we’re going to use this space to petition Ford to bring this grille to every F-150. The simple yet in-your-face design is worlds better than what made it to the production truck. Check out the comparison below and weigh in with your comments. 

Car Sales Plummet; Ford F-Series Still Most Popular

October was not a good month for the auto industry. GM’s loss of 45% of its sales compared to October 2007 may get the most headlines tonight, but almost everyone saw huge dips, with Chrysler (35%), Nissan (33%), Ford (29%), Honda (28%) and Toyota (25.9%) all down as well.

Despite the tough economic times, Ford did manage to sell 43,324 F-Series, and a majority of those were the outgoing 2008 F-150 model. Only 3,000 were the redesigned 2009 model. We’d also guess that a majority of those 3,000 were sold to dealers or other industry groups, as the 2009 just barely went on sale officially.

Not only were total sales down, but there wasn’t one Ford model that had a positive uptick in sales. For GM, only the Chevy Malibu, Impala and Pontiac Vibe saw increases. Toyota and Honda didn’t fare any better, with the Toyota Corolla and Sequoia and the Lexus LX570, and the Honda Fit and Acura TL being those companies’ only models to see sales move upward. Chrysler saw no mainstream models increase in sales; only the Dodge Viper and the discontinued Chrysler Crossfire saw increases. The new Dodge Challenger did sell just over 3,000 units, though.

What does this mean for you? November is typically a slow sales month any year, so expect a new slew of significant incentives to be released this week.

Below are the 10 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. last month.