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We all know the old saying, give a man a fish… Well, Ford is teaching Americans how to fish like Euros. Ford’s new global platforms are coming to the states in mass. The Focus, Verve and Transit Connect are all recent passengers on the trans-Atlantic pipeline bringing big ideas for small cars to the U.S.

The Transit Connect is the most forward thinking, work gadget intensive vehicle I’ve ever driven. Start with the fact you can carry up to a 1600lb payload. What’s that, three quarters of a ton? In a tall minivan? Well, no, this is in no way a minivan. This is a work truck built to make money and make small business owners lives easier and less complicated.
Start with the Ford Work Solutions System. This very useful tool is borrowed from the full size truck line and it gives the driver of the vehicle help in remembering tools or any merchandise marked with a SKU sticker that may have been left on the jobsite. Each time the Transit Connect is started it automatically reviews all of the tools on board. This may be a carpenters square or a photographers extra lens. There is literally no end to this cool feature. Just ask any contractor what they spend replacing lost tools in a year and you will quickly grasp the value of the Transit Connects brain power.
Ford Work Solutions don’t end there. You are provided with a keyboard to access the on board computer that has a Microsoft Word program among many other apps. All of which are extremely useful in the trade industries.

Then, there is the scale, performance, and mileage of the Transit Connect. For starters, it’s small, easy to park and nimble. It drives like a small pick-up. Well, actually it drives better than that. It also sips fuel for a vehicle with this kind of load capability. Try 19 mpg city, 24 hwy. All this while enclosing 143 cubic feet of payload. Think about it, at 6’8’’ tall the Transit Connect can consume a piece of cargo 6.5 feet long and 4.7 feet wide. This could be anything.

Ok, so, it’s a little funny looking. Kind of looks like a rhino without the horn. Actually, it has a horn just not mounted on the hood. I’ve enjoyed tooling around in this van and it turns as many heads as the Mustang GT500 I had a couple of weeks ago. Sure, they are different heads but the interest is the same.

One lady at my son’s taekwondo class is a fleet manager for Lennox. She spent twenty minutes looking over the Samson of minivans. If you own a small business that requires you to haul various items and keep them organized and consolidated the Transit Connect is your huckleberry.

She broke my heart. She left me. I’ll probably never meet another like her. Yeah, she wore too much lipstick and sure she was a little flashy and quick as a coiled rattlesnake. But, man, could she turn heads. Everywhere we went together people would stop and look, smile and give the thumbs up sign. All the guys and many of the girls would give anything to be seen with her. But, she left me. So, screw her. No, I don’t mean that. I loved her, but, now she’s gone. Wonder if they’ll ever be another as fair.

The all new 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500 is gone. It has taken me a week to calm down enough to be able to be objective about this car. It quite frankly humbles people. Either those who drive it, or those who drive against it. It feels like Ford changed almost everything from the last edition of the GT500. The new car is more refined. there’s no clue of the 540hp that is waiting to be unleashed. That’s thanks in part to the new clutch assembly. In the previous model the clutch was a crippler. Having had a few back surgeries I found it very difficult to use. Not so with the new car. The clutch is almost effortless and the new short-throw shifter makes it a breeze to run through the gears. And best of all, the shifter is topped off with a que- ball made by some folks who make real que-balls.

I will say that it was the most peculiar assimilation of color I’ve ever seen. The test car was a red convertible with white stripes. Not bad, right? Well, the top was BLACK. Further complicating things were the smoke gray wheels. Not a great look. The coupe comes with better looking wheels. Maybe red with black stripes would have been better. For my money, the best looking convertibles are black…triple black. That would have been a great choice of color for this car. Sinister black.

If there is one thing that stands out about the car to me, it is the wide spectrum of interested parties. Everyone takes notice. In the parking lot or on the highway, the red convertible GT500 made people ask about it. Even some guy in the parking lot of Academy Sports, who was driving a BMW 335i, had to pay his respects. Moms and Grandma’s with cameras. This car got more looks than the all-new Camaro I was in a couple of weeks ago.

I’m seriously glad Ford decided to re-do the clutch. Same hydraulic clutch as before, they just made a smaller diameter slave cylinder which, oddly enough, makes the clutch easier to push. The fact that a car with this kind of power can be manipulated this easily is a sin. Hell, the clutch in the new GT500 is softer than the Dallas Cowboys in December.

As for what the clutch controls, the fire-breathing, manhood-wilting 540hp 5.4 liter four-cam killing machine. Well, it’s nice! It humbled a local power nut whose daily driver is a 630hp (est.) Ford Lighting with like a trillion pounds of boost going through a supercharger. Isn’t Ford great? Sitting on top of the GT500’s 5.4 liter motor is a super charger blowing an easy six pounds of boost. Imagine a little tuning there. There are stories on the internet…unbelievable, what this car is capable of.

But, if you just want to cruise around and know that you could embarrass many who are uninformed, then, do that. Go buy the new Shelby GT500 and just putt around town or lobe down the interstate. The interior of the convertible is church prayer quiet compared to other convertibles I’ve driven. That allows you to enjoy the fact that the seats are perfectly bolstered and extremely comfortable. Not to mention the sound system. That’s easy to enjoy.

Yeah she broke my heart when she left but….goodtimes
Although the Shelby GT500 isn’t eligible for the C.A.R.S. program I’m sure there are many Ford dealers happy to sell you one. Go see for yourself. And make her yours to keep.

Click here to listen to the 2010 Ford Raptor review.

Every now and then, even for a forty three year-old, something different comes along. Something you can’t quantify with reasonable logic. Much like a boneless Pilgrim’s Pride chicken, the all-new Ford Raptor boggles the mind. It is the most efficient off-road factory racer ever built. It may redefine what we think of the ½ ton pick-up forever.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not some off-road savant who can recite the highly complicated mathematical equations that off-roading requires to succeed. I’m just a guy who loves driving trucks through pastures. The faster I can go the more I like it. Sounds very country I know. But growing up in East Texas I got to drive fast on dirt roads for most of my adolescent life. I think the vehicle of choice was my grandfather’s 1970 something Chevy Luv. That’s right, I said it, a Chevrolet Luv completely decked out with a bench seat, four on the floor and throwing, I don’t know maybe forty horsepower to the rear wheels. I carved the Ark-La-Tex up in that truck. The rice fields were particularly enjoyable.
Imagine if my grandfather’s truck would have been a Ford Raptor. I coulda been a contenda.

Of all of the vehicles I’ve reviewed over the years none has been more unique than the Raptor. It’s a truck that drives like a car and runs like a Baja racer. The raptor has been selling like crazy in the desert west where there is ample territory to showcase the amazing ability of the truck. A very stock, slightly modified version of the Raptor was entered in the 2008 Baja 1000 and placed third in its class in its very first race. Think about that, something that you can purchase at the Ford house and drive on the street can race at speeds over a hundred miles an hour across the desert. Have you driven a Ford lately? Seriously?

Okay, here are the specs. The Raptor’s base price is $38,995. It is based on a Ford F-150 Super Cab with a 5.5-foot bed. Under the hood (for now) is a 5.4 liter V8 that delivers 320HP and 390 lb-ft of torque. The six-speed automatic transmission assures the motor will always be in the proper power curve. The differentials are conventional F-150. But the Raptor has an electronic locking rear differential and carries 4.10:1 gearing, enough to move the massive 315/70R17 (35 inch) BF Goodrich All-Terrain tires and to get the truck out of the hole quickly. In the future the Raptor will be even faster with the all-new 6.2 liter motor expected to bring a hundred extra horses on board.

Like any good off-road truck the Raptor is all about the suspension. Ford’s SVT team, the ones that brought us the 03 SVT Cobra and the never forgettable Ford Lightning, made sure the Raptor could handle anything standing in its way. Most notable to the naked eye is the wider stance of the Raptor. Ford widened the F-150 stance by 7-inches. There are special upper and lower control arms. The lower control arms are actual mini skid plates designed to deflect any rocks or debris from corrupting your control. There is over 11-inches of travel up front and well over thirteen- inches in the rear. At each corner there are Fox Racing shocks and micro-cellular urethane bump stops to smooth out the most punishing terrain. And maybe the most impressive of all, maximum electronics allow the Raptor’s suspension to be tuned on the fly. In full off-road mode there is no ABS or traction control. I love things with no control.

I wasn’t sent to an exotic location to test drive the Raptor. Well, it’s not like I write for Motor Trend or the Roger Gray blog. I’m just a grunt…who tested this truck in the brutal, urban wasteland known as Dallas Texas. More potholes and ridiculous dips than a Yes concert . It was a great place to test the truck on “paved Pastures”. As you would expect I can only relay small parts of the story but suffice to say the Raptor performed… well, very well.

I think I could rule the rice fields for decades. Hats off to Ford. I have a friend who is a died in the wool Mopar guy. When he was riding in the 2010 Raptor he said “You know I’m not a Ford guy but, if I was I think now is the best time in history to be one”. Well said.

Visit Ford’s website to see more on the most original truck built in years. The Ford Raptor.

2010 Buick Lacrosse

Click here to listen to the 2010 Buick Lacrosse review.

This has to be the most difficult review I’ve done yet. This week I took delivery of a 2010 Buick Lacrosse. Okay, I know what you’re thinking… Lonnie’s going to bash the Buick on the basis of retirement , last time buyers program, etc. Well, no, I won’t take the low road. I’ll just tell you everyone loves this car, except me.

Upon arrival it’s hard not to notice the similarities between the Lexus 350 and the Buick Lacrosse. The exterior lines are remarkable. Smooth and soft curves cover the body of the Buick in a Kardashian fashion. The front grill sits like a jewel on the front fascia. The headlights remind you that this new Buick is sly, maybe even a little sinister. Kind of looks like Jack Nicholson after a night out in Hollywood. And until now, only customers Jack’s age were interested in this car. That’s not the case with the all new Buick Lacrosse. Even Jack’s grandkids probably like it.

Overall, what’s not to like? Power plants ranging from a pedestrian 2.4 liter I-4 putting out 182HP to the somewhat nasty little 3.6 Direct-Injected V-6 putting down 280HP. Also, offered this year, an all wheel drive Lacrosse can now gallop its way into your stable. But, it’s not the power that will grab potential buyers, it’s the elegance.

The Lacrosse is elegant inside and out. The interior is quiet, comfortable, and plush. Base models even include full power driver’s seat, full power accessories and a seven-seven speaker CD/MP3 audio system. I’m guessing a few years ago the typical Buick buyer had no idea what an MP3 player was. Man, how times have changed. In the higher level trims blue tooth (no denture jokes here please), heated power seats, rear parking sensors, heated steering wheel, and an eleven speaker Harman Kardon surround-sound audio system with a USB port greet you as you enter the Lacrosse.

I suppose the most impressive aspect of the Lacrosse is the ability to retain the unprecedented Buick ride without compromising the very agile handling. The new Lacrosse is far and away the most nimble Buick I’ve ever driven. Buick achieves this goal with adjustable shocks that devour the road while keeping you clueless to the work they are doing on your behalf.

So, who are you going to listen to? The hordes of people who loved the all-new Lacrosse or, someone like me who just can’t get by the silly wood trim accents and awkward instrument cluster? Exactly. You’ll listen to the masses.
If you have ever thought about a Buick but were scared off by the fact Tiger Woods is the sponsor, do not be afraid. While the underside of the Buick is as wild as a Tiger visit to Vegas, the cabin is as quiet as Tiger on the fourteenth whole six shots down in the tournament.