It is 231.7 inches long with 78.9 inches width and 76.2 inches height. This edition has a body weight of 5628 pounds and offers a maximum towing capacity of 11,200 pounds and maximum payload of 1560 pounds.

The exteriors of this edition are tastefully done. The only exterior drawback that can be noted is the side mirrors are placed very far from the trucks body which makes parking a difficult task.

The interiors are also very spacious and offer abundance of leg room in both front and the rear seats. The Ford F150 Super crew Lariat has an extremely luxurious interior. It is designed with wooden trims which enhances the overall look of the cabin.

This long edition is powered by 5.4 liter V8 engine which generates 310 horsepower and 365 pounds feet of torque. This burly engine is teamed with six speed auto transmission which is smooth shifting in major conditions. This edition offers a fuel economy of 14 mpg city levels and 18 mpg highway limits.

The 2009 Ford F150 Lariat is equipped with power steering which makes maneuvering this bigger vehicle very easy. It offers turning circle of 47 feet.  This masculine vehicle is also equipped with fog lamps, rear tow hooks, tail gate with lift assist. It is designed to hold a 13 inch notebook computer in the centre console. The driver seat has power lumbar support and offers the option of heated and cooled seats for the operators comfort. The leather wrapped steering wheel has audio controls on one side and cruise control on the left side. Its navigation system has a large screen but we would recommend some soft ware updating to match the overall them of the truck.

Ford F150 has so much to offer to its buyers that it can woo any truck buyer. No wonder Ford F150 has been around for 60 years and is still running.

Averitt Express, based in Cookeville, Tenn was among the other fleets that were honored with this award. This award is introduced to boost transporting companies to become more environment savvy and work diligently towards improving air quality.

The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500  priced at MSRP $35,460 – $46,700 is a well designed Suburban into a pickup. It is quite versatile without losing any feature of the SUV. It offers a perfect blend of comfort and passenger capacity of an SUV with the cargo flexibility like a pick up truck.

What’s on offer?

The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 is well equipped to handle fuel economy concerns and satiates the luxury buyers with options of premium accessories.

Silhouette:

The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 offers a dual personality of a SUV and a Pick up. The front end body styling is quite bold but similar to Chevy’s GMT 900 range. The most distinguishing feature of the Avalanche is its sleeker body styling which emphasizes the smooth roof lines. The wrap around front bumper cover blends well with the body style. It features a midgate which expands the cargo area into the passenger cab. By folding down the rear seat and removing the mid gate extends the cargo floor from 5 feet 3 inches to more than 8 feet which is enormous.  The cargo bed features side mounted storage which can be locked for better security.

It is also equipped with 17 inch standard wheels which add a glowing touch to its appearance. The only drawback that we noted was that its body style acts a hindrance in the rearward visibility which makes it difficult to park in tight spots. However, adding sensors or back up camera solves the minor problem.
Inside the cabin.

The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 features comfortable and supportive seats in the front row. The fold down rear seats offers ample storage space in the centre console. To get an open air effect the rear glass can be removed separately from the main midgate. The premium trims are draped with new seat fabrics. Titanium and Cashmere interiors are now available on Z71 models.

Features:

The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 features Touring suspension and Multi link rear suspension which offers good handling. It is also equipped with power windows, XM AM/FM/Satellite, clock, seek-scan with audio controls on the wheels, remote or keyless entry, cruise controls with steering wheel control, and wireless connectivity.

The Avalanche is available in three trims viz. LS, LT, and LTZ. Chevy has added additional features on its luxury package like Bose Premium speakers, heated 10 way power seats, touch screen navigation system, auto dimming rear view mirror, Blue tooth connectivity, Nav Traffic, along with new rear styling and hitch covers.

Powertrain:

The standard engine in the 4×2 model is 5.3 liter V8 engine which generates 320 horsepower and 340 pound feet of torque with an iron block. The 4×4 model is equipped with 5.3 liter V8 engine which generate 310 horsepower and 335 pound feet of torque and is E85 capable. The premium LTZ edition is equipped with 6.0 liter V8 engine which generates 366 horsepower and 376 pound feet of torque and is made of all aluminum and is E85 capable. All engines are teamed with six speed automatic transmission and feature Active Fuel Management system which shuts off cylinders for better fuel economy.  This edition offers option of two and four wheel drive.

The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 offers fuel mileage of 14 mpg city levels and 20 mpg on highway for the 5.3 liter V8 engine and 12 mpg city and 17 mpg highway on the 6.0 liter engine.

Safety:

The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 includes plenty of advanced safety features such as standard equipments such as roof mounted side curtain airbag with rollover protection, seat mounted side airbags for front row passengers, electronic stability control with rollover mitigation technology, front seat belt pretensioners, Onstar with GM Advanced crash Response.

Conclusion:

The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 is the most versatile vehicle seen on the streets. The main advantages of this vehicle are strong V8 performance, good cargo and passenger flexibility. The main drawbacks that were noted are rear view visibility, and disappointing fuel economy on the 6.0 liter engine.

You consider any vehicle, as matter of fact any mode of transport and read its review. You’ll notice that every single review will have one very hot question, “is it efficient? or does it have good mileage? or How much fuel does it drink? Is it practical? Or what are the savings on fuel?…you can beat around the how much ever you like but, it still asks the same damn thing.

In today’s day and age, a vehicle is not judged by its looks and performance alone, the latest addition is the fuel consumption/economy/efficiency and how-many-plants-sprout-around-you as you drive along. Over the years, all pick up trucks have been  built with massive engines, obviously, they need to pull and carry loads nearly twice their weight, but these massive engines were gaping fuel drains. This was not a  problem back then, because gas was abundant and the world seemed to be doing well, financially. But today’s world is on the brink of fuel- extinction and is suffering from recession and other debts. Naturally, gas has become the next precious commodity and to add ‘fuel’ to the fire, we are out of money. That means we cannot afford the fuel guzzling monsters that will cut our pockets and empty  our bank balances directly. to  prevent consumers from running buck wild on alternative modes and services, manufacturers are building more economical trucks, like the Silverado Hybrid and the Ford 150 SFE, but are a tad pricey.

Now what Nissan is attempting is even better. Along with the same efficiency that the Silverado and SFE manage, the  Frontier will beat it in the price tag. It costs around $20000 but there is a catch, it is a four cylinder mid-size pick up truck. And to maintain the fuel economy of the truck, Nissan has equipped it with the most basic facilities, such as air-con, manual locking and manual windows and ordinary looking 15 inch wheels. I guess that the price you pay for $20k.

Moving under the hood, we have 152 horses at 5,200 rpm and 171 lbs/ft of torque at 4,400 rpm  being pumped out of a 2.5 liter four cylinder engine. This assembly is mated to a five speed manual. The mileage recorded a decent 21 mpg in the city roads and 23mpg on the highway. To sum the ride and handling in one word, bad. Not horrid, just bad. The frontier steered like a drunk , and it really lacked the power to give it an edge. To make things worse, it is supposed to be a mid size pick-up, and it has to manage a hefty load with that puny power. Inevitably, the frontier manages a payload of just 1,002 lbs and a towing capacity of 3,500 lbs. that is nearly the amount any SUV can handle.

The insides of the truck are stripped down to its bare necessities, nothing  worth noting but, I would mention that the bucket seats installed are extremely comfortable.

To sum up, the  frontier is a comfortable and cheap truck. It does not offer any thing special, the term luxury cannot be uttered in a truck like this, it does not do well in its responsibilities of being a truck, power delivery is least exciting and the mileage is not something that you’d want to write home about.

The Colorado is a small- sized pick up truck, with a front engine 5.3 liter 16 valves V8 that pumps out 300 bhp at 320 lb/ ft of torque. This setup is mated to a four speed automatic transmission. Yes, I know that I killed the ‘surprise’ at the start, but that’s what this truck is, it that uninteresting, and if you look into the Colorado searching for surprises, you may friend are wasting your time, yes you can thank me later. Right from the design to its price tag, it’s downright ugly and boring. I don’t understand why Chevy would build something so mind- numbingly boring, are they bored to push beyond ‘new and exciting bracket’? Don’t get me wrong, the Colorado still has the Chevy feel to it, it handles just fine and the ride quality is good too, because it uses the GM ZQ8’s suspension system. The ride height is quite low and feels much like a sedan. now if  you drive a truck that makes you feel like your in a sedan, dump the truck and get yourself a sedan, or take the cab, which also is a sedan or get a another truck.

The 300 horsepower however, just pours out of the V8 engine almost effortlessly.  The Colorado could do a 0- 60 mph in just less than 7 seconds. The handling is not like your typical truck, very sedan like, and in this case, that is a good thing. It has a 1250-lb payload capacity and a towing capacity of 6000-lb. the fuel –economy was horrible in the city, but expected, (yes I’m aware, surprises) it was a meager 15mpg but on the highway it mileage recorded an average, 19 mpg. And to think you have to attach a trailer or a carry loads of wood. The mileage would definitely get a brutal thrashing. The breaking system though has improved with a four channel ABS with yaw control.

Now moving on to the interiors, do you remember the how the Colorado was six years ago? Whatever your answer is , you will be still be treated to the same cabin it had back then, with the same boring grey steering wheel, the dull cabin covered with more boring-looking grey plastics , same stereo , no sat-nav, no ipod or any MP3 for that matter, interface. I suppose the Colorado does not seem to have aged at all, literally, it still is quite the nomad trying to light fire with flint stones in the 20th century. The only new last min touch-ups (that’s what I like to think) the engineers have done is add supportive leather bucket seats which also grey and an auto-dimming rearview mirror. If you were dropping round $30-35K on your truck you would expect all the above to be included or at least look more lively.

Now, let’s come to the price, the Colorado will fetch you around $30,475 which by the way is in the same price range as the Silverado. Why would anyone in their sane mind buy a truck that has nearly the same performance and ride quality of the Silverado but short on features (by a mile) and definitely on design. It’s like taking a six year old truck fitting it with a new engine and selling it at the price of a brand new wagon and expecting it sell.

What do expect when fords BAJA engineers toy around with the toughest pick up truck its ever built?  a jet fighter?…a tank?..close….its both and it’s called the Raptor. Yes, I am aware that it shares the name with a jet fighter , because it just flies on off-road terrain but, it is as tough as a tank. But  what propels this monster is a 5.4 liter V8, FFV engine blasting out a 320bhp at  390lb/ft of torque and will soon feature  a 6.0liter V8 blurting 400bhp at 400lb/ft of torque at 3500 rpm which is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. To tackle the toughest terrains, they have fitted, specially designed Fox racing shock absorbers which are three times more stiffer than the normal F150, but they still provide a comfortable ride.

The other changes include a wider track of 6.6 inches to fit the much longer and strengthened upper-and-lower control arms, tie-rods, and the half shafts which by the way is a one- of-a kind to this vehicle. Special composite fenders protrude by eight inches on all four sides and to cover this ridiculously wide track, specially designed, 35-inch B.F-Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires were required. Now, over to the electronics section, because the war–tested hard ware was not enough to make it one the best off-roaders. This includes the anti-locking braking systems and the high-speed electronic-locking differentials. There also is a Hill Descent Control (HDC) which utilizes the ABS sensors and allows a downhill crawling in forward and reverse, without touching the brake pedal. The performance of the Raptor was undoubtedly outstanding, it could do a 0- 60 mph in * seconds.

They ride quality was unbelievably good, inspire of  harder shocks. The efficiency was expectedly low, but it recorded a 14 in the city and 18 on the highway, which is decent for a truck of its stature. The Raptor can be used as an ordinary pick- up truck and can carry a load of 1000 pounds and a 6000 pound towing capacity. SVT have also added an integrated trailer brake controller and trailer sway control for the Raptor. But after all the pulling and carrying around you can expect the mileage to drop, obviously. The interiors include a steering wheel wrapped in leather with a center sightline, leather seats, and a four-pack of pre-wired and fused auxiliary switches.

Ford’s aim was to find a balance between extreme off roading and an every- day truck and I think with the Raptor they might have achieved just that. Because what it does is not just add zest to your life, it adds a whole new dimension.

Like their chief engineer Hameedi rightly stated, “the Raptor has no compromises and no competition”. Why? Because the raptor offers the complete package, and you’d’ expect the price of this desert-beast to be sky- high, which it isn’t. the raptor come s in around $38,995, just $2500 than the F150 FX4, while t he 6.0liter V8’s will retail for about $41,995, when they go on sale next year.

What drives this monster, is a 4.6Liter, 16-valve V-8 pumping out a 248bhp at 294lb/ft of torque; there also are engine variants such as a 4.6Liter SOHC 24-valve V-8 giving a 292-hp @ 320lb/ft; and a 5.4Liter  SOHC 24-valve V-8  churning out a 310 to 320-bhp @ 365-390lb-ft of torque.

The engine is mounted in front but is a rear-wheel-drive or a four-wheel-drive depending on what you choose. There is a choice in transmissions too, a four speed automatic or a six-speed automatic.

The cabin sits on a fully boxed frame to act as a more rigid fully-flat platform. The suspension concepts from the previous models are carried forward, the front suspension consists of coil-over shocks with double A-arms. The lower control arm is made of stronger stamped-steel. The rear-suspension consists of leaf-springs that are six inches longer.Depending on which wheelbase and towing option is selected, Ford has introduced two separate steering ratios to minimize the numb feel.

I think ford have tried to provide all their customers with their own unique F150, because there are millions and millions of configurations. The engine was one of them then; there are the seven different trim packages with three types of grilles, three cab configurations and three bed boxes. There might be around 60 different packages depending on how you count.

The ford also features new technologies like Eco-Boost (a V-6 with V-8 power) .The vastly improved Gen-II SYNC technology helps provide updates and directions to the cheapest gas-stations , the year schedule of your favorite football team, a seven-day weather report about the local area and plenty of music options. The pop-out tailgate step and arm-hold sidesteps for easy access into the bed are nice and handy to have plus, there is a new cargo management system that has separators to clip in which make it simple to load your stuff, along with tool and storage boxes.

Moving into the performance of the F150, Ford say, the F150 can do 0-60mph in less than 8 seconds which is bloody fast. The sound train of the F150 is pretty darn good too.

It has the largest payload capability at 3030 pounds and the highest towing capacity of 11,300 pounds, way more than any vehicle in the segment. The advanced integrated brake controller also includes an anti-sway design.

The four-wheel-drive system features a push-button rear-locking differential for more traction, and also much bigger, standard all-terrain tires with custom wheels. There are four 20 inch wheel choices. The shock absorbers worked brilliantly. All these features had tackled the rocky off-road terrain with ease.

The average fuel consumption was not bad either for the amount of lugging and carrying it does and the massive engine it has. Recently released EPA numbers list the 5.4-liter V-8 rated at 14mpg in the city and 18mpg on the highway and with its new Super Fuel Economy F-150 rated a 15 on city roads and the highway recorded 21mpg. Plus, there are the Eco-Boost V-6s should raise the mileage bar even higher. Ford wanted to achieve more mileage on the F150 and they got it.

All in all, it is a pick –up truck that has become a milestone in its category. The F150 has a price range of $22,270-$44,860.

Ford is also planning on a 2010 F150 model called the F150 Raptor, which is more for adventure sports and mad-ass off-roading, because it is based on the BAHA series. Some of the specs released by ford are: 5.4 liter V8, same FFV engine putting out 320bhp @ 390lb/ft of torque and also a 6.0liter V8 blasting out 400bhp @ 400lb-ft of torque; Fox racing shock absorbers and a cast aluminum SVT front control arm. This car will be able to drill holes in mountains and treat the Grand Canyon like child’s play. Can’t wait to see it in action.

Rewinding to the engine specifications, the Pontiac is a Front engine, Rear-Wheel-Drive, 2-door sedan-based truck having a 16-valve V-8 Engine pumping out 361bhp from 6.0 liter cylinders that produce a torque of 385lb-ft, the Transmission is a 6-speed automatic and Weighs in at 3995lbs and a wheelbase of 118.5 inches. Pontiac say that the G8 sport truck can do a 0 to 60 mph in just 5.4 seconds, just a fraction behind the G8 GT sedan. if the 74-inch cargo bed  is covered with an available tonneau cover, it may just be able to beat the sedans times.

The interiors are well-furnished and have all the basic equipment with a few add-ons. The leather seats are nice and comfortable, styled to look like bucket seats, which is a good thing.

So, the final word is, the G8 sport, is not a truck , it is a sedan with a bed for a back-side. It does have a great design and will be fun to drive. It also has ample amount of power to carry cargo or tow it. So go ahead and knock yourself out when the G8 sport hits the shelves late 2009 or may be early 2010.