Ford B.A. = 1.000

All one needs to do is look at Ford's upcoming lineup for the 2010 model year and the cutting of Detroit's headstone pauses. If school ending wasn't a good enough reason to be excited about this summer then the release of the first encarneation of Ford's F-150 SVT Raptor should get you revved up a little. The new Fusion, Taurus, Transit Van, Focus and Fiesta are all either coming or coming back. They are all looking Euro and great. Not to mention the ever-awesome F-150.

SVT Raptor:

It's a freakin' Baja 1,000 truck for the street. Oops, for the desert. Special body panels, special grill, bigger tires, new suspension and a newly tuned four wheel drive system add up to a really exciting truck. When recently discussing tow vehicles with my friend I mentioned that I wanted an FX 45, by Infiniti. To which he replied, "Why don't you just get an SVT Raptor." This truck had escaped my consciousness momentarily. I remembered it but hadn't heard much about it. It's release this summer has snuck up on me. The first generation of the Raptor will have the standard 5.4L for engine and later in the winter Ford will release the 6.2L version. Very Cool, huh?

Focus RS:

Whoot! Look out SRT-4s, SE-Rs and Civics here comes the Focus RS. No one knows the exact arrival date, but one thing is sure, this BEAST is coming to the United States. 300hp from a turbocharged Volvo engine that runs boost in the single digits. Now, by the time my friends and I get one we'll have turned the volume up to 11 and drop 6 second 0-60 mph times to 4 second jumps.

Taurus SHO:

Does anyone remember Ford's little sleeper from the late 80s and early 90s? Not the V8 version; the V6 version. Anyway, Ford is bringing it back. In Ford's European model, the Mondeo, skin is the way that Ford is introducing this favorite back to America. The horsepower from the deep breathing Duratec V6 will blow 250+.

I've mentioned these cars before, but with all this bailout mess of Detroit it seems appropriate to remind ourselves that although most of Detroit has been castrated, Ford has not. Ford is bringing the heat in a big way and will, more than likely, come out on top with the projected reasonable prices of these models. Thank God for guys that don't want bailouts, listen to buyers and don't lean on the Mustang to save them.