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The 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor is here, featuring new coil springs in the rear, the most suspension travel of any factory pickup, and optional 37-inch tires.
It’s powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6, though a Raptor R, likely with a supercharged V-8, is coming next year.
The 2021 F-150 Raptor will arrive in the summer and is expected to start at around $59,000.
Ford says that since 2009 it has sold more F-150 Raptors than Chevy sold Corvettes. We believe them. Think about it, how often is there a day that you don’t spot one? Raptors even stalk the concrete jungles of Southern California, a place where the official state vehicle might as well be the Toyota Prius. It took 12 years for another truckmaker to launch a rival, the stonking Ram 1500 TRX, and Ford has just answered with the third-generation Ford F-150 Raptor—and with a Raptor R coming after that.

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Ford

All the usual elements of Ford’s would-be trophy truck are in play: long-travel suspension, knobby all-terrain tires, and skid plates to protect the relatively soft underbelly from hard impacts following short flights. It’s a recipe Ford knows well, after all. And, just as with the workaday 11th-generation F-150, this Raptor is tweaking the formula just enough and even stealing a play from Ram.
Control arms still underpin the independent front suspension, but, as half-ton Rams have done since 2009, the Raptor now swaps its old-timey leaf-spring suspenders for a pair of contemporary coil springs and a few links, including a Panhard rod. Ford says the new design contributes to a better utilization of torque through improved traction. This translates to more speed through the desert. We like more speed.

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View Photos of the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor

And when the speed is so much that little hills cause the Raptor to take flight, the 2021 has a little more squish room than before. With 14.0 inches in front and 15.0 inches in the rear, the Raptor has the most suspension travel of any factory pickup. But those numbers only apply to the base 35-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2, the optional 37-inch BFGs reduce travel by an inch in front and 0.9 inch in the rear. But what is lost in travel is made up with improved approach, departure, and breakover angles and ground clearance, which grows from 12.0 inches with the 35s to 13.1 with the 37s. Three 17-inch wheels are available. The base wheel is the only one that will not accept a beadlock ring.

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Ford

Adaptive dampers from damping giant Fox Shox are beefy as well. Thicker bodies handle the larger damping forces of the internal-bypass shocks. The rear dampers have external reservoirs. The Live Valve technology adapts to driving style and terrain, varying the damping up to 500 times a second.
If you were hoping for a V-8, that’s gonna have to wait for next year’s Raptor R. For 2021, the Raptor gets what amounts to a carry-over engine. The twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6, or high-output 3.5 EcoBoost, will likely make a handful more horses than the 450-hp 2020 model. Peak torque of 510 pound-feet is unlikely to wander from the peak that starts at 3500 rpm. The possibility of a few more horses is made possible by a new equal-length exhaust system with muffler bypass valves that, when activated, sounds menacing in a way that few V-6s have ever. The HO EcoBoost mates to a 10-speed automatic transmission and an automatic four-wheel-drive transfer case that, unless things went very wrong in Ford’s trans development, will shuffle gears and driveline modes seamlessly. A limited-slip differential is again an option, while a locking rear is standard. Both axles house 4.10:1 gears.

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Ford

Ford nixed the extended-cab Raptor, so all are crew cabs. The frames are fortified with upgraded mounting points for the front suspension and all the bracketry for the new rear suspension as well as the addition of a Raptor-specific trailer hitch, which looks dished to make room for a full-size 37-inch spare. Ford likes to point out that its customers expect to be able to use Raptors as trucks, so no bed-mounted spares.
Just as with the new F-150, the Raptor carries all the electronic doodads and organic Wi-Fi that keep peoples’ phones and brains connected to the Matrix. So that means wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay capability as well as over-the-air updates for the Sync 4 infotainment system. Ford’s Pro Power onboard generator system offers 2.0 kW of AC power should your Raptor’s rear suspension travel be tested by a tailgate party. Both payload and towing capacities grow 200 pounds, to 1400 pounds and 8200 pounds respectively. We expect the Raptor’s curb weight to climb by a similar amount, to about 6200 pounds. We expect a small price increase, too, but the truck should start around $59,000.

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Ford

Ford’s suite of advanced safety features is standard, as are many drive modes. Lots of drive modes. They are Slippery, Tow/Haul, Sport, Normal, Off-Road, Baja, and Rock Crawl, which adjust throttle, transfer case, damping, and transmission programming. One more interesting mode isn’t for going fast, but rather for going slow off-road, or rock crawling. Ford calls it one-pedal drive, and it is just as it sounds. When lifting off the throttle, the brakes are automatically engaged like aggressive regenerative brakes on an EV. While not a g0-fast feature, a Raptor that never sees dirt is a terrible waste of potential and it should give novice off-roaders the confidence to take their shiny new trucks down a trail. Or at least something to play with until that faster R launches next year.
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The latest Bowlus Road Chief rolling palace is the $265,000 Terra Firma 26-foot travel trailer.
Health-conscious buyers will appreciate built-in water and HEPA air filters.
Pets can be treated to a personalized matching bed and integrated food and water bowls.
The luxury travel-trailer manufacturer that makes the Bowlus Road Chief, has launched the Terra Firma model, its third and most lavish model yet. The Terra Firma rides on the same 26-foot platform as the brand’s Endless Highways series trailers and sports the same polished-chrome exterior styling, but adds interior amenities with people and pets in mind.

Bowlus Road Chief

An onboard water-filtration system uses s carbon filter to deliver better-tasting and safer water through the designer faucets in the kitchen and bathroom. Bowlus has also included a HEPA air filter and built-in UVC lighting elements to reduce bacteria and other impurities in the air inside the trailer. High-tech touchscreen controls for the trailer’s power management system are also standard and can be controlled remotely via a smartphone app.

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The Terra Firma features upholstery and linens rendered in light-colored natural tones, and even four-legged family members will find comfort here with a personalized pet bed. Integrated into one of the lower drawers in the dining area is a set of food and water bowls. Like other Bowlus models, the Terra Firma packs a large lithium iron phosphate battery pack, good for a week’s worth of grid-free camping.

Bowlus Road Chief

As the demand for travel trailers and motorhomes continues to surge during the extended COVID-19 pandemic, wealthy travelers may find that Bowlus’s more traditional rivals don’t quite cut it when it comes to style and luxury. Toward that end, the company provides a seemingly endless list of ways to customize one of its hand-crafted trailers to suit the individual buyer. The Terra Firma currently carries the highest price of all three of Bowlus’s trailers at $265,000; interested parties can order their bespoke trailer now through the Bowlus Road Chief website.
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Porsche has added an AI build suggestion tool to its online configurator.
A blue lightbulb icon on the screen suggests options and gives their prices. It’s based on the tool’s Recommendation Engine, which “learns” about your preferences from other choices you’ve made.
Porsche says no two users get the same set of recommendations, and it claims the tool is 90 percent accurate in giving buyers what they really want.
Porsche’s configurator has a seemingly endless amount of options, giving customers numerous possibilities when building their ideal Porsche sports car, sedan, or SUV. Now, the German automaker has added an AI assistant tool that gives suggestions on options, because who doesn’t want to make their Porsche as expensive as “humanly” possible?

Porsche

The suggestion tool is a small blue lightbulb icon that’s located at the bottom right of the screen when building a Porsche on its online configurator. When we were building a 2021 911 Turbo S, we got suggestions to add a Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur leather interior ($10,680), a Burmester sound system ($3980), and a front axle lift system ($2770). Porsche’s AI also told us the $10,680 bespoke leather interior is an 86 percent match for us. And it would be, if only our pockets were deeper than the Mariana Trench.

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Porsche says the suggestions are based off millions of data points from the configurator (it sometimes seems that there are that many options, too), and it uses algorithms to find patterns and predict user options. Porsche boasts that its recommendations are more than 90 percent accurate in suggesting something that the customer will end up choosing. Bentley launched a similar program in 2015, using facial recognition to build customers a suggested Bentayga SUV, though it’s no longer available.
The new suggestion tool is available on Porsche’s online configurators in Germany, China, Switzerland, Taiwan, the U.K., and the U.S, and Porsche says it’ll be available elsewhere in the world soon. It works on all Porsche models from the 718 Boxster and Cayman to the Cayenne SUV.
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Airstream is launching a variant of its midrange Flying Cloud travel trailer with a built-in office area.
The 30-foot trailer combines the space and luxury of the regular model with a special setup intended to give remote workers or students a dedicated place to work.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues into 2021, the RV industry is poised for continued success as Americans look to motorhomes and travel trailers as alternatives to vacations that involve flights and hotel stays.
An unexpected winner during the tumultuous, virus-choked 2020 calendar year was the American RV industry, as more families took to the road to cure the quarantine blues. As remote work and school continues to be the norm for many, the opportunity to satisfy one’s wanderlust while remaining dedicated to a career or home-schooling children is something luxury travel-trailer maker Airstream is hoping to enable with its latest product.

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Airstream

Based on the brand’s mid-range Flying Cloud trailer, the new 30FB Office floor plan offers a built-in desk in the back adjacent to the lavatory that would allow a remote worker to maintain a 40-hour work week while also traveling the country. The desk features built-in drawers for storage, USB ports for charging devices, and a pull-out table to create a larger workspace. It’s not the most roomy home office, but Airstream has put considerable thought into setting it up perfectly for video conference calls, with blackout curtains on the windows and a privacy divider to shut the area off from the rest of the trailer.

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Airstream

The new model is based on the 30-foot-long Flying Cloud—the lineup’s longest model—and features a queen-size bed in the front and a spacious dinette that also can be transformed into a bed for guests or children. The office area can also be used for guest accommodations if needed, as the integrated side seat can be transformed into a twin bed.

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Mobile internet is available through the brand’s Airstream Connected service, which uses AT&T and the 4G LTE network. Plans start from $25 per month, but remote workers will likely need more connectivity than that basic plan offers. Airstream also offers an optional roof-mounted antenna to make the best use of campground-provided Wi-Fi signals at a campsite. Workers or students who need a more robust service may find that newer 5G hotspot devices provide a better method for getting online from the road. That technology, however, isn’t as widespread as 4G and may limit destinations for working road trippers.

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Airstream

According to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), RV sales surged to over 430,000 new motorhomes and travel trailers sold in 2020—an increase of 6 percent over 2019. RVIA is projecting an even more lucrative 2021 for the industry, with sales expected to grow to over 500,000 this year thanks to growing interest from Millennial and Gen-X demographic groups.
Airstream’s decision to offer a mobile office floor plan appears to be a smart one and it’s a trend that could spread to other motorhome and travel-trailer manufacturers in 2021. The Flying Cloud 30FB Office starts at $107,500 and is available for order at Airstream dealers now.
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