Ford Raptor

The Raptor is another in the long line of specialty F-150 pickup trucks. This one, however, was designed by the Special Vehicle Team at Ford, whose last major influence was the 500 sedan. This F-150 has the designation SVT and was built especially for off-roading. A lot of vehicles are legendary for their off-roading capability, such as Land Rovers and Hummers, but pickup trucks are usually standard with a lot of after-market products added. That is what sets the Raptor apart from the crowd. This is a pickup built to look, feel, and perform off-road.

The Raptor shares the same platform and assembly line with the standard F-150 in Michigan, but the exterior is much more aggressively designed in the looks department. It has a chiseled appearance that instantly makes a driver think, "This is one mean Big Boy." It is seven inches wider than the base model and has a wider suspension and much larger tires. Size alone makes it distinctive from the standard F-150, but there is also a unique grille with big letters F-O-R-D carved right into the front center.

Most of the Raptors are being sold in a Molten Orange color with an orange and black interior. A couple of other color combinations are available, but this blazing orange is the most distinctive. The bad-boy image continues into the inside with an extra wide dashboard and center console. My test model had terrific two-tone leather seats that almost hugged you during the drive. They were comfortable and supportive. The seats featured perforated leather inserts that helped maintain the comfort level.

Ford Kuga

Ford introduces new Ecosport as its first global compact SUV in Brazil and later in Asian markets. Recently, Ford of Europe did the same designed for global market but announced it was his first Kuga compact sport utility vehicle. Both Ford Ecosport and Kuga offer passenger car-like comfort and SUV versatility that deliver superior fuel efficiency, class-leading safety and cutting edge technologies.

Ford of Europe announced that their "experts identified the varied and often conflicting tastes around the world to create an intercontinental call to the first compact SUV the company's global." This applies to both Ford models but Kuga is more comfort and technology inclined in most matured countries as opposed to Ecosport version which is a much simpler and cheaper SUV. So the EcoSport is intended for emerging and is unlikely in mature markets such as Europe, North Amercia and Asian countries where the Kuga will be sold.

The cheaper Ecosport is more welcomed in Brazil in view of the high taxes that slowdown in selling luxury SUVs. Kuga is badly hit as consumers are more likely in search of fuel efficient small SUV. However, in China Kuga is selling as good as Ecosport due to lower taxes. In fact Kuga attracted more attention than Ecosport and apparently selling more when the two compact SUVs were exposed, one beside the other, in the Hall of Beijing during the show.

To create an SUV cheaper and profitable to do in Brazil, Ford designed the EcoSport B on a platform, a compact hatchback with spare tire from the outside. This could save space with this approach but at the same time it also challenges most SUV manufacturers since most of them now no longer carry the spare tire from the outside.

As for the Kuga with more space than the Ecosport, comes with more technology. The features include Ecoboost engine which is more powerful and efficient. For Ecosport it has its minor benefit such as electric lock lid of the trunk, thrown into a hidden crevice of the right tail light. But for more advance technology designed for the Kuga, it has a system of automatic opening lid, triggered by the movement of the foot below the rear bumper. That shows the differences between development and underdevelopment.

Ford Ecosport

With the increasing affordability and purchase power of the average Indian, the number of cars being launched in the Indian market is increasing day by day. There are over a 100 new cars scheduled for launch in the year 2012. A number of new, as well as luxury brands, have found their place in India in the last couple of years. The Auto Expo 2012 was a good preview to many different cars that have been slated for launch over the months in 2012.

Among the latest sedans is the Swift Dzire launched in February in the price range of Rs.4.8- 7.09 lakh. Just like the new Swift, the new Swift Dzire has also found favor with the Indian audience. Even the Skoda Rapid, which was launched at the end of 2011 with a price range of Rs.6.75-9.19 lakh, has received good reviews.

In the hatchback segment, new cars for launch include Chevrolet Sail, the new i20, the rebranded Nissan Micra and also a diesel variant of the Wagon R. The Renault Pulse that comes in the price-range of Rs. 5.77- 6.37lakhs, and launched in January 2012 has also received favorable reviews in the market.

There are also a number of new SUVs and MUVs being launched in India in 2012 after the successful launch of Mahindra XUV 5OO (price range: Rs.10.95-13.16 lakh). A number of SUVs were also launched or previewed at the Auto Expo 2012. Among them were the Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport, Hyundai HND-7, Tata Safari Storme, the new Toyota Fortuner, the Maruti Suzuki XA, and Nissan Evalia.