New for 2011 is an engine upgrade, the SVT Raptor receives a 6.2 liter V8 rather the old 5.4 liter, stepping up the horsepower to 411hp and 434 pound feet of torque. Before the 6.2 liter was an option, but now Ford has decided to make it the standard engine to beef up the ego of the Raptor.

The change is 91 more horsepower, which allows the Raptor to tow up to 8,000 pounds. Making it much more suited as a support and chase truck, as well as a race truck. The Ford iron block and aluminum head V8 engine is a tuned up version from the Super Duty pickups.

Pricing hasn't been released by Ford yet, but the 2010 Raptor had a price of $41,995, so I guess we can expect a similar cost. Ford dealers will start taking orders of the new engine equipped raptor on Friday, so expect the truck to be in the dealership later this year.

Last Monday Dodge confirmed that they will still be using the Durango name for their SUV, making all the rumors that the SUV will take the Magnum nameplate. Instead the 2011 Durango shares its platform with the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Durango will now offer a third row a seats, while the Jeep stays with the cargo are in back for you hikers and off-roaders. There's a change there might be a SRT-8 version of the Durango, but just like the Magnum nameplate this is just a rumor. For some visuals checkout the redesigned Dodge Durango pictures down below.

2011 Ford Explorer is starting to be covered all over the news. So far I think it's a big hit with American car consumers everywhere. The car's unique boldness is it's main tribute, along with it's cool features such as the large chrome wheels and chrome grille. And since they have come out with a new EcoBoost 4 cylinder that exceeds the horsepower of that old 4.0 L V6 along with an estimated 30% increase in fuel efficiency, Ford Explorer fans are in an uproar. They are very excited about the new 2011 Ford Explorer.

Toyota has just come out with some sweet performance packages for the Tacoma to compete with the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. The packages are called Tacoma T|X and T|X Pro. Both Tacoma truck packages are equipped with the TRD off-road packages. In addition there are electronic locking rear differential, Bilstein shocks and BFGoodrich Rugged Trail rubber, and 16-inch blacked-out beadlock wheels. To me it still doesn't look better than the SVT Raptor, but we all know looks can be deceiving as the Tacoma may out shine the Raptor off-roading. The modification that really stands out for me is the black wheels, I think they do look pretty cool on the Toyota Tacoma. It's great to see the Toyota competing with Ford both on and off the road.

Jeep and Mopar have teamed up to create a cool line of rugged trailers for the Jeep SUVs. So far there are two available trailers, a "Jeep Trail Edition" and a "Extreme Trail Edition." The Jeep Trail Edition will match the conventional Jeep colors and feature 32 inch tires for offroading. The trailer will pop open into a camper that sleeps up to four adults. While the Extreme Trail Edition will be even more hard core for you extreme outdoorsmen, this includes even bigger tires and full underbody skid plates. The Extreme package costs $11,995 and the Jeep Trail Edition package costs $9,995. The trailers sure are cool looking, but for that price I'm sure you could find a really cool used Winnebago.

Next week will be the big unveiling of the Ford Explorer. 20,000 Facebook friends of the new design will be ready, the unveiling will be Monday. This will be the first time Ford will ever reveal a redesigned vehicle online rather than the auto show.

The plan is for the 2011 Explorer to go on sale this winter, it's a new crossover engineered on a car-based platform rather than a truck. There will be two different engines to choose from: a 3.5 liter V6 or a two liter ecoboost four cylinder engine. The four cylinder will get 30 percent fuel efficiency increase. Other changes include a lighter aluminum hood and radiator, 65 percent lighter difference. I think the Ford Explorer will be a good change for the new year.