Have you configured your dream 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor on the Ford website yet? Of course you have.
You haven’t been alone. Within the first 10 days of the Raptor build and price configurator site being open, it received more than 90,000 hits. Those led to 30,000 completed builds. According to Ford, “Of those, 91 percent are SuperCrew. The luxury group, with features like 360-degree camera and Blind Spot Information System (BLIS®), has a 90 percent take rate while Raptor with technology package, including lane-keeping system and adaptive cruise control with collision mitigation, has a 77 percent take rate.” Prices for the Raptor may start at $49,520, but it doesn’t look as if customer trucks will end up with window stickers anywhere near that amount.
The most popular color of those completed Raptor configurations? Perhaps Lightning Blue? Maybe Ruby Red? Nope. Shadow Black is tops.
How have you configured your dream Raptor? For those of you who are expecting a physical truck from your Ford dealer, what color will it be showing up in?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
