Athletic governing bodies are coming down hard on steroids and HGH, which has probably led to a glut on the market. Performance West Group appears to have bought up the entire surplus and injected it into a Ford F-350 dually in order to create the Striker. Part pickup and part Ford Mustang GT500KR, the Striker will be intimidating other vehicles at this year's SEMA show in Las Vegas. The greatest tuning minds of our generation are assisting PWG with the project. Gale Banks is tuning the PowerStroke V8 engine above its 350 hp and 650 lb-ft. Hulst Customs is fabricating the bodywork. American Lightweight will be providing the aluminum 24" wheels. Katzkin Leather and Sony are doing duty inside to make sure you enjoy what will surely be a monster system in beauteous comfort. PWG will then drape the entire thing in Striker Silver and Badass Blue and then probably let it loose to kill things. The rationalist in us wants to ask "What the...?" The auto junkie in us wants to stick it in the driveway and let it reek of testosterone. And then transform into a Decepticon. Which means we can't wait for SEMA.
Power from the twin-turbo 6.4L Powerstroke diesel is incredible, with 350 hp and 650 pound-feet of torque, but at 231 inches from stem to stern, you need the grunt just to get going. The abundant torque helps you tow 18,000 pounds (!), and the integrated trailer brake controller helps you pull a load without an aftermarket setup.
The F-350 is a real work truck, and when you add the King Ranch package, you get amazing comfort and luxury that you would expect from a Lincoln Navigator. The leather covering the seats and touch areas feels like it comes from a high-end bomber jacket, and amenities like Audiophile sound, navigation, and moonroof give owners a little coddling during the work day. Hey, if your truck makes you money and the cash is coming in, why not drop $59,000 on something that can pay you back a little.
If the Ford Escape Hybrid is "The Candidate's Choice," then the automaker's big, bad Super Duty trucks are "The Smuggler's Choice." You see, unfortunately for truck owners, drug and human traffickers are "choosing" to steal them from the public to use in their nefarious endeavors. The reasons are simple: they're big (plenty of contraband can be carried), rugged (they can handle running off-road in the border areas), powerful (handy when running from the police), and apparently easy to make off with (they can be "stolen with a screwdriver" according to the Houston PD). In 2007, 1,245 F-250 and F-350 Super Duties vanished from Houston driveways, a forty percent increase over 2006, and notable when you consider overall car thefts in the city were down. In response, Ford is enhancing vehicle security by using keys embedded with chips required to activate new 2008 trucks' electronic ignition systems. Of course, that may not help win back former owners whose trucks have already been stolen. The Chronicle article tells of one victim whose actions spoke volumes. He switched to Chevy.
