all right time now for this hour's car review . Don armstrong had a chance to drive the 2024 F-150 . Yeah , this is the V1 . This is a truck that is a desert racer in street guys the Raptor R 4x4 Super Crew . Now it's classified as a regular pickup truck , not full size , but it's got a wider body and it's got Raptor styling front and rear .
You can tell this is a lot different than a standard F-150 . Seats 5 was revised in 2023 . Exterior features Raptor-specific wide body panels . Grill , skid plate up front Wheel well extensions add to the great looking style that the vehicle exudes . Dual exhaust under bed spare tire . You don't see too many of those anymore Graphics .
You can either have them put on there or not . What I liked about it the stance , those great , big , huge tires on the smaller wheels . Love that look . Uh , that's not outside of the wheel wells , uh , even like the raised hood treatment on this . I usually don't like these sort of things . It's huge . It's like driving a house .
I mean , it takes up the entire . Takes up the entire lane on the freeway . Use all of it . It uses every inch . Interior highlights Raptor-specific seats with Raptor badging embroidered on there , great dash layout and two screens both for the driver and for the infotainment system .
Huge center console that converts to a desktop , which is really a cool thing , and you have to go to a Ford dealer and see how that works . It's kind of hard to describe , but imagine that you got your center console and the lid on it as the armrest .
Then take it from the back , fold it open and it folds into this great big writing pad if you want to call it that Desk Pretty much . Huge center console Again converts to the desktop . Lots of cubbies and storage areas throughout the cabin . What I liked about it easy to use infotainment system , very intuitive . I think you'll like it .
Blue Cruise self-driving was pointed out to me by the guy that delivered the truck for me to test drive and I'll tell you it is really cool , the changes that they've made to the Blue Cruise and the Ford lineup . Man , that thing works great and I'm not really into all of that sort of stuff . I like driving .
Right Hands on yeah .
But you know , at 4 o'clock in the morning , driving to work , you hit the Blue Cruise on it . Man , the tollway is yours and it maintains the lane without rocking between the stripes . It's good . So here's the motivation behind the truck A 5.2 liter supercharged V8 .
Basically , what this is is the Ford Mustang GT500 engine that they've transplanted into it 720 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque . Gone is the V6 Raptor , glad to say . It just doesn't hold up to the image of the Raptor . Transmission 10-speed , automatic Tow rating 8,700 pounds , haul rating 1,400 .
10 miles per gallon in the city and 15 on the highway , for a combined of 12 . Well , there you have it , ladies and gentlemen . Open up that wallet at the gas pump . I got 12.4 miles per gallon over 317.9 miles . What I liked about it ? Herculean power , oh man . Or could use improvement , duh mileage . But you know what ?
It is so much fun to drive with all that power . Right there at your right foot you go . Do I mash it just a little bit harder ? I made the mistake . I don't it a kind of a mistake , I think , in the faux pas in the , in the bowels of my mind , it wasn't a mistake , but it's another story for another day .
I let it downshift into second gear and broke the back tires loose . Golly , we'll have to edit that Ride and handling . Beadlock , capable wheels , 37-inch tires , rear springs , long travel , special shocks , smooths out all the sinkholes on the freeway . But I didn't take it off-road and I didn't do any jumps with it or anything crazy .
But I can only imagine that's what it's built for . It does that sort of thing . Supercrew four-door wheelbase limits its rock climbing and crawling capability . You'll center stack it . You know what I'm saying ? Right high , ride it , right in the middle . You don't want to do that . But it does have a very long wheelbase base . Trim price 77 980 .
Price is tested sitting still 113 640 that's the same mileage you got .
You got that in the same mileage . Yeah , pretty much yeah 113,640 .
Base model price nobody cares . Competitors to this vehicle well , there aren't really any . Ram 1500 TRX that they don't make anymore had 702 horsepower . They've got this new six-cylinder that they're bragging about GMC Sierra AT4X . 6.2 liter , v8 , 420 horsepower $81,000 . Now , this kind of sits out there by itself and I got lots of thumbs up .
So if you like thumbs up and the car you're driving , get that . Well , I rode with you in it for a short period of time . It is a nice truck . It's a b . Yeah , it's a very nice truck and it's also a beast . Hey , if you'd like to get in touch with us , shoot us an email , the address info at inwheeltimecom .
Time now to open up your coin purse the top 10 states where the highest gasoline taxes reside you bet you .
So the top 10 in this country . Number 10 is Oregon . Tax rate in Oregon is 40 cents per gallon , holy cow . Oregon is one of the most expensive states when it comes to the cost of gas due to its high gas tax . But you may want to review your tax bill if you live in the state , because a gallon of gas is taxed .
But Oregon is only one of five states that does not have a sales tax , so that's part of it as well , so you could help save yourself some money . Number nine in this outfit is North Carolina , which is 40.65 cents per gallon . If you want to fill up before you go to North Carolina to save yourself some money , that's a good idea .
States like Tennessee and South Carolina have lower taxes than North Carolina , while Virginia is at 39.1 cents per gallon , which makes it just barely out of the top 10 . So number eight is New Jersey $42.35 per gallon .
New Jersey is a unique law with making a gallon of gas more expensive than other states , and here's why , in addition to the high tax rate , the Garden State is also the only state in the US where you can't pump your own gas . They're all complete full-service stations , so you just can't whip up in there , throw $5 in and leave .
You've got to wait in line and get everybody to come on out and do all that . Number seven is Maryland 47.19 cents per gallon . Maryland's gas tax fluctuates based on the inflation rate due to laws passed by the state legislature , go figure .
So while the current tax rate may be high , it actually went down slightly in July compared to the sales tax rate of the previous year . Number six Michigan homegrown state 48 cents per gallon . Despite Michigan's gas tax rate , the state's cost for a gallon of gas is actually close to being in line with the national average .
The national average for a gallon of gas is around 320 , while a gallon of gas in Michigan is around 325 . That's according to AAA . Now a lot of gas is around $3.20 , while a gallon of gas in Michigan is around $3.25 . That's according to AAA . Now , a lot of these things . This story actually comes to us from Jenny Cohen , part of that organization , jenny .
Indiana is number five Tax rate . There is 51.7 cents per gallon . Indiana may be known for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , where cars drive fast , but you might be slowing down when you factor in the taxes on a gallon of gas in that state .
But the good news is the cost of gas in Indiana is less than the national average , with drivers paying around $3 per gallon in the Hoosier state . Washington is number four on this list and it's 52.82 cents per gallon . Washington's tax rate is one of the reasons why it's so expensive to fill up your tank if you live in the Pacific Northwest .
So you've got Oregon number 10 , washington's 4 . A gallon of gas average price is around $4 . It makes only one of two states above it . When an average gallon of gas is that high , this makes Washington the second most expensive state for a gallon of gas , according again to AAA . Number three is Pennsylvania .
There's a lot about Pennsylvania the past few weeks 58.7 cents per gallon . Pennsylvania is a big state so it could be difficult to fill up your tank before crossing over almost you know , 60 cents in gases or taxes for the gas . So it's going to be a long drive . Accordingly , you may also have to be a long drive .
Accordingly , you may also have to pay additional money in the state's Pennsylvania Turnpike , which also includes parts of several major interstate roads . So you're getting double whack there . Illinois is number two 66.5 cents per gallon . Stock up your wallet with a lot of money because Illinois can be expensive in the state taxes on your gas .
It also goes to the road taxes as well . The state has the second highest tax for gas in the country and you may want to be cautious if you take a road trip that goes through Illinois . It also has one of the highest state sales tax in the country , so you're getting double whammied there .
Number one drum roll , don is California 68.1 cents per gallon in tax . California's tax rate contributes to the highest gas cost in the state , making it the most expensive state to a gallon of gas . The average price for a gallon of gas in California is $4.60 , which is one of two states in the US . Washington is the other one which you have the highest .
And this is all according to the AAA folks . Gee whiz , okay . Thank you , michael .
All right Time now for this hour's car review . Mr Mars 2525 . Oh what 25 . In the year 2525 .
That's what I was thinking . I got you , yeah , yeah , 2025 , 2025 .
That's what I was thinking I got you Buick Encore oh man . Another place and another time . I need everybody to go grab some refreshments , because this is going to be good . This is going to be good .
Yes , the 2025 Buick Encore .
You've got two minutes to do it . Oh boy .
Sport Touring all-wheel drive . It comes in three packages . You can get the Preferred or the Avenir , which we had , the sport touring . Now this is a subcompact SUV . Buick calls it a small . First introduced in 2020 , had a big update in 2024 . So here we are , tweaking things a little bit . Has five passengers Outside .
We've got some nice black trim pieces and LED external lighting , which is the headlights , taillights , the intelligent high beam headlights , daytime running lights , roof racks with side rails , the adjustable height lift gate and panoramic moonroof . Have you noticed that you get a panoramic moonroof ? But the smaller the car is , the less size you get .
So we also had the optional black 19-inch aluminum wheels . Now , one thing I wanted to note on this thing is it's pointed out on the monroney that for the tire pressure system , there's no tire monitoring on the spare tire . The other buick I have Doesn't point that out For some reason . That's different . That's what you got a tar gauge for Our best .
So with these small cars Inside we had the synthetic leather seating , 60-40 fold-flat rear seat Not a third row , thank goodness . Diagonal 11-inch touchscreen , which worked really good . You're going to find all your convenience controls there .
Apple Android Does not have the heated and ventilated front seats on it and you're going to find out here in a little bit how that helps out . 8-inch driver screen where you're going to find all your driver information , that you're going to need USB outlets front and rear . And it had the Buick quiet tuning with active noise cancellation and that really works .
I'm going to tell you , because the one I'm driving now is a lot noisier . Now this is . It had the 1.3 turbo three-cylinder engine in it . It comes standard with a 1.2 , but this had the 1.3 . 155 horsepower , 174 pound-feet of torque , nine-speed automatic .
This thing will tow 1,000 pounds , not a whole lot , but that's enough to get your jet ski , maybe a little small camper , a little trailer , to go to Lowe's or Home Depot . That's enough to get your jet ski , maybe a little small camper , a little trailer , to go to Lowe's or Home Depot .
Epa says you should look for 26 in the city Highway should be 28 and combine 27 miles to the gallon . Now I drove 233 miles and I got 24.8 across that time . I was well pleased with what I got out of that , with the way I was driving it , because he had it nailed the entire time .
It's beautiful ?
Yes , it's beautiful . Yes , it's got some easy steering . I mean , all the stuff has gone to electronic and I understand that . But it's easy the way they've got it set up . So city driving was really easy . You could kind of whip it around a little bit . What did Becky think ? She didn't mind the way I was driving it . I didn't ask you that question .
No , she liked it . You know it's not quite as big enough for her . She wants something a little bit bigger . She thinks she needs something a little bit bigger , but it works great because it zips around town . You get out on the highway It'll run highway speeds real easy .
The only problem I had with it out on the highway at highway speeds if you decided you needed to make a high-speed maneuver like pass somebody , that nine-speed automatic you could tell . That's the only time I really noticed it had a 9-speed . Yeah , it took a little bit more for it to find where it was going Around town . That was not a problem .
Now here's the thing I really liked about this thing Base model price on the Buick car Encore . Yeah , encore , I was looking for the GX and it's really not the gx I'm talking about . The base . Encore is really what I'm talking about . Twenty six thousand dollars okay , that'll put you in this car . Now the base trim price , which is the gx model .
Then you're looking at 28.8 and the gx sport touring , all-wheel drive push it up at to 33 380 as tested . If you're looking for something else , it's kind of in that category you look look across at the Mazda CX-30 starts at $24,995 . The Trailblazer at $23,000 and the Crosstek from Subaru at $27,000 . So it's something you definitely need to look at .
If you're looking at that small SUV-CUV package , I want to tell everybody