'Super trucks' offer high performance, unique looks

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Many people buy pickup trucks every year. But some want trucks that will tackle the tough stuff and will look the part when on the road. Enter: super trucks.

If you're the shy reserved type, you probably don't want the very off-road capable Ford Raptor, or the very off-road capable Ram Power Wagon.

They're both factory-built super trucks.

"These are high performance. These are the sports cars of trucks," said Allyson Harwood of Kelley Blue Book.

The Raptor has been a sensation the past few years, and Ford hasn't always been able to build enough of them to satisfy demand. Lots of serious off-road parts make the Raptor a true performance truck. Created by Ford's special vehicle team, the Raptor wears the SVT badge just like some of Ford's performance cars have.

Chrysler's gotten more serious this year about the Power Wagon, with lots of upgrades. The name goes back decades. Power Wagons were known as serious four-wheelers for hard-core use on farms and battle fields. Today's model, like the Raptor, is essentially a customized truck from the factory.

"They look unique from anything else on the road. And it used to be that you could only get trucks that look like that from going to the aftermarket, having those part put on after the fact," said Harwood.

The two trucks -- while both purpose-built four-by-fours -- actually have different purposes. The Power Wagon is a crawler. Electronic controls not only lock the front and rear differentials, but also disconnect the front sway bar.

The Raptor works best as a desert runner, traversing rough terrain at Baja 1000-type speeds. Though let's be honest, most of these trucks you see around Southern California will stay primarily pavement-bound.

As a percentage of full-size truck sales, the so-called super trucks represent a pretty small number. Still, they offer great value to their respective makers' entire truck lines.

Which begs the question: If Ford is having such success with the formula, and Ram likely will too, why isn't GM doing something? Being cautious about the cost could be one reason.

"I'm sure there's a lot of cost that's put into putting these trucks together, but I think Ford and Ram have shown that cost pays off," said Harwood.

Not work trucks, not even leisure trucks. These mighty super trucks are purpose built for serious off-road fun. Even if you don't use them that way.