2006 Ford F-150 Lariat Package $9,990

A class leader when it comes to ride and handling, the 2006 Ford F-150 is dragged down by its excessive weight and lack of key safety features. Vehicle overview Over the last several decades, Ford's F-Series truck has gone from farm implement to fashionably hip, bringing home numerous sales records and big profits in the process. With total sales each year approaching one million units, it's hardly a stretch to call Ford's big pickup the single most important model it makes, and when it comes time for a redesign, there's little room for error. To keep competitors at bay, Ford gathered its best engineers, cranked up the focus groups and set out to design the most advanced F-Series ever built. The result was the 2004 Ford F-150, a thoroughly modern pickup with a cleaner-burning and more powerful V8, increased passenger and cargo room and broad-shouldered bodywork that looked the part of an all-American pickup truck. New features were added throughout the vehicle, many of which were firsts in the segment. All body styles had four doors; extended cabs (SuperCabs in Ford truck terminology) could be had with a shorter bed for easier fits in tight garages and crew cabs (SuperCrews) provided more passenger room than ever before. This recipe proved quite successful, and the Ford F-150 carries on this year with minimal changes.