Lock those gates.

This may or may not be news to some of you, but there is an alarming rise in pickup truck tailgate thefts in recent months. The Detroit News ran an article a few days ago that shows just how alarming it is. Tailgates can be removed easily in a matter of seconds from a pick up truck and as easily as a minute for locking gates. No one is really sure why there is such a spike in thefts. Though prices can range from $1,000 to over $3,000 for one tailgate. While the average hovers right around $1,200. So maybe thieves are seeing easy dollar signs when they see your pickup in a parking lot or in your driveway at night.

In the state of Michigan and probably the pick up truck capital of the world, tailgate theft is considered a felony that can land a thief a $10,000 fine and up to 5 years in prison, but this hasn't slowed the rate of thefts at all. Thefts are so bad and so rampant now, that new and used dealers have taken to removing the tailgates from vehicles in their inventory and storing them indoors until the vehicle sells. Some owners have now taken to backing their trucks up against walls to reduce the amount of room thieves would have to operate in.

The full article can be found here.

Source: The Detroit News

Spy Shots: 2009 Ford F150

Here's some new spy shots of the 2009 Ford F150. Nothing yet from Ford on what the specs will be but this is going to be what the truck will look like due to its last of masking. KGP photography recently spotted this F150 out in the desert. More than likely the truck was out there from some brochure photography.

The styling is very crisp with it's new bolder grille, following the same lines of the F250s. New doors, mirrors, head and tail lights. Looks very very good. Surely the new truck will make its official debut at the Detroit Show in January. So

we should have more information then.

Source: KGP Photography, autoblog.com