After testing hundreds of cars and trucks for an entire year, the editors of Edmunds’ Inside Line has chosen their personal favorite vehicles in the year 2010. A total of 6 vehicles made it to their list including the only truck in the line up, the Ford SVT Raptor.

They selected these top six vehicles from the trucks they tested on their tracks by November 1, 2009 and besides the category Inside Classic, they simply chose their most favorite vehicles in the bunch. Every single truck was qualified to win and no price caps or any other stipulation was in effect. To make the list a little more varied, they considered basing their selections on the following needs: speed, luxury, hauling, commuting and family although no strict rules were imposed and every editor had the free will to decide If they wanted to follow it or not.

The chosen truck was the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Their editors evaluated this truck for 10 whole days and they determined how well it outclasses all the other trucks when it comes to running on the off-road. What sets it apart according to them is how gracefully returns to the earth after stepping on the gas at these conditions.

“This is quite possibly the most unique and entertaining vehicle sold in North America right now,” said Josh Jacquot, Senior Road Test Editor of Inside Line.

The other vehicles on the list are the 2010 Porsche Panamera, the 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro, the 2010 Mazda 3, the 2010 Ford Flex Ecoboost and the Instant Classic winner is the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500.

Visit Inside Line for more details.

Ford honored the fallen Los Angeles firefighters at the Los Angeles auto show, which concluded in the 13th. The auto company will be donating $10,000 to the Los Angeles County Firefighters Widows and Orphans Fund outright and in addition, for every auto show attendee who visited the Ford display, they will be giving $10 and for every person who test drove a Ford vehicle, they will be giving $20 each until the maximum amount of $6,000 per day throughout the duration of the show.

“This is one small way we can give back to the families of these heroes and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow citizens,” said Ford Truck Group marketing manager Doug Scott.

According to R.L. Polk & Co. Class 2-7 emergency Vehicle Vocation registrations, Ford is number one in the Emergency Vehicle Segment and to highlight this feat, they displayed the 2011 Ford F-550 Super Duty XLT chassis cab scheduled to be on sale next spring during the show. The said truck can be customized so that it can be suitable as a fire department first-responder vehicle.

Key modifications to the truck include the new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbocharged diesel engine, as well as the heavy-duty 6-speed TorqShift automatic transmission. Live Drive Power Take Off (PTO) for diesel customers allows the heavy-duty transmission to deliver power to auxiliary equipment as long as the engine is running and the truck is moving. These two key upgrades will allow the truck to perform very well under demanding conditions in these emergency situations.

Also on the Ford F-550 chassis cab first-responder unit are a 300-gallon water tank, an 8-gallon foam cell, 2 pumps, an electric rewind hose reel with 150 feet of hose, a 3-stage winch with 8,000-pound capacity and 100 feet of wire rope.

Following the completion of the government’s Cash for Clunkers program, Ford is looking to replenish their stocks to meet the demand for the Ford Escape SUV and the Ford F-150 pickup truck. Ford will be adding additional shifts at the F-150 pickup truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan and on the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner factory in Kansas City, Missouri starting September. This will result in a boost of 10,000 more units of the F-150 truck and 2,400 more units of the Escape SUV at the end of the year.

Ford is fully aware that their August numbers were largely influenced by the Cash for Clunkers program which just recently ended and the minor increase in the production of these vehicles was based on their sales rates before the said program started. Ford experienced their first year-over-year sales increase since November of 2007 in July after GM and Chrysler both went into bankruptcy. Their overall sales increased by 2.4% from last year’s July numbers.

Last week, we talked about the 2010 Ford F-150 Raptor and the increasing demand for it. The Raptor has the makings of a speedy and powerful mean machine and The Customs and Border Protection Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to get a piece of the action the Raptor can bring.

Those who have test driven the Raptor agree that it is indeed a great vehicle. It’s capable of repeatedly speeding through the desert at 100 MPH and jumping 45 feet in the air. And that’s exactly what the Border Patrol needs. The agency supposedly ordered at least ten Ford Raptors, but without the fancy leather and synced up cockpits in the standard high-end package for consumer models. Whether or not they will be going for the 5.4 L Triton V8 or the 6.2 L V8 still remains a mystery, but both of these options will still kick ass on the sand.

Developed in the deserts of Southern California and Northern Mexico, which is exactly the Border Patrol’s route, there’s no vehicle better suited for the job than the Ford F-150 Raptor. Now you really have got to think twice before crossing the border illegally. You might just be in a chase you have no chance of winning.