With its new F-150 pickup, Ford regains its place atop the big-truck hierarchy.
But its top-dog status might be short-lived. The competition is nipping at its rubber-coated heels.
The F-Series has been the best-selling truck in the United States for 26 years and the best-selling vehicle among all cars, trucks, vans and SUVs for 21 years.
It's both a source of pride and a source of profit for Ford Motor. Always a vital vehicle to Ford, it's especially so now as the automaker reported a $25-million third-quarter net loss last week -- an improvement from the $326-million net loss in the third quarter of 2002. Standard & Poor's said this week that it's thinking of lowering the company's debt rating.
"This is high-stakes poker," said Steve Lyons, president of the Ford Division and a vice president of Ford Motor.
So, as Ford thought through the process of re-creating its standard bearer, some obvious choices emerged: make it look more distinctive, use a more powerful V8 engine, and make it tougher and stronger -- all without making it much more expensive.
On all counts, Ford succeeded.
The truck we tested, a mid-level XLT SuperCab model, has chiseled good looks. Its face, with a broad, appealing grille and high-tech-looking lights, is ruggedly handsome. Exaggerated wheel flares and nice wheels -- aluminum 17-inchers on our tester -- add a bit of refinement.
And a cargo box -- ours was 6.5-feet long, although both 5.5- and 8-foot lengths are also offered -- got immediate notice for being so tall. That height, 2 inches over the 2003 models, adds both useful space and a look of sturdiness to the truck.
On the inside, our XLT was simple and good. Each F-150 trim level -- starting at XL and rising through STX, XLT and FX4 before reaching Lariat -- gets a unique interior.
The Lariat, for example, has wood trim and leather seats. The FX4 with lots of metal trim looks a bit more urban and sophisticated.
Our XLT was less fancy. It had cloth-covered seats -- wide and very comfortable -- and a rather simple instrument panel. Yet chrome bezels around the gauges and circular air vents give an upscale impression.
The SuperCab configuration -- with hidden rear doors that require you to open to the front doors first, versus the SuperCrew with its four full doors -- provided plenty of rear passenger room. That seat, which folded up to increase cargo space when not in use -- was adequately comfortable.
Record sales
Lyons, who recently visited with Ford's West Coast dealers in San Francisco, said he still comes across people who are surprised by how many F-Series trucks his company sells.
It sold 912,000 of them in 2001, and a few less last year. The arrival of the new F-150 meant record full-size truck sales for Ford in September. And, "if we get a little bit of wind in our sales," meaning that total industry sales near 17 million instead of 14 million to 15 million, Ford could sell 1 million F-Series trucks in 2005, Lyons said.
Obviously, the big trucks from Ford, General Motors and Dodge remain work trucks for contractors, construction workers, farmers and foresters.
But as they've become more comfortable, more useful vehicles -- they're better rides, and most now come with four doors -- they've become increasingly popular with regular buyers, too.
"In many parts of the country, this is the way people live their life now," said Lyons. "These vehicles fit their needs."
Also, he said, big trucks are "uniquely a part of our culture, a statement of who you are."
Growing popularity
Lyons compared the growing popularity of full-size pickups with the growing popularity of country music. And, not surprising, Texas is the biggest market for the Ford F-150.
But California -- from big-city Los Angeles to farm-country Fresno to computer-centric San Jose -- is the truck's number-two market.
The new F-150 comes with two engines: an improved 4.6-liter Triton V8 that makes 231 horsepower and an all-new 5.4-liter, three-valve-per-cylinder Triton V8 that produces 300 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque.
This was the engine in our test model, and it was outstanding. Power was plentiful, but Ford engineers did a good job of harnessing the roughness. There's no roar, like on Nissan's new Titan, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The truck's ride, thanks to a new chassis and sturdier frame, is much improved. It felt steady, even over rough roads.
Maximum towing rating of 9,900 pounds tops the full-size truck segment. But buyers, depending upon which engine and which axle ratio (and even what drive configuration and box length) they choose, will find 21 different tow ratings, according to the press kit, starting at 5,900 pounds.
Tough competition
No doubt, Ford has hit a home run with the new F-150.
But competition remains fierce, and it's getting nastier.
Rival GM sells lots of big trucks, too -- 652,646 Chevy Silverados and 202,045 GMC Sierras in 2002. Dodge continues as a strong third choice, with 396,934 Rams sold last year.
Toyota only sold 99,333 Tundras last year, down from 2001 levels. But the Japanese automaker is nothing but a plugger. The Tundra is better than the T100 that preceded it, and the new Tundra Double Cab is better still. Expect the next-generation Tundra that arrives in 2006 when Toyota opens a new truck plant in Texas to be fully competitive.
And then there's Nissan. No automaker has more momentum right now, and it's thundering into both the full-size SUV (with the Pathfinder Armada) and the full-size truck (with the Titan) segments this fall. Both vehicles, based on drives of pre-production versions, are aggressively styled, smartly packaged and equipped with strong engines.
Before announcing pricing on the new F-150, there was much media speculation that all the additional content on the truck would boost the window sticker by as much as $2,000. Instead, Ford announced price hikes of only $245 to $635. The entire range of 2004 F-150 models will sell for $19,920 to $36,365.
Our test model had a base price of $30,085 and a sticker price of $33,725 that included options such as chromed, tube-shaped running boards, power adjustable pedals and a bigger (37.5 gallons) gas tank.
