America’s best-selling automobile for almost 40 years did not get there in a single day.
The Ford F-Series and Ford F-150 pickup has been round for for much longer than that. Ford’s history of constructing vehicles spans 103 years of shifting, hauling, lugging, towing, transporting, carrying…you get the image.
But with the 14th technology of the the Ford F-Series full-size pickup unveiled Thursday, we will look again at how far it is come. The full-size Ford has developed from a boxy, utilitarian hauler to an excellent greater, four-door household hauler out there as a luxurious automotive in the whole lot however the title.
With the first F-150 Hybrid out there quickly and an electrical model on the method, the F-150 has come a good distance—and there is a good distance left to go.
Ford F-150 History
1917 Ford Model TT
Based on the Model T, the Ford Model TT was the automaker’s first pickup truck and initially it was bought chassis-only—patrons needed to provide their very own our bodies. According to a 1923 Ford brochure for the Model TT, the automaker might provide a physique that 12 months, which grew to become normal observe for all vehicles the subsequent 12 months. The 1923 Ford Model TT chassis price $380, which inflation-adjusted for at the moment could be $5,697.64.
Ride and luxury might have been questionable—Ford match stable tires on the TT from the manufacturing unit.
Ford F-150 History
1935 Ford Model 50
Closer in seems to at the moment’s vehicles, the Ford Model 50 was produced starting in 1935 and was powered by a Flathead V8. The acquainted cab and field could be a sign for the F-Series to return later, and the Model 50 was constructed till 1941 when the truckmaker paused manufacturing to assist with the warfare effort.
In 1941, an 85- or 95-horsepower V-Eight was supplied in the vehicles or a 30-hp inline-4.
Ford F-150 History
1948 Ford F1
“New, New, Brand New” learn the 1948 Ford Trucks brochure. The 1948 Ford F1 was half a sequence of light-duty pickups that included the F2, F3, and F4, which had been 3/4-ton, 3/4-ton heavy-duty, and 1-ton variations of the truck. Powered by a 95-hp Rogue inline-6 or considered one of two “lusty” V-8s, in keeping with the brochure, the Ford F1 was the first technology of the Ford F-Series and a precursor of future F-150s to observe.
Ford F-150 History
1953 Ford F100
The 1953 Ford F100 changed the Ford F1 (the F2 and F3 had been changed by the F-250, and F4 was changed by the F-350 nameplates). It was initially supplied with an 101-hp inline-6 or 100-hp Flathead V8, though each had been changed by extra highly effective items in 1954, which had been marketed as the “Cost Clipper 6” and “Power King 8.” The F100 was the first F-Series to supply an computerized transmission, and it rode on a 110-inch wheelbase with as much as 1,465 kilos of payload capability.
Ford F-150 History
1957 Ford F100
The 1957 Ford F100 was the first 12 months of the F-Series’ third technology—and likewise the first 12 months for the Ranchero. Ford’s “Styleside” physique was new and supplied extra usable mattress area than the flareside pickups that had preceded it. The “Styleside” title continues to be used at the moment. The truck was initially supplied with a 139-hp inline-6 or 171-hp V-8, though a bigger V-Eight was added later.
Ford F-150 History
1961 Ford F100
Perhaps extra exceptional than the fourth-generation Ford F-Series pickup that debuted in 1961, was the first technology of one thing that did not final lengthy in any respect. In 1961, Ford debuted a built-in cab and physique building for the F-Series that lasted solely till 1962. The motive? According to house owners, overloading the mattress jammed the doorways shut attributable to flex. Some even reported doorways popping open at railroad crossings. The built-in physique and mattress was solely out there on rear-wheel-drive vehicles, and Ford rapidly scrapped that.
Ford F-150 History
1975 Ford F-150
The F-150 title first appeared in 1975, the sixth technology for the truck, and was sandwiched between the F-100 and F-250 already on sale. (The F-100 nameplate would endure up till the early 1980s.) The 1970s Fords would preview some styling options that may final till at the moment, together with “Ford” stamped throughout the grille in block lettering and a SuperCab prolonged cab physique fashion.
Ford F-150 History
1993 Ford F-150
The first 12 months of the F-150 SVT Lighting pickup. The precursor to the present Raptor, though Lightning would seem once more—and maybe in the future?
Ford F-150 History
1999 Ford F-150
Or, “the cleaning soap bar.” The 10th-generation F-150 added a four-door SuperCrew physique fashion in 2001, which might grow to be the hottest physique fashion for retail patrons rapidly. The Lightning returned with a Eaton supercharged 5.4-liter V-Eight that made 360 horsepower initially, and the cleaning soap bar spun off a Lincoln variant, known as the Blackwood.
Ford F-150 History
2004 Ford F-150
Fully boxed body, new and undoubtedly not a cleaning soap bar.
Ford F-150 History
2010 Ford F-150 Raptor
The Ford F-150 Raptor bowed for 2010 and was out there with a 5.4-liter V-Eight or 6.2-liter V-Eight borrowed from the heavy-duty pickups. In 2011, Ford launched for the first time a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6, dubbed EcoBoost.
Ford F-150 History
2015 Ford F-150
The precursor to the 2021 Ford F-150 and the first Ford pickup with an aluminum-heavy exterior that proved controversial when it was launched.