Author: Georgi Boychev

People love the Ford F-150. Why? Well, they have plenty of reasons to do it considering that only in 2016 around 800.000 were sold only in the USA. If you don’t own an F-150 chances are you have driven one or you plan to do it. You have probably seen in movies the classic models of F-150, but you probably don’t know that the first model was launched in the ’70. Even if Ford F-150 dominates the USA’ streets, people still have plenty to learn about it.

F-150 is relatively young in comparison with the other F-series

Ford F-series includes multiple models, when the line was first created in 1948 they launched family-friendly models, and also vehicles that could be used or industrial purposes. However, F-150 was not part of the first models, it took around 30 years to Ford to create the F-150, in 1975. They needed a model that could combine the features F-100 and F-250 had, so they designed the F-150 that quickly took over the four-wheel vehicle sales.

Why did Ford decide to call it F-150?

As you could imagine, the name F-150 was first used the year the automotive producer launched this model. In 1975, the F-series model had around 6,000 pounds and it deviated from some of the regulations the Environmental Protection agency set. They required all the cars of lower weight to have unleaded gas and a catalytic convertor.

When Ford first launched the first F-series model, they called it F-1, but as they brought it upgrades, they decided to call it F-100 in 1953. As they continued to upgrade and make the vehicles heavier, they thought that the new models also need a new name, and they came up with the F-150.

It was the best-selling truck for 39 consecutive years

It’s features made it the perfect car for Americans, so for 39 consecutive years it was their main choice when they bought trucks. For 34 years, it actually was the bestselling car in the USA. In 2018, around 800,000 Vehicles left the factory, a huge number in comparison with what other automakers produced. For example, Mustang manufactured only 120,000 the last year.

Ferrari made a car named F150

The Ford F150 was launched before Formula 1 came to existence, but Ferrari decided to name one of their vehicles, F150 in 2011, to celebrate 150 years from Italy’s unification. Even if they had a strong reason to name their car similarly to Ford, the American automaker highlighted the trademark problems, and Ferrari had to rename their challenger the F150º Italia. The car has never reached the same success as its American competitor.

In 1960 people could order the vehicle equipped with a camper

People have always wanted to be independent when they were travelling, and campers offered them the possibility to decide their destination without worrying about accommodation. In 1960, campers were the hot trend of the moment, and Ford had to offer its clients a product that suited their requests and needs. Actually, the automaker was the first one that manufactured a vehicle that had suspensions that were sturdy enough to handle the extra weight the camper had.

People could buy Ford as a Mercury

From 1948 to 1968, Ford decided to sell their F0150 vehicles under the name Mercury in Canada. During that period, Canadians could purchase the cars from Ford or Mercury dealers. Many dealerships were set across Canada, but they were either Mercury or Ford, they never set both in the same location.

This marketing strategy allowed the automaker to sell the F-series vehicles in Canada. Considering that they have used this trick for around 20 years, we can definitely say that it was a hit. Because they sold their cars under the brand Mercury, they had to change the F with an M.

Ford had to customise their F-series for the Brazilian market

Many vehicles, produced not only by Ford but by other automakers too, were built in other states and designed to suit the needs of the target market. Ford did the same when they had to manufacture trucks for Brazilian buyers. They produced the Brazilian models from 1971 to 1992, and those cars were different in many aspects to meet their buyers’ needs.

Ford created the F-150 with multiple engine options, from diesel to gas. The diesel models were naturally-aspired and turbocharged 4.1 litre 4-cylinder engine. The gas cars have 2.3 litre over-head0cam 4 cylinder and a 272 V8.

The Ford F-150 was the first Bigfoot of vehicles

The term monster truck is quite common these days, but when you read a Ford F-150 review you don’t expect to find out that one of the first models was called Bigfoot. The vehicle looked like a blue monster and it was able to crush everything on the roads and even jump quite high. Starting with 2010, Bigfoot has started to be produced by Chevrolet, but until then, it was manufactured on an F-series platform.

You can fully customise the F-150

If you want to buy an F-150 then you can order the car to suit your needs and budget. You have the possibility to choose the technology, the drive train characteristics, and even the bed length. Ford is manufacturing models that feature the same technology as luxury sedans, there’s no surprise that it’s still one of the best selling vehicles worldwide.

For the ones who are passionate about car building you can ask Ford to deliver you a bare-bone vehicle without a bed, you can customise and create, as you want. The Ford F-150 is designed to be whatever you want it to be. You can customise it to be used for industrial purposes, to function similar to a workhorse, or to offer the same features as an exclusive car.

F-series are the top selling trucks not only in the USA but also worldwide. When other automakers design a line they inspire from the F-series because Ford managed to accomplish something all auto producers aspire to do.