From the January 1996 issue of Car and Driver.
As new-model excitement goes, pickup trucks used to rank right down there with trailer hitches. Trucks usually don’t evolve as often or as radically as cars, and the good ol’ pickup always seemed stuck in Darwin’s waiting room.
The raging popularity of full-size trucks for personal use has begun to affect that theorem, underscored by the immediate acceptance of the wild Dodge Ram. Ford is aiming at twin targets with this evolution: the hardcore truck buyer who wants the F150 for work and the personal-use driver who may want a truck simply because it isn’t a car. In fact, the sleek new styling, which seems starkly aerodynamic against the flying-brick look of the old truck, and many comfort and convenience features were designed to appeal strongly to women drivers.
Fact is, the best-selling vehicle in America is . . . the good ol’ pickup truck, Ford’s full-size F-series. Ford sold 698,418 F-series pickups in the model year ending last September 30. That turned out to be only 45,190 fewer than the combined sales of the two best-selling cars in America, the Ford Taurus and Honda Accord, and 180,508 more than Chevrolet’s pickups, the C/K-series.
Ford’s F-series has been the best-selling vehicle for 14 consecutive model years. This status weighed heavily on program engineers over the past five years and four million miles that they’ve been developing the all-new 1997 F150.
Ford reportedly is betting more than $2 billion that its new mainstay—which is longer, taller, and wider than the pickup it replaces—will be a big hit with the truck crowd. If it isn’t, the reason won’t be that there wasn’t enough beef in the stew. Regular-length and SuperCab models will be offered in trim levels: base, XL, XLT, and Lariat, which is the new top-of-the-line luxury level. Short and long bed lengths will be offered, and all SuperCabs will come standard with a new passenger-side third door. Four-by-four and rear-drive versions will both be available, of course, along with “Styleside” and “Flareside” cargo boxes. F250 and F350 models, Crew Cabs, and “Dualies” will follow in a year, but for now they remain available in the old 1996 body style.
Base power comes from a 4.2-liter version of the Windstar’s split-port induction V-6, making 205 hp. Then comes the “Triton” family of modular engines, including two V-8s—a 210-hp 4.6-liter and a 235-hp 5.4-liter—and a 6.8-liter V-10. These engines will be the first in any full-size American truck to offer overhead cams, aluminum heads, and a 100,000-mile tuneup interval. The big V-8, the V-10, and the 7.3-liter “Power Stroke” diesel will not be available until next year. Five-speed manual and electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmissions will be offered.
Gone after 17 years is Ford’s “Twin I-Beam” front suspension, famed for ruggedness but often derided for poor on-road ride quality. It was designed in an era when the pickup had to be tough above all other considerations. Today’s personal-use owners want a carlike ride, and they’ll get it here. A new unequal-length control-arm suspension (with forged lower arms and coil springs for 4x2s, cast lower arms and torsion bars for 4x4s) takes to the highway with the comfort of a Taurus, yet still improves on the climbing and poor-road capability of the old F150. Additionally, the suspension permits the engine to be installed deeper in the chassis, facilitating a lower hoodline and better forward vision for the driver.
Both 4x2s and 4x4s use a rear suspension with a solid axle and leaf springs designed to maintain efficient load-carrying. Ford claims the standard payload of 2435 pounds for a base 4×2 will be best in class. The most earnest off-roaders will have a menu of optional heavy-duty componentry from which to choose, including protective skidplates, heavier-duty shocks, and higher-rate springs. Sixteen-inch wheels and tires come standard, but 4x4s offer optional 17-inchers. All F150s will be armed with standard rear-wheel antilock brakes. Four-wheel ABS is an option.
The F150’s third door on extended-cab models is a study in simple utility. Open the passenger-side door and there’s a flat handle like that in the rear door of any large van. Pull it and the third door opens to a full-length folding bench seat. Ford mounts the front shoulder belt to the top of the cab, unlike Chevy’s mountings to its full-size truck’s seats, but the Ford belt doesn’t impede entry. Legroom and headroom back there are no worse than in most four-door sedans. Interior room in regular cabs is also improved, now providing an additional five inches of storage behind the seats that wasn’t there in the old truck.
Dual airbags are standard equipment, a first among full-size pickups. Another first is the positive-action key that can shut off the passenger airbag at times when a rear-facing infant safety seat is in use. A dash light illuminates to remind you the bag is off—this is important because the bag can only be turned back on with the key.
Noise and vibration levels are down from previous trucks, and visibility is up: the windshield is now 25 percent larger.
The old-style F150 will be sold as a ’96 model alongside the new ’97 beginning this month, giving customers a chance to do side-by-side comparos of features and design—and price. Though the new truck isn’t priced at this writing, we can estimate it will be at least 3–5 percent more expensive than the ’96 F150, which ranges from a base of $14,765 for a workman’s-grade model with a V-6 to more than $26,000 for a loaded-up luxo V-8 Eddie Bauer.
Can Ford’s new cowboy corral a passel of new truck aficionados? Without a doubt, that’s the very question Chevy is asking.
Specifications
Specifications
1997 Ford F150
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear- or rear/4-wheel-drive, 3–6-passenger, 2–3-door pickup
PRICE
Base: $15,500-$21,000 (est.)
ENGINE
pushrod 4.2-liter V-6; SOHC 4.6-liter V-8
Power: 205–210 hp
TRANSMISSION
5-speed manual; 4-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 119.9–157.4 in
Length: 202.2–240.9 in
Width: 78.4–79.5 in
Curb Weight (C/D est): 3850–4650 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 8.5–10.5 sec
1/4-Mile: 16.5–18.0 sec
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
City: 14–16 mpg