Information On Ford Trucks
Ford Motor Company got its start in much the same manner as most other automobile manufacturers of the early 1900s: A mechanical genius joined forces with financial investors to build their own version of the American dream. What made Ford different from most others was innovation and wise management that has allowed the company to survive for more than 100 years.
A fledgling automobile industry already existed at the dawn of the 20th century, but these early “horseless carriages” were primarily the domain of the rich. Henry Ford and Ford Company changed all that with the Model T. But it wasn’t just the car itself that brought personal transportation to the masses; it was a combination of good management, a solid sales organization, and the miracle of mass production.
While Ford Motor Company got its start building automobiles, an interest in commercial vehicles was evident almost from the beginning. Though early attempts at building trucks met with limited success, it was recognized that they were a useful commodity just waiting for the market to realize it.
The first of these trucks appeared in 1905, just two years after Ford’s first automobiles. It was fitted with a boxlike cargo body behind the driver’s seat, and while a useful conveyance, the Delivery Car was pulled from the market after just one year due to slow sales. A similar vehicle was introduced in 1912 on the Model T chassis, but it didn’t exactly set the world afire, either.
One of the vehicles that helped the turnaround was Ford’s first all-new postwar truck. Arriving for 1948 — a year ahead of Ford’s first new postwar car — it was a pickup that would go on to become a classic: the F-Series.
Initially called the F-1 in popular 1/2-ton form, the designation was changed in 1953 by adding “00″ to the end of the model name. Thus the F-1 became the F-100, and this nomenclature continues to designate F-Series models to this day.
In the colorful history of the F-Series, two landmark years stand out, both quite unrecognized at the time. It was in 1978 that the F-150 began its unbroken streak as the nation’s best-selling full-size pickup, and in 1983 that it began its continuous run as the nation’s best-selling vehicle of any type.
Though it’s the F-Series pickups for which Ford is probably best known, the company has built a wide variety of vehicles over the years that fall under the category of “trucks.” Besides the aforementioned medium- and heavy-duty haulers, Ford has produced cargo-oriented Panel and Sedan Delivery wagons, the innovative car/pickup Ranchero, full-size passenger and cargo vans, and the currently popular crop of minivans and SUV truck. All play an important role in Ford’s long history, and all can be found in Ford Truck Chronicle.
The beginning of Ford’s second hundred years has been marked by new challenges and a host of new products to meet them, a cycle that has been repeated many times in its history. If the past is any indication, Ford Motor Company will fight its way back and continue to fulfill the dream that started it more than a century ago. We don’t think Henry would want it any other way.
