Ford Pickups for Sale

From the moment Henry Ford produced his first run of Model Ts, enterprising customers began modifying them to serve more utilitarian purposes. Ford responded in 1917 with the Model TT, a dedicated, 1-ton truck that was based on the Model T, but with its o...

From the moment Henry Ford produced his first run of Mo...

The first conventional pickup design, however, was delivered by Ford in 1925, with the Model T Runabout. It featured a steel pickup bed, a 40-horsepower engine and heavy-duty springs. When Ford replaced the Model T with the Model A, in 1928, all-new trucks were also part of the redesign. Heavy-duty trucks carried the Model AA designation, while the Model A pickup continued to evolve what would become North American?s conventional light-duty truck.

Starting with the Model B range, introduced in 1932, Ford?s famous Flathead V-8 engine was available in the truck lineup. Evolution throughout the Thirties saw Ford?s truck design differ from the passenger cars, but in 1940, the half-ton models adopted the front-end look of the car lineup. Civilian retail production was halted in 1942, due to World War II.

When production resumed in 1945, Ford?s pickups were largely pre-war carryovers. That changed dramatically in 1948, with the introduction of the Ford F-Series lineup. It included light-duty and heavy models, named F-1, F2 and so on, up to F-8, depending on the capability.

In 1953, the second-generation F-Series brought new model designations: F-100, for the half-ton model, while heavy-duty models were dubbed F-250, F-350, etc. The popular F-150 model was introduced in 1975. It was a half-ton model that shared the light-duty lineup with the F-100, but became the sole half-ton model in 1985.

Ford?s heavy-duty models also gained greater differentiation in the Sixties and Seventies, with the introduction of Crew Cab body styles for the F-250 and F-350, along with the distinctive F-250 4x4 ?Highboy? models, which were nicknamed for their four-inch factory suspension lift.

Supercab models came along in the Seventies, offering more interior room, while the Eighties saw a number of powertrain technology advancements, including the introduction of electronic fuel injection, overdrive transmissions and, in heavy-duty models, the launch of a diesel engine that triggered the development and introduction of the Power Stroke family of turbo-diesel engines.

In the Nineties, a redesign of the F-Series reflected customers? increasing use of the pickup as a personal vehicle, and the F-150 featured two generations of the high-performance SVT Lightning variant, with the second-generation featured a supercharged engine. In 1999, the heavy-duty pickups were split off into a separate Super Duty lineup, which featured unique powertrains ? including the Triton V-10, the Godzilla V-8 and succeeding generations of the Power Stroke turbo-diesel ? and unique, high-capacity chassis designs.

For the past 20 years, the Ford pickup lineup has grown with a greater range of special models and up-level trim packages, including the Harley-Davidson Edition (2000-2011), the King Ranch (2001-present), Platinum (2009-present) and Tremor (2014). The range has also included the high-performance, F-150-based Raptor, which is designed for off-road performance and features a unique, wide-body design and long-travel suspension system.

Ford also reintroduced the Lightning as the name for a fully electric F-150 that is targeted for production in 2022.

Ford?s pickup truck line was born nearly a century ago, while the F-Series is in its fourteenth generation. It has been the best-selling truck in the United States since 1977 and the best-selling vehicle since 1981.

+ Read More