the American Dream: Ford F-Series

the American Dream: Ford F-Series by ric gustafson


Texas is the capital of Pickup Truck America. For decades, either you had a Ford or a Chevy pickup. In the 1970's, the status of pickup trucks changed. Country music began to embrace the pickup along with Southern California.
The story of the pickup truck begins in 1927 when Ford introduced the Model A. It was a fully assembled truck with a forty horsepower four cylinder engine. In 1929, Chevrolet came out with a pickup with a six cylinder engine. In 1948, Ford came out with the F-Series which was three different models. F-1 was the smallest, followed by the F-2 and then the heavy payload F-3. In 1954, The F-Series revamped the cab with armrests, a dome light and a sun visor. The F-Series competition came from the General Motors GMC and Chevrolet's V8 truck.
During the 1970's, sales of compact pickups soared. In the early 1970's, Dodge and Ford introduced Super Cab pickups that also had Crew Cabs. 2004 and 2005 were the peak years for the pickup. More than 3.2 million pickups were sold. New pickups were emerging such as the Nissan Titan and the Toyota Tundra. By 2010, sales of pickups had fallen to their lowest levels. In 2011, the Ford F-Series still remained America's best selling vehicle.


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Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric