Story of the best selling vehicle in America began in January of 1948 when Ford introduced the F-1 pickup truck. It could be had with a 239 cu-in flathead V8, 100 horsepower, and a 3-speed manual transmission. It was built on a dedicated truck chassis and had a 6.5 foot bed. Thus began the history of Ford trucks.
The F-1 was followed by the F-100 generation starting in 1953. This generation saw the demise of the flathead V8. The Y-block V8 came out in 1954 and was capable of 130 horsepower. This second generation truck went from 1953-1956, and also brought the first application of seat belts in a Ford pickup.
The fourth generation of F-series saw a rare unibody construction, where the cab and the bed were integrated into a single structure. This did not work so well and was poorly received. Not many unibody trucks were made and they are becoming interesting collector items.
The last 66 years saw no fewer than 12 generations of the F-series. In total, it has sold over 33,000,000 units. What’s next? TFLtruck team is going to the 2014 Detroit Auto Show to see the introduction of the 13th generation – the 2015 Ford F-150. Stay tuned for this on January 13th and 14th.
Hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane:
