First Drive Review
You are what you drive. Bimmers, Benzes, Harleys, and Hummers are "aspiration vehicles." Plenty of folks aspire to slip into those images.
While we weren't looking, guys in their peak-earning years-and even one dewy-fresh young woman of our acquaintance-took to wearing mighty mutha diesel pickups. "Heavy duty" is the categorical term for such iron. Work boots for the road. Mud spatter is your option, but the factory builds 'em shiny, even chromy.
Ford is the big shooter in this class, as it is with its F-150 in regular pickups. Upwards of 350,000 F-250 through F-550 trucks per year give it about 45 percent of the action, with Chevy, Dodge, and GMC biting and pulling fur over the other 55 percent. And they're gaining.
So for 2005 Ford is upgrading its heavy-duty line introduced for 1999. More power, more load capacity, and more towing muscle are the key attractants, with a few other details worth mentioning, like a nifty way of coordinating trailer brakes with the truck's anti-lock braking system.
The standard engine is a 5.4-liter, three-valve-per-cylinder V-8, up 40 horsepower to 300. Power users may opt for the 6.8-liter, three-valve gasoline V-10, at 355 horsepower, or the 6.0-liter Power Stroke turbo-diesel V-8 of 325 horsepower and- ta-dah!-570 pound-feet of torque at 2000 rpm. If the two-bedroom bungalow hitched to this one is holding up traffic, blame the balloon foot on the pedal.
The tow rating tops out now at 17,000 pounds for fifth-wheel setups, or 15,000 pounds for dualie models with conventional hitches. Hauling is up, too: 1280 pounds more than last year, depending on equipment. Max combined weight for an F-350 dualie-that means truck, payload, and trailer-is 23,500 pounds.
Ford says 90 percent of Super Duty buyers tow, so this load stuff matters. As an option, you can have a built-in trailer-brake controller that fits into the dash and integrates all the wires and connectors needed for hookup (amazingly, these things have been aftermarket parts until now). This provides a much more predictable brake-pedal feel, and it also knows when the truck's anti-lock braking system has engaged, and rebalances the braking force distributed to the trailer (it does not, however, act as an anti-lock system for the trailer).
The heavy-duty trucks in our social circle tow occasionally, but more often they're the shiniest rides in the parking lot, packing little more than one or two people and a toolbox that weighs, oh, a half-ton or so. The owners choose them as everyday wear because, well, that's the kind of Americans they are. Ford says up to 45 percent of buyers use Super Duty trucks as personal vehicles, although they may do some heavy-duty work, too. About 30 percent go for the top-of-the-line Lariat trim.
The self-expression possibilities don't stop there. You can drive your cowboy boots. The King Ranch model, named after the 825,000-acre Texas spread that sprawls over three counties, has rugged-looking brown leather on the seats, wheel, and center console, much in the style of men's clubhouse furniture, and a dark mandarin teak pattern in its plastic wood. Chrome badges confirm your Rancher status to bystanders.
Or perhaps you're ready to go whole hog in three tons of four-door four-by-four, the Harley-Davidson Super Duty. Behold and tremble! This mighty mutha comes in your choice of F-250 or F-350, propelled between gas stations by either the diesel (90 percent) or the V-10. Each of them wears more licensed chrome Harley-Davidson logos than a whole showroom of Milwaukee sickles, plus an uncountable number of official "Bar and Shield" logos miniaturized down to bifocal size. Even the black screen printing around the windshield is made of teensy B-and-S shapes.
Ford says three-quarters of the Super Duty line will have no price increase, but there's no word yet on Harley models, limited to a volume of less than 8000. For the record, though, last year's F-250 H-D with the usual diesel option and TorqShift automatic plus a few common options listed for almost $50,000.
Next time you see one, show a little more respect.
