AUTOMOTIVE Back then. . . .Ford Super Duty F-series trucks showed up
(In a major move to continue dominance of the pickup truck industry in the
U.S., Ford Motor Co. 25 years ago introduced its Super Duty F-series; the new F-250 Super Duty would no longer look like the F-150 and would ride on an entirely different platform. The new Super Duty was an attraction at the 1998 Denver Auto Show and came my way a week later in early April ’98. Following are excerpts of my review:)
For the hauling task I had in mind, I didn’t need the 1999
Ford F250 Super Duty truck. Super Duty means super size, super strength – a smaller truck would have been just fine for the drive to Sterling, where we loaded up the Heywood Wakefield dining room set which belonged to my mother, and back to Denver.
But the big Ford was available, and timely – it was introduced to Colorado last week at the Denver Auto Show.
The wind was blowing in Logan County, gale-like, but it scarcely bothered performance of the Ford, powered by a V-10 engine. A large tarp secured by 10 bungee cords protected the furniture. Hooks are well-placed, low on inside corners of the truck box.
The truck is two-wheel drive, but Super Duty also means it sits high, like a four-wheeler. Very comfortable seats over came the rough ride of the beefed-up pickup.
The two-wheel-drive version of the F250 carries a base price of $21,550, which includes leather interior. A long list of amenities pushed sticker price to $27,190. Besides the Lariat trim, options included passenger-side airbag, power mirrors, air conditioning, six-way power driver seat, remote keyless entry, premium AM/FM/CD sound system, electronic four-speed automatic transmission, premium aluminum wheels and all-terrain tires, spare wheel and tire, fourwheel antilock brakes, 4.30-ratio limited-slip differential, trailertowing package, heavy-duty battery, sliding rear window, chrome rear step bumper, trailer hitch receiver and privacy glass. The engine, which added $335 to the cost, is the first V-10 to be offered in an F-series truck. Much stronger than the standard 5.4-liter V-8, the V-10 delivers
270 horsepower and 410 foot pounds of torque. The engine is relatively quiet.
A combination of big truck and big engine means big sacrifice in fuel mileage – this one averaged 13.7 miles per gallon on the 270mile highway drive.
The front suspension on the twowheel-drive F250 is Twin I-beam, similar to that on the previous models. The brake system is revised from the previous work truck for optimized pedal feel and includes a large master cylinder to handle additional
brake fluid. Wide doors have improved entrance into the truck. A dropped beltline at the front of the side-window glass has increased visibility.
The truck, built at Louisville, Ky., is 226.6 inches in overall length.