From Model TT To The F-150, Ford Celebrates 100 Years Of Making Pickup Trucks

Loosely derived from the Model T, the TT entered production a century ago as a chassis cab. In 1924, Ford started offering its first-ever workhorse with a factory-produced body shell, and 1925 saw the introduction of a feature that may sound comical by today’s car standards: hand operated windshield wiper.

Come 1928, the more capable Model AA one-upped the Ford Motor Company’s pickup efforts with a 1.5-ton chassis. Then came the Model BB in 1933 and Model 50 in 1935, with the latter benefitting from Flathead V8 firepower. Then World War II rolled in, with Ford using its wartime military contracts to gain four-wheel-drive and heavy-duty know-how.

This gets us to 1947, the year the Bonus-Built series of pickups entered production. Later referred to as the first-generation F-Series, the Bonus-Built ranged from half-ton to Class 7 capacity. Fast-forward to the '70s, and that’s when the sixth-generation F-Series dropped the F-100 name for F-150. Be that as it may, the year 1977 saw the F-Series become the best-selling pickup in the U.S,, a prestigious title the full-size workhorse holds to this day.

“Ford trucks carried the loads, the people, and the products necessary to get the job done,” commented Ford historian Bob Kreipke, and he’s right bearing in mind how popular the F-Series is. The best-selling vehicle in the United States since 1981, the F-Series sold 820,799 units in 2016. This figure, in turn, marks the model’s 40th consecutive year as America’s favorite pickup.

Come 2018, Ford will expand its presence in this segment with the mid-size Ranger. Scheduled to go on sale for the 2019 model year, the newcomer is expected to be offered with a varied selection of engines. A 21st century interpretation of the Ranchero wouldn't be bad either.