Ford F150 1987 News

If you are on the hunt for a load-lugging large Ford F-Series, don't hold your breath. Ford Australia brought the last of its big pick-ups into the country late last year and will not be replacing the behemoth so beloved of the rural industry, mining companies and tradespeople. Unfortunately for Ford Australia, the new-generation truck is only available in left-hand-drive out of the United States. Ford previously sourced right-hand-drive F-Series models out of Brazil and made a tidy little earner with the range, selling 842 last year, with most buyers opting for the F250 4x4, which started at $65,950 for the XL V8 cab-chassis model. Despite crunching the numbers, Ford Australia could not support a business case for a right-hand-drive conversion of the new truck. But Ford Australia president Tom Gorman says that, despite imports officially ceasing, there is still a desire for large pick-up trucks. He believes some low-volume importers could now make a business for right-hand-drive F-Series conversions but these would be quite expensive. Gorman says the previous model F-Series has been a great brand for Ford “but couldn't get the economics to work” for the new truck. He has left room for a replacement but says there is little hope one will be available in the short term. The previous model F-Series had a 194kW 5.4-litre V8 or 175kW 7.3-litre turbo-diesel and was available in a range of body styles, as well as rear or four-wheel-drive. On sale since late 2001, the line-up consisted of F250 and F350, 4x2 and 4x4, single cab, super cab and crew cab, pick-up and cab chassis. At its peak, Ford sold 2480 F-Series trucks in 2002. Today, such is the level of interest from rural and tradespeople, dealers are holding names as people wait for trade-ins to pop up.