(By Eric Rood) – By 1996, Ford had essentially built the same F150 pickup for nearly two decades, utilizing the boxy truck shape and same engine options for most of that time: a 4.9-liter straight-six (Yes, you could buy a truck with a straight six in the mid-1990s) or either the 5.0-liter or 5.8-liter V8. However, Dodge’s redesigned Ram a couple years earlier prompted Ford to modernize their F150. The truck got a curvier, more aerodynamic shape that was a dramatic change and the engine options moved to a 4.2-liter V6 or the ubiquitous Modular V8 in either 4.6- or 5.4-liter displacement.
Naturally, the best-selling truck changing its design was a huge change so Ford wanted to make a splash with their announcement. The best way to do that? How about a Super Bowl Ad where the new truck vaults over each of the previous 19 model years? My late grandfather was an old farmer who straight-up wore out two of the boxy older F150s during my childhood. He was likely not terribly impressed with the flying Ford personally since it didn’t really speak to the truck’s utilitarianism, but he eventually bought a 10th Generation F150 just the same.
