(first posted 3/1/2016) I am not one to sneer at the efforts of car manufacturers to make luxury meals out of working-class bones. If done well, you can end up with something altogether better than the sum of its parts. But when you get it wrong…read on.
As you know, pickup trucks are getting ever-more luxurious. You can, as of this writing, buy a Ford F-150 with a sticker price of $58,770 before you put a single option on it; rather a huge step up from their humble beginnings. Hindsight being always 20/20, nowadays it’s easy to see how they evolved to be the new family cars of choice and symbols of the American way. The traditional American cars were getting pummeled to the ground by the new competition from the Japanese and the Europeans, and encountered difficulties in adapting to new regulations and tastes. The current F-150 with its aluminum construction and efficient V6 engines is objectively a lot better (much as it pains me to write that) than any of our beloved brougham chariots without succumbing to any other country’s ideals on luxury or comfort. It’s the true American car of the times.
The results speak for themselves. If you had gone out to a nice part of town in 1991 and told people there that they would soon buy a pickup truck as their main family vehicle, you would have been lucky if laughter was the worst you got. And yet, just 10 years later, the market for pickup trucks was already so upwardly mobile that Lincoln felt it was the right time to come out with the ultimate luxury pickup.
Lincoln’s lineup for 2001 was incredible, a far cry from the compromising position that they would find themselves a couple of years afterwards. The LS was one of the best sports sedans on the market, the Continental was about to bow out but was still there alongside the Town Car and the Navigator. It was the Navigator’s resounding success that made Lincoln go ahead with the Blackwood. I mean, if the Expedition got the luxury treatment and was incredibly successful, surely the F-150, already the best-selling vehicle in America, would blow it out of the park.
With the Blackwood, Lincoln set out to make the most exclusive pickup truck the world had ever seen. That meant going so far as to make it completely useless as a pickup truck. They must’ve realized, correctly, that the sort of people who would buy this thing would treat is just like they would a big sedan and not dare use it to haul bales of hay, muddy quadbikes or anything that could spill. So they called Magna-Steyr and asked them if they could come up with something distinctive and exclusive for the Blackwood.
Magna-Steyr, then busy making the roof of the Mercedes SLK and the European versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, came up with the goods. Instead of having to make do with a plain metal bed like the ordinary F-150 Supercrew, this would be the trunk to end all trunks. The inside was finished in stainless steel with plush carpeting and a power barn tailgate/hard tonneau cover. The bed itself was made from composite plastic, but finished to emulate burl walnut and topped off with aluminum stripes.
Every single creature comfort you could ever possibly want was fitted as standard, as well as it should on a car that was priced at an eye-watering $52,000 ($69,563.14 on 2016 dollars.) Lincoln was very proud out of the Blackwood, as evidenced by the fact that they made fifty-extra special models with a cooler and a 7-inch DVD player to sell through the Neiman Marcus spring catalog at $58,800 a pop ($78,570). They expected to have so many buyers that to preserve its exclusivity they would limit production to 10,000 Blackwoods a year, no doubt causing distress to innumerable buyers as they trampled each other to get one of them.
“What could possibly go wrong?” He asked, remembering his earlier comment about hindsight.
Well, the problems started even before the trucks even reached the dealers actually. It seems that those elegant beds were more difficult to make than expected, causing the Blackwood to be delayed until October 2001 as a 2002 model. The second problem made itself known quite quickly, and if you read my article about the Chevrolet SSR or have ever worked as a salesman of any kind and know how buyers think or even just looked at the Blackwood you should see it coming a mile away. It’s all well with luxury pickup trucks never being used by their owners as trucks, but they like to know that they could use them as such. It’s the same reason that people buy a Toyota Land Cruiser even though the toughest terrain they’re likely to encounter is a slightly damp driveway because the guy in charge of the garden overwatered the lawn. You couldn’t even take the tonneau cover off with anything resembling ease, and the short bed and unusual tailgate meant that even if you said “screw the carpets” you couldn’t get, say, a motorcycle in the back. All of this without mentioning that, with the best will in the world, there were a lot of better cars available for the money.
The results spoke for themselves. These trucks (can I call it a giant sedan? It’s a giant sedan and everyone knows it) languished on dealer lots unless dealers began throwing discounts at it like it was dancing for them. In the end all of 3,356 Blackwoods were made before they pulled the plug in 2002. The basic principle behind the Blackwood was actually quite sound, as evidenced by all the F-150 Limiteds and Laramie Limited Rams (what are all these limited to? the number they sell?), it was just that they took it way too far. Graz, Austria to be precise.
I thought these were doomed to fail from the beginning but I still see them now and again , always in tip top shape , clean and well polished .
I like fancy pickups too but these were ludicrous .
-Nate
Hagerty insurance even just went ahead saying they offer collectible car insurance for few late models, like Blackwood, 02-05 Thunderbird and SSR. Those three cars are the symbols of the over optimistic days before the 9-11. ( even though it took them quite few more years to actually make the SSR )
The Lincoln Blackwood is understandable if you consider that Lincoln was considering using this vehicle as a replacement for the Town Car, not as a truck. Lincoln’s problem was that it came too soon with the Blackwood, not that the Blackwood wasn’t the right thing to eventually do.
If this vehicle succeeded, we would very likely be seeing a more luxurious and less truck-like Town Car, based on the F-150, today.
Why would Ford put out both BOF vehicles, (Panther and trucks), when it didn’t have to? Why not put out one BOF vehicle, but do a truck and a sedan version. This would save money. Additionally, once the aluminum change over happened, it would give BOF sedans a new lease on life.
So don’t think of the Blackwood as a failed luxury truck – think of it as a trial balloon for a Town Car based upon the F-150 that would be available today, if it had succeeded. It makes complete sense, in that light.
The first generation Blackwood would have been a modified truck, then the next generation Blackwood would be a large luxury sedan riding an aluminum BOF shared with the truck line.
The most shocking thing about these were they had a (dumbed down)second generation, the Mark LT. I remember they built a theme bike on American Chopper, which even then seemed like the mark of death for businesses – How can we promote a floundering product? I know! We’ll commission a reality show to build a motorcycle! – I knew right then and there Lincoln was doomed, especially since they used details from the Blackwood!
It’s also funny you mention the short bed’s limitations with Motorcycle fitment as an example, choppers are already long for motorcycles, I couldn’t think of a less fitting publicity stunt for that truck than commissioning OCC.
Sure, but that bike is gorgeous and likely was a good marketing investment. No amount of marketing could save that truck.
Good marketing investment for whom? Lincoln surely didn’t benefit from it, and American Chopper was pretty much at it’s popularity peak already by the time that aired.
For Lincoln. Nothing was going to save the Mark LT, but there was probably a better return on that money than other means of advertising. You can’t expect them not to make any effort to market it, regardless of how hopeless it was.
And don’t get me started on what real, hard-core, bikers think of Orange County Choppers. If anything, that was a further nail in the coffin for the Mark LT, because nothing speaks poseur wannabe with too much money than Orange County Choppers.
I think the Lincoln LT existed mostly because Lincoln/Mercury dealers wanted a pickup to sell.
I have a poster of that bike on my garage wall, got it from the LM dealership in Beaverton that also had this bike on display as well. I was told they actually made several of these bikes to display around the country. First time I saw a Blackwood I thought, nice looking but who wants a pricey pickup that isn’t?
I always thought the price was the biggest factor in its failure, but looking now I see it was only a few thousand more than Cadillac’s direct response, the Escalade EXT. And the EXT made it 11 years, so I guess you’re probably right on the utility aspect. The EXT was also, perhaps ironically, a lot more car-like with coil over rear suspension. If that Blackwood rode anything like that generation F-150 it would have been a buckboard. And it also had a rear console which limited seating to 4. Oh and it was truck which was rear wheel drive only.
Looks like there were a lot of mistakes made. I still kind of like them, though I have no interest in owning one.
The real reason for the Blackwood and Mark LT’s failure is the same reason why Ford later hit it out of the park with the King Ranch and Platinum trims.
At the end of the day, pickup trucks are still very much a blue collar commodity and nothing says “pretentious poser” more than a pickup truck with a luxury marque badge. Keeping the plebeian Ford/Chevy/RAM logo gives you a thin veneer of being a part of the blue collar clique, but with the understanding that you just wanted a few little (expensive) extras to make yourself more comfortable.
I don’t know about that. The same things were said about the Navigator and Escalade back when the full size SUV and full size pickup markets were pretty similar. The Blackwood was severely compromised as a truck and the Mark LT was a trim package, so I don’t really consider those good attempts. The EXT stuck around as long as the Avalanche did so it couldn’t have been doing that poorly.
There hasn’t really been an honest attempt made at a luxury pickup.
The King Ranch actually came out before the Blackwood, in 2001.
Also mildly related: In 2002 and 2003, you could get a King Ranch SuperCab alongside the SuperCrew. 2002 was Styleside only…
…and 2003 was Flareside only.
Maybe so, but without that giant “King Ranch” logo to show the plebes who is the top dog, these wouldn’t sell, either. Seems most humans need to feel “better” than the rest. Witness the GOP race today.
Star Wars, Superman, Jaws would not be the same without your scoring, John Williams! 😀
I recall these being one of those vehicles that got announced and then took forever coming to showrooms. The retro Tbird being another. Perhaps this says something about Ford’s operational weakness in that dark time.
I remember a news story that some idiot car thief stole one of these. Yessir, nothing less conspicuous in Indiana than a Lincoln Blackwood.
Sadly, a footnote on the way to Lincoln’s lost years and irrelevance. I guess they didn’t realize that the Lincoln brand name was not strong enough to sell a tarted-up pickup that couldn’t even be used as a pickup.
I remember what Lincoln was in the ’60s-’80s and I don’t think they’ll ever recapture that magic.
Try as I might, I’ve never been a fan of luxury trucks. Call me old-school, but a pickup truck is purely a utility vehicle, first and foremost. That shouldn’t mean that a truck be uncomfortable, or boring. On the contrary. It’s just that today’s trucks are too fancy, offer more than anyone in their right mind would either want or need. And besides that, I find some of today’s pickup trucks hideous to look at. My least favourites include the 2015 Ford F150, the Lincoln Blackwood, the current Toyota Tacoma, and the Nissan Frontier.
To think I used to consider the Ford Ranger XLT package as extravagant. I’m with you here; the 1968+ Chevy C/10 is my ideal pickup truck.
Agreed .
-Nate
Love that!
+1. Im no Chevy fan, but the bullnoses were such sharp looking rigs!
It’s not a Bullnose .
It’s a 1969 Chevy shortie stepper .
This is a Bullnose GM Advance Design :
-Nate
Wagon wheels and side spare? Going a bit crazy with the options list, there, Rockefeller!
The ‘ American Racing ‘ wheels went directly to the curbside as soon as I hunted up some stock steel wheels and hub caps .
The side mounted spare when new , indicated a true ranch/farm truck , operated where there was no pavement ~ hauling the spare out from under the bed on a dirt road , usually muddy , was not much fun .
It also tagged you as poor as dirt when you drove it into town .
I’ve always loved side mounts , back to my ‘A’ Model Ford days .
This thing was bare bones when new (that’s original paint BTW) i6 and ‘ three on the tree ‘ manual tranny , no power any thing , no radio .
I’ve been up grading it bit by bit as I find and rebuild , original GM parts here and there .
The comment about it Vs. Dodge is dead on ~ I work it but carefully as these were *very* cheap trucks , made of tin foil ~ any old Dodge truck I’ve had was vastly sturdier but I’m a Bowtie Guy to my bones and I prefer the driving feel and power as well as the aesthetics of GM’s .
-Nate
I bought identical American Racing wheels to replace the stock steel wheels shortly after I bought my ’70 C10 Fleetside in ’76. They were in style then. Kept them until I sold the truck in ’06. I got it back from the tire store with only 3 wheels installed, and one stock wheel still on the right rear. They couldn’t get it to come off. I first tried a sledge hammer, then a come along, finally loosened the lugs and tried a few powerslides in a parking lot. Wouldn’t budge.
Finally brought it into the shop at work and a mechanic had to cut the center of the wheel out with a blow torch to get it off.
A Chevy ute! Sheer bloody luxury. It were not like that when I was a lad.
Yes it was *exactly* like that when you were a wee Lad~ .
I tried mighty hard to buy a 1941 Chevy Ute someone imported from The Land Of Wonder Down Under ~
It was bone stock to the Babbit Pounder 216 engine and bias ply tires , RHD of course .
I wonder who was the bucky lugger who was able to afford it , back in the 1970’s .
-Nate
I like the looks of that truck. It is in such good condition. That spare tire would drive me nuts as it would be right in the way for me as most of the not too heavy things that I put in my trucks (my old Ranger and my 2011 Colorado) I put in the bed close to the cab so that I can get out of the truck, shut the door and reach over and get the items and go into the house.
I do understand the reasoning of why it is there. On my Colorado the spare tire is under the bed and a real pain to get at certain times. When I got new tires for the truck, I saved the best of the old tires and bought a new Colorado rim from eBay and mounted the tire on the rim. I then put the tire in the bed of the truck(where it now lives) and that was that.
There is an old decrepit 1960’s C10 that is still doing duty around my way.
When I was a Farm Boy before this truck was made , I’da sooner walked to won than be seen riding in a rig with a side mount spare as it meant you were seriously poor and lived in the back woods on dirt roads…
Yes , it looks dandy doesn’t it ? .
I got reamed on this rig , bought it off E-Bay in TEXAS where it spent most of it’s life sitting near a tree , the entire firewall and floor was rusted away from the leaves that filled it up and held whatever moisture was to be found ~ I have amazing photos of the GAPING HOLES in the firewall after I took the heater plenums out .
I had to scrap the cab , luckily a guy I know took pity on me and sold me a near perfect cab with factory AC for $350 .
The engine was toast too ~ it took me a CASE of oil to drive it home from Dallas , Tx.
-Nate
At 14 years old, the Blackwood is by no means a pickup truck of “today.” And XL RCLB work trucks are still available. It’s not like they were all discontinued. Who are you to say if someone is “in their right mind” because they don’t share your preferences?
Granted most buyers do not, but many pickup drivers spend a lot of time in their vehicles- both driving and not driving. Big trucks are mobile offices more than other types of vehicles. When you’re spending long hours literally working out of your vehicle, those creature comforts and extra features become pretty important.
Same here. I don’t even like luxury CUV’s because in my mind they’re “trucks” and trucks ought to be more utilitarian, or at least be more able to be used more utilitarianly. For me, a luxury car needs to be a sedan or coupe. If the wife wants a Lexus or Lincoln CUV for a kid hauler next time around, fine by me but it’s just not in the same class as a proper car.
They managed to combine too many of the drawbacks of a luxury sedan and a pickup truck with too few of the advantages of either, At least it was cheap for Ford to build so they didn’t lose much money on it.
(what are all these limited to? the number they sell?)
The designation “LIMITED” is actually to indicate that you need an “UNLIMITED” amount of money to purchase one. 🙂
Is there still a Blackwood in your area? There was one near me, but haven’t seen it in years.
Actually, when the F-150 Limited was first introduced, it was truly a limited-production model. The 2008s said “X of 5000” on the console. I don’t know if later models (2013, 2014, or 2016) did this, though.
Limited also refers to the options available: A Platinum F-150 is available with all sorts of towing packages, rear ends, engines, 6.5′ bed, 4×2 or 4×4, etc. A Limited is only SuperCrew 5.5′ bed EcoBoost, and the only options are 4×2 or 4×4, 3.55 or 3.73 rear, and a few bed accessories.
Also, if you don’t like luxury trim level pickups, fine. You don’t have to buy them. $26K work trucks are still available.
“Also, if you don’t like luxury trim level pickups, fine. You don’t have to buy them. $26K work trucks are still available.”
Izzat so ?? .
A full size 6′ bed pickup truck made in America ? .
What brand ? .
-Nate
Ford F-150 XL RCSB 4×2, $26,123. 3.5 NA V6, 282 hp, 253 lbs-ft., 20 MPG combined. Vinyl seats and floor, crank windows. Comes in 10 colors.
And that’s MSRP. I found one near me on Cars.com, msrp $30,550, advertised price $23,980. Several around $25K.
I just bought a ¾ ton, RCLB 4×4 fitted out for snowplow duty but no other options, and paid just under $30K. It was a dealer plow truck with 700 miles on it, so my price was well under MSRP and I got the full “new” warranty starting from the mileage at which I took delivery.
I won’t plow with it, but it’s already hauled loads of mulch, pulled my tractor and delivered a load of large round bales. It’s a work truck, in other words. It’s quite nice inside and I’ll only need to upgrade the base radio. I did get beefier wheels/tires and did some other things to the exterior.
The only real complaint I could offer is it sits entirely too high (41″ lowered tailgate height), and lowering springs are not offered by anyone for the ¾ ton truck.
The Chevy Silverado 1500 2WD work truck has an MSRP of $27,000 but most dealers will discount them.
The local Chevy dealer near my home always has a few of the bare bones 1500’s for sale at $25,XXX.
Mind you these are ones with vinyl seats, and no standard options except for A/C and auto trans.
I don’t remember if they had power windows or hand cranks. Of course I really don’t consider power windows to be ether a luxury item or an option anymore as you can find them standard on the cheapest of the cheap cars (such as the Mitsu Mirage)
THANK YOU for the replies ! .
I’m rather fond of base model trucks and these days even those seem to have AC , PS/PB and a slushbox transmission .
I wasn’t aware rubber floor mats were still available .
Sooner than I’d like I’ll prolly be forced to buy a modern rig , might as well be a short bed pickup as some crappy Coupe I have difficulty getting into the out of .
I’m quite lucky in that SWMBO doesn’t mind riding in my old trucks and would prolly be shickled titless to ride in a new AC equipped one .
-Nate
Ford’s automatic is by no means a “slushbox.” Since 1997, it’s been superior to the manual offering in the F-150 in every way. And if you consider power steering and power brakes to be luxuries, then respectfully, maybe any vehicle made in the last 30 years is not for you.
It’s more than just floor mats–the floor itself is vinyl. Rubber floor mats are an option.
I wish more vehicles had vinyl floors. Husky and Weathertech have built an industry by selling this supposedly inferior floor covering for hundreds of dollars.
The OEM rubber mats usually don’t cover a whole lot. I looked at some Ford ones for my truck and they were next to worthless. I suppose if my feet never left the center of the footwell they could work OK.
I wouldn’t call A/C and automatic trans “options” if there’s no alternative. Or do some pickups still come with no A/C?
From 5 minutes of looking at the Big 3’s Build and Price tools, it seems that crank windows are only available on the lowest of the lowest work trucks; that is, if you want any optional equipment, you’ll automatically get bumped up to power windows.
” if you consider power steering and power brakes to be luxuries, then respectfully, maybe any vehicle made in the last 30 years is not for you.”
Just so ~ the only reason I sold my beloved 1949 Chevy 3100 series 1/2 ton pickup was to gain an automatic tranny ~ I’m old and crippled and I don’t get along with the clutch pedal as well as I once did .
I didn’t chance into this 47 year old truck by accident , I searched long and hard , I find it very comfy after I rebuilt the seat (stiffer) and firmed up the suspension a bit .
For me , slush box is now necessary , the power steering less so but I’m not getting any younger and pinched nerves are a bitch .
FWIW , I simply _LOVE_ rubber floor mats but they hold moisture , even here in the dry SouthWest , causing rust out over time .
I like hand crank windows too .
I don’t need much but I won’t settle for a crappy truck either .
-Nate
luxury trucks – CAFE. If GM had a sense of humor, they would have developed a very short El Camino bed for the Fleetwood and called it a “truck ” to get around CAFE. The PT Cruiser qualified as a truck, which was one of the reasons it lasted so long. Ipoo wonder what will happen when CAFE goes after the modern truck /SUV as I think the trucks have been the public safety valve for the foreignizing of our cars…..
Probably one of the key reasons AMC developed the Eagle back in the day as it was classified as a “light truck” and not a passenger car, and thus not subject to CAFE rules. Today, auto makers are still getting around the rules by building more trucks than cars.
Just call it a truck, with a removable bed cover aka trunk lid!
I’m might proud to say this:
Neither Cadillac nor Lincoln need pickup trucks
or SUVs!
” Neither Cadillac nor Lincoln need pickup trucks ” .
?? What about Flower Cars ?? .
-Nate
Cadillac nor Lincoln nor any luxury make “need” to exist at all.
Absolutely. I’ve always viewed these vehicles as an insult to what the names Cadillac or Lincoln stand for. But what the heck, even Maserati are making one now.
The Blackwood was the favored choice of hillbillies with money in my parts. Usually seen washed and waxed in front of their mobile home.
Styling by Ssangyong, why did they even bother it looks like a down graded F series not an upscale ute.
A big part of the “aura” of owning a Lincoln was that it showed the world that if you needed things moved, you hired people to do it, or you used another vehicle in your fleet. The Blackwood went against all of that and tried to be too many things to too many people and failed trying. Being an overpriced Ford didn’t help.
Add me to the crowd that just doesn’t ‘get’ this. Granted, Ive seen lots of pickups wearing a hard bed cover and/or carpet. But that’s the result of someone customizing it to fit their needs. Why would the factory try to crank out such a specialized setup? Just doesn’t make sense.
Gimme a pickup the old school way: reg cab, shortbed, plenty of motor. 4×4 or 2wd I can tweak it to fit my style. The less gussied up it is from the factory, the better suited it is for me to mold it my way.
I wonder to what extent that luxury ‘bed’ was the problem?
Maybe if the fancy bed was kept for a show truck, and a regular bed with hard cover was standard, with the fancy-pants bed dress-up kit offered as an option?
I think you are probably right with that theory. It certainly couldn’t have made the situation worse..
Even having the simulated woodgrain finish on the bed but not the rest of the body looks odd.
My ’02 F150 Harley Davidson is very similar to the Blackwood. I have a fiberglass tonneau cover that looks great but limits its cargo hauling capacity considerably. I bought it to replace my 1994 Ranger (4cyl 5spd) Supercab. Wrong decision from a utilitarian point of view but it sure is fun to drive. I have added a 1996 E350 Club Wagon to the fleet to handle the hauling and towing duties.
Is yours one of the H-D editions that had the DOHC 5.4? Always thought that was a cool engine that should have seen more use.
I saw one of these damned things yesterday, rolling slowly through the parking lot at the Kroger, down in New Albany – can’t really say for sure if I’ve ever seen one before.
The Blackwood was a perfect auto show turntable vehicle. Open up that brushed metal bed and turn on the mood lighting and the oohs and aahs were guaranteed. I personally witnessed this at the 2001 Philly Auto Show. The crowds around the Blackwood were three and four deep. The Lincoln presenters barely had to say a word. Meanwhile, down at the Cadillac exhibit, to a smaller crowd, their people were frantically and desperately cross-selling the Escalade EXT against the Blackwood. It was clear they saw the Blackwood as a serious threat.
Surpisingly, there is one of these I see frequently in my neighborhood in Chicago. Never on the street, though, always nose in in a small parking lot nearby.
It really disgusts me that people treat pickup trucks like primary transportation. They’re large and terrible on gas, though that’s less of a problem nowadays.
It disgusts me when people make arrogant assumptions about other people’s needs. Today’s trucks are incredibly versatile vehicles, as written about here just a few weeks ago.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-and-coal-the-crew-cab-pickup-and-my-2007-ford-f-150-super-crew-versatility-be-thy-name/
They are not that bad on gas these days either, with many models comparable to minivans.
Your disgust is duly noted, and will no doubt be taken into consideration by the thousands of full-size pickup truck buyers every day who fear the wrath of Internet commenters.
The newest pickup trucks are more fuel-efficient than any truly full-size “boat” sedan was, and as efficient as any minivan or 3-row CUV made up to about 5 years ago. They’re even as efficient as my compact CUV from 2002.
Ha. Sounds like the person who was bitching to me that all SUVs and pickups ought to be “banned” and then lo and behold calls up me and another mutual acquaintance to help them move because I had an SUV and the other guy had a truck.
smh
Does anyone know of any shared technology or development between the aluminium F-150 and the aluminium Jaguars, And-Rovers and Range Rovers? Shared Ford ownership during the development of the technology, to 2008
I’ve found these bulked-out machines to be ghastly mutants, along with their GM counterparts, the Escalades. They’re over-engineered and manufactured for the uses to which they’re engaged, which typically equates to a trip to Old Navy or Whole Foods. I subscribe to the now archaic and quaint notion that a pickup can’t serve two masters: comfort and utility are disparate uses in my book and one needs to be sacrificed for the other. Of course, my notion has been thoroughly squashed by the triumph of marketing, which has convinced buyers they can have [and need] both.
Your notion is thoroughly squashed not because of marketing, but because it simply isn’t true. You are buying into old stereotypes that a truck can’t be comfortable and a smaller bed can’t haul what most people need to haul when the fact is payloads and towing are higher than ever.
Unless you’re driving a Trabant everywhere, you really don’t have much say in determining what other people should “need.” Or wait–why even drive? Gandhi walked everywhere and that suited his needs perfectly.
Comfort and utility are no longer mutually exclusive–and there’s no reason they have to be. Size is relative–compared to even a medium-sized tractor, a half-ton pickup is a tiny beast. What’s more, this “gargantuan” Blackwood is still shorter and narrower than the standard Lincoln from 1958-60 or ’66-79.
Phil & Drzhivago, there are still sacrifices made, at least in spring rates. Without the heavy duty payload packages, load capacity of 1700-2000lb is not great for such a large pickup. Mind you the payload specs for the Colorado are pretty low compared to the Holden version sold here, I wonder what the differences are. As an example, the top trim Holden Colorados have a 440lb lower GVM due to softer springs.
American 1/2 ton trucks have always made that compromise because they offer the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks for serious hauling. Also, we tend to tow heavy loads more often than hauling them.
The key here is that they haul and tow more than enough to meet the large majority of consumer’s needs while also offering a comfortable ride.
F-150 Harley version always makes me laugh not because it’s a bad truck, which it isn’t.
You just cannot fit a Harley in the bed, unless it’s one of the old Scooters.
In 2000 and 2006, the F-150 Harley was a SuperCab model with a 6.5′ bed. I don’t know if any Harley would fit in bed that any better, though.
Fittin’ it in is one thing.
Gettin’ it in is totally another…
Height to lowered tailgate on an ’07 F-150 Supercrew 4×4 is 34″. Height to lowered tailgate on a ’92 F-150 regular cab 2wd is 33″.
Yes, that extra inch is a real bitch.
The Harley up to 2003 was a SuperCrew with a 5.5′ bed. The engine was a supercharged 5.4. Same as the SVT Lightining minus a few ponies.
A Blackwood with the Suprtcharged 5.4 would have been something else!
2000 was a SuperCab Flareside.
2001-2003 were all SuperCrew 5.5′.
2004 and 2005 were both Super Duty crew cab 6.75′.
2006 was an F-150 again, SuperCab 6.5′.
2007 and 2008 were SuperCrew 5.5′.
2009 was back to Super Duty, but now available on any SuperCrew model (including the F-450).
2010 and 2011 were F-150 SuperCrew 5.5′.
The truck will haul a trailer just fine though, which is how most people transport their Harleys.
These were wholesaled on MSO for $28k and less at the end of this disaster. But, like Dracula, don’t call them dead quite yet. What do I see going for $12k and up at the ritzy auctions? You guessed it – the Blackwood.
It looks so small and dainty compared to recent trucks, with their high, brick-like front ends.
What is the picture of the plant (I presume) doing there?
Two of the recent vehicles that are made fun of the most are this and the Aztek. They were both just ahead of their time because basically those two types are the backbone of what sells beyond the basic transportation market. The tall ugly front drive little engine CUV with weird styling, and luxury four door pickup trucks. Which is why I don’t see myself ever driving a car designed past the late 90s, ever.
I always wondered why the Blackwood didn’t adapt the 2-way doorgate design from Ford station wagons. Inquiring minds want to know.
I’d still like to see a cost breakdown on these, I’m pretty sure the marketing cost significantly more than tooling/development and it’s possible Ford didn’t lose any money on them, flop or not.
The older I get, the more I think even the basest of base model trucks should have at least comfortable seats even if gets nothing else. I’d go as far to say my idea of a “luxury” truck is one with good seats that don’t hurt my back. When my dad got his ’89 Dodge Dakota (now mine) it had the most miserable seats of any truck we’ve had any experience with including his 1960 Ford F-100. My dad went to the salvage yard and replaced the bench seat with 50/50 seats from the same year Dodge Dynasty which continue to be comfortable to this day.
In 2009, my fiancee bought a 2008 Ram to drive for her move back to Kentucky and for everything she needed a truck for. I drove it to Dallas for the trip to bring the rest of her stuff back. Best seats ever. The Ram was a base model work truck by the standards of 2008, but it felt like luxury to me. A shame the Ram was such an accident magnet. People kept hitting it in parking lots, pulling out in front of it or rear ending it at stop lights. We ended up getting rid of it and went truckless for quite a few years.
Three of my neighbours have nearly identical luxury Ram trucks that dwarf not only my Dakota but also my ’68 Fury VIP. Being inside any of them is like some kind of future shock for all of the tech. Their Hemis get gas mileage a 60’s Hemi could only dream of, yet for all of their improvements, I’d still rather drive my primitive “mid-size” Dakota. The long bed can hold 7 foot 4x4s with ease and it’s easy to work on with its 2.5 TBI four cylinder and 5 speed manual. Not the fastest truck, but with one exception, always get to where I’m going.
I just got one in December. It’s a great vehicle but a sad “truck”. I can haul some stuff to the dump…but only after I put a huge mat in the bed. I like it it’s unique. But no, it’s not a truck.