Ford Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: F) F-150 pickup is part of the F-Series, which is the best-selling vehicle in America. Usually it is marketed as a modest-priced truck for the average pickup buyer with a $30,000 budget, but Ford has a version of the vehicle that sells for $60,000, an example of how large manufacturers stretch the price of a model higher by adding a nearly endless line of special features.
Ford sold 112,237 F-Series vehicles in the first two months of 2016. The second best-selling vehicle, the General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) Chevy Silverado, sold 80,999. The third best-selling vehicle was the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) Ram pickup with total sales of 68,493. The sales among them show how dominant pickups are in the American car industry.
The base F-150 has a sticker price of $26,428. It has a 3.5-liter V6 FFV engine and is built on Ford’s new partially aluminum frame, which Ford says cuts gas mileage because it lightens the weight to the pickup. It has only two-wheel drive and not a single one of the options available in higher priced versions.
Ford lifts the price of the F-150 by adding four-wheel drive, a longer box and larger cab. These two features push the price to $31,599. A more feature-rich XLT model has a sticker price of $35,779. Next up the ladder of versions, the Lariat at $40,251, the King Ranch (presumably named for one of the largest ranches in America, which is in Texas cattle country) at $49,936, the Platinum at $52,401, and Limited at $58,777.
The Limited has a moon roof, 10,400 lb. towing capacity, leather bucket seats and a slew of other options.
In other words, there is an F-150 for the rich and the poor. A textbook example of an extended model line.
See how Ford rates in American’s Best and Worst Car Brands.
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