The Bottom Line: Over 20 years ago Ford Motor Company introduced the first Ford F250 Super Duty pickup truck in the 1999 model year. That was the same year I published my first automotive article on the internet, and the subject was that same brand new for 1999 F250 Super Duty pickup truck. My first article is still on-line for the past 21 years at AutoWire.Net.
Fast forward to 2020. Ford still builds the F250 Super Duty pickup truck, but it has changed a bit since then. First, it is on an all-new, third-generation, Super Duty platform. Second, the truck is bigger, wider, lighter, stronger, and a bit more expensive. Plus it has options, accessories, and electronic devices that were not even imaginable over 20 years ago.
The test truck Ford sent me to review is a 2020 Ford F250 Super Duty SRW Platinum Edition 4×4 Crew Cab SWB Styleside pickup truck, with the all-new 7.3L V/8 gas engine mated to the all-new 10-speed automatic transmission. Man, that’s a lot of words for just a 3/4 ton pickup truck.
The SRW denotes that the truck is a Single Rear Wheel model, not the DRW, Dual Rear Wheel model. The SWB states that it is a Short Wheel Base chassis, instead of the LWB, long wheelbase truck that comes with the 8-foot bed. This truck has the 4 full door crew cab body, and the shorter pickup bed, with a total WB wheelbase of 160″ overall.
These specifications are important as they describe the most common form of a pickup truck that most people actually buy today. A truck with a gas engine, a 4 door crew cab body, a short bed box, and 4×4 Four Wheel Drive. Ford, plus all the competition build this same option combo in a regular light-duty truck, and in Heavy Duty, HD, and Super Duty models.
The pickup truck market is huge in the United States, with a combined sales rate of just over 3 million pickup trucks a year. These sales figures account for billions of dollars in profit for all truck builders, and the segment is growing in popularity. Pickup truck sales just keep going up, year after year. Ford holds the truck sales title with over 900,000 F-Series trucks sold every year. The internal goal at Ford is to sell a million trucks a year, and that number looks very likely, very soon.
I mentioned that these trucks have gone up a little in price. Back in 1999, the asking price of the then, brand new, F250 Super Duty model that I wrote about had an MSRP Manufactures Suggested Retail Price of $29,775, plus sales tax and DMV fees. That was a lot of money for a 3/4 ton pickup truck back then. Today my test truck came delivered with an MSRP window sticker price of $74,075. Hello, that’s like over $44,000 more than the 1999 truck! Welcome to inflation, profit, and innovations in every aspect of building vehicles in these exciting times.
Granted the F250 Super Duty of today is by far superior to anything that was even thought of 21 years ago. The window sticker of the 2020 model lists OVER 120 standard and optional equipment items. Many were not even invented yet back then like forward collision avoidance and voice-activated navigation systems. This truck has every sensor, safety, and security system that’s available on current vehicles. And they do take more time, money and effort to design, engineer and build today.
This 2020 Ford F250 Super Duty Platinum Edition 4×4 Crew Cab pickup truck painted in stunning Velocity Blue starts with a base price of $65,895. The options on the test truck are The popular equipment group #703A for $2,045, the 7.3L big-block gas engine for $390, the power moonroof with rear glass panel for $1,495, the all-weather floor mats for $135, a rear camera with the trailer backup assist for $1,600, the wheel well liners in the front and rear for $325 and a Tough Bed spray-in bed liner for $595. The total MSRP window sticker price, including the $1,595 destination charge came to $74,075.
In Northern California where the average sales tax rate is over 9%, plus the California DMV fees, and the dealer delivery charge, this truck would cost near $83, Grand, out the door, without any discounts, rebates, or a trade-in. That’s a bit more than the $33,000 in total back in 1999. But you do get a tremendous, modern and efficient all-new 2020 F250 Super Duty pickup truck for the extra $50,000 in today’s inflated dollars.
That is a lot of money for a 3/4 ton pick up truck, but this all-new Ford F250 Super Duty can tow 10,000 pounds and can cruise the highway in a style that was only available in high dollar luxury sedans. Now with options like heated and cooled front seats, a massive stereo system with surround sound, a heated steering wheel, plus much more equipment, is just a checkbox away. Add in power fold-out cab-side steps, a full leather interior, ambient lighting, a power tilt, and telescoping steering wheel, and power extended side-view mirrors, and you’re now riding with the big boys.
Remember “You Are What You Drive ©”
And maybe, just for those reasons alone, you should “Drive one, Buy one, Today ©”.
This Bottom Line Review is provided by: Tony Leopardo © AutoWire.Net.
“Tony the Car Guy” is an automotive writer, editor and publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have a question, or comment for Tony, send it to tonyleo@pacbell.net or visit AutoWire.Net at www.autowire.net
