This Ford, to me, is an ideal truck. 2 wheel drive, a regular cab, and an 8 foot bed…that’s a truck, sir. The only additional option I might specify is the slushbox. A clutch and stick is great in a sports car, but in my truck I just want to get in and drive.

One point you left out is the day-to-day, handyman utility that an 8′ bed gives you. Having owned both 6′ and 8′ bed trucks, I’m amazed at the additional capabilities you get with that long bed. You can put SO MUCH stuff in it. Over 1500 lbs of half-rotten lumber and assorted garbage that the previous owner left in the attic of your garage…lots of big furniture…several yards of mulch or soil…big quads and snowmobiles. It all just fits.

However, this truck does not compare in terms of fuel mileage to my 04 Silverado Crewcab LT model Duramax powered Chevy. I hauled my Neon autocross/track car from DFW area of Texas to Mid Ohio Sports Car Track in an enclosed Pace, 24′ trailer, with tools and extra tires and race equipment, and averaged 14 mpg round trip. I made many trips between Central KY and Texas Motor Speedway in that truck, pulling as much as 24 mpg when not towing, and 18 or better when towing my CRX on an 18′ aluminum trailer. Of all the trucks this 65 year old has had over the years, that was the best truck of all of them. I sold it a year ago, along with the enclosed trailer and a couple of other vehicles, to enhance my coffers to purchase a new Corvette. That came just in the nick of time it seems, since the most I ever paid for diesel fuel during my four years of ownership was under 3 bucks per gallon.

The Corvette gets upwards of 30 mpg, and amazingly the Hemi powered Dodge Durango I purchased as a tow vehicle gets over 20 mpg highway, so the trade-off wasn’t bad in my case….