There is a strong prejudice against the 10th-generation Ford F-150 sold from 1997 to 2004 in the Unites States, based primarily on its softer and more rounded looks. This is utter nonsense. The late ’90s Ford F-150 is a fantastic design and one of the most attractive trucks ever made.
(This is another in our Prove Me Wrong series wherein we tell you the obvious truth and you, for some reason, deign to disagree.)
The internet is built for takes and this may sound like the ultimate take if you’re a BIG TOUGH FERD TRUCK guy, but I sincerely believe it. In fact, up until this morning, I wasn’t even aware there was a disgusting prejudice against the 10th-gen F-150. I was talking about how much I loved the design with David Tracy and he said, in his words: “That’s the worst F-150.”
I was shocked. David is a supreme weirdo so maybe this is just a strange David thing, I thought. Alas, here’s a thread on a Texas Aggie forum that starts with someone complaining about this generation of truck. As a Longhorn I’m legally required to point out that basic things like indoor plumbing and foods you eat with a utensil other than your unwashed hands are beyond an Aggie’s general comprehension (sorry sis). What Aggies do understand is trucks, which they call “loud mules.” What’s going on here?
The F-150 of this era is actually great and it has a unique aesthetic that I believe has aged quite well. It also has way more in common with the OG Ford F-Series than any new truck.
Let’s start with the basic, Lariat, SuperCab F-150 like the one pictured up top. Styled by Ford’s design chief Andy Jacobson as his swan song, the design does a great job at including the rounded fenders and friendly visage of the original Ford F-1s that are generally considered the first generation of the F-Series. Those trucks were not an aggressive amalgam of shiny bits and hard angles that we’re used to today. The trucks look tough but also approachable and happy.
The proportions on this single-cab XLT are also wonderful. It’s still a truck and you’ve got a short frontal end and hood that bleeds nicely into a large, open canopy. You can see the world in this F-150 and the world can see you. If you’re going to run over a postal employee on his route in one of these things it’s not gonna be by accident.
And let’s just go ahead and cheat and go straight to the F-150 Lightning with its short cab, short bed, and delightful flareside. Even the rear of these things, with their Mustang-alluding taillights, just ooze charm.
If people do not like these it is because:
- They are wrong.
- They have bad taste
- They have been trained by modern trucks to not know what a truck can look like.
[Editor’s Note: How does the first option even make sense? Isn’t that a truism? Anyway…-DT].
I’m not going to go on a rant about how modern trucks are too big and all that horseshit because we demand a lot of trucks and some of that size is just a reaction to the capabilities people desire. I will, however, rant about how modern trucks have been designed to look like the Batman evil villain Bane if Bane were making out with someone and got a surprise finger-up-the-bum and can’t decide whether or not he likes it. [Editor’s Note: Things are getting weird. -DT]
Some modern trucks, and especially the newer F-150s, were inspired by Tonka Trucks. There’s nothing wrong with that, per se, but a good truck should look strong while also looking like it’s a part of the family. Think of a German Shepard. A German Shepard can look strong and even fearsome while also maintaining a gentleness that makes you want to cuddle up to one. A good truck should do that!
If you think this:
Looks better than this:
I’m not the one who needs to get their eyes/priorities checked. And the trucks sold, too! In 1996 and 1997, Ford managed to sell 780,838 and 746,111 F-series, respectively. Because Ford is weird about breaking out sales numbers between different F-Series models it’s hard to say exactly that this was the most successful generation F-150 from a sales perspective, but if it isn’t it’s pretty damn close.
So, there you go. These look great. You can tell me I’m wrong below but what you’re really telling me is you have bad taste and ya basic.
David’s Take
Look at those two photos above. One’s a beautiful portrait of a nice green truck in a field, with horses in the background. The other one is a boring black color with no background and no charming animals. Clearly Matt’s stacking the deck against the newer F-150.
But let’s just move beyond that. My main qualm with the 10th-gen F-150 is: that it was so much uglier than its contemporaries. Just look at what Ram had in 1997:
Lord have mercy, if that ain’t a beautiful machine! That’s the second-gen Dodge Ram 1500, which was around from 1994 to 2002, and which in many ways revolutionized pickup truck design. It really ushered in the era of “tough” looking trucks with “big-rig”-like styling, and whether you like “tough” trucks or not, I bet you’ll agree that the second-gen Ram did it right. Oldmotors.net has a phenomenal writeup titled: “1994: The Ram Revolution.” Here are some quotes from it describing just how big of a deal this design was in the truck game:
The “miniature big rig” shape of Ram pickups is familiar today, but in 1993 it was genuinely radical. At that year’s Detroit Auto Show, Dodge’s first totally new big pickup in 21 years dropped slowly to the stage from the rafters of Cobo Hall. It landed in the public consciousness like a thunderclap.
Despite a recurrence of financial woes after the AMC acquisition, that event brought a constellation of talents – Bob Lutz, Francois Castiang, Tom Gale, and many more – together just as Chrysler switched to modern “platform team” setups for design.
Like the Dodge Viper and ZJ Jeep Grand Cherokee before it, this wildly different truck was one more symbol of Chrysler’s early-90s renaissance, a time which some ex-staffers call “The Camelot years” (roughly 1988-1995).
[…]
A full-size truck was something fairly new for him and his team – nobody at AMC or Jeep had designed a full-size pickup in decades. Veterans of the 1972 D-series/Ram program were also mostly gone – it had been 20 years.
The truck was famously inspired by Kenworths and the WW2-era power wagon, but also the mid-1950s Studebaker E-series/Transtar. It had bold fenders that suggested the separate fender look and big grilles of highway trucking, and it was big and bold in every respect.
Though the visual action was most obvious on the outside, the inside of the truck cab was also totally re-thought. Loads of storage spaces were added inside to a larger, more ergonomic overall setup .
This beautiful Dodge Ram had been out for three whole model years by the time the new F-150 showed its hideous, round face, and that’s all Ford could come up with?
Not to mention, look at the relatively beautiful GMT-400 truck Chevy was selling in 1997:
The F-150 is the least pretty of the three; even when Chevy rounded its truck a bit for 1999, the new Silverado still kept its edge over the 10th-gen F-150 in terms of styling:
And then came Ram with an updated 1500 for 2002, and it looked just as good as the second-gen! THAT THING GOT A HEMI?:
Not only was the 10th-gen F-150 the most hideous of the Big Three offerings at the time, but it was also much uglier than its now-nicely-aged successor. Look at how “clean” the 11th-gen design looks:
I will admit that I don’t actually hate the 10th-gen F-150. It’s kinda grown on me, to be honest. This work truck with the steelies? I kinda dig it?:
But I’d never say it’s the best F-150 ever. Not even close. I mean, Matt, are you seriously gonna sit there and tell me the round-nose “Triton Generation” F-150 is prettier than its predecessor, the “Aeronose”?
Though maybe Matt’s right, since he’s from Texas and thus has authority on all truck-related matters. Tell us your thoughts in the comments.
Outside of the step side, I 100% agree. The 90’s F150’s are the best looking F-150’s, period.
I’ve owned my ’00 V6 XL model, complete with cloth interior and crank windows since it was new. I paid $22K for it brand new. Towing package (6000 lbs.), AM/FM cassette, AC, chrome wheels, super cab, long bed. A truck, not a luxury car, though this thing will roll down the highway at 80mph in pretty good comfort.
It’s been bulletproof. It’s also teal, so it’s 90s AF. We’ve hauled bikes to Wisconsin from here on the west coast and done about a billion dump runs or airport trips in it. It has been one of the best purchases we’ve ever made. I’m a big, big fan of this generation of F150.
I think they look fine with the chrome grille surround or the later large grille, but that spec in the lead image? Ugh.
Well, i like the 9th and 11th styling more, but the big problem is, these trucks were designed to cater to what the majority of F-150 drivers used them for. Going shopping. They’re not as stout as before and after models. Literally, not “ford tough”. On top of that, performed abysmally in crash tests.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wb66PzljP8
As a previous owner of 2 9th gen F150’s, one 10th gen F150 and a 1st gen Expedition (10th gen F150 based), and a current owner of a 13th gen, I’ll say this- you’re out of your everlovin’ freakin’ mind. I’m not going to say the truck was that ugly- it ain’t, in the right configuration- but comparing it to the ones I had before it and the one after, it was by far the worst quality-wise. Starting off with the leaking rear windshield that was infinitely more difficult to replace than the previous trucks- and much more expensive, to the turn signals stopping working because the cheap-ass plastic multifunction connector in the steering column had it’s retaining clips snap due to cyclic stresses from moving the tilt column (I like it at one position and the Mrs. liked it somewhere else)- I bought the new connector and had to unpin and repin it one wire at a time so I didn’t mess it up; then I snapped the fragile wire between the ring around the ignition key slot and the control module for the vehicle anti- theft system, rendering my truck useless until I got the new, improved module from Ford the following day. The dash was the absolute worst example of brittle, hard plastic- it was at least better than the perfectly awful 2nd Gen Dodge Ram- just try to find one of those without a busted to hell dash. The seats wore out quicker than any car I ever owned, including my ’88 RX7 I still own. Overall nothing that rendered the truck non-functional (ok, the VAT module did, but that was kind of self-inflicted), but enough niggling problems that we got rid of the truck and Expedition and spent the next decade driving Dodge/Ram trucks. Nope, I have no fond memories of my 10th Gen F Truck experience- you can have ’em.
I’ve actually never liked the styling of the ’94 Ram. I remember how weird I thought they looked at the time, and I still don’t love the styling. But I have to admit that they changed the game in truck design, and all the other manufacturers have followed them into bigger, tougher designs.
Onto the subject at hand, I firmly agree those 10th gen F series trucks were the worst. The trucks both before and after were substantially better looking.
My family had 3 total Ford trucks of that era (brother had 1, dad had 2). I used them occasionally and I rather like them. They did truck things very well.
Having said that, changes in truck design to appeal beyond their traditional market got us where we are with the size we have now. Suburbs were littered with the mini-trucks until that Dodge change mentioned in the article. It was like overnight they disappeared and were replaced with those monster Dodge Ram pick-ups. Then those Ford trucks came and they started showing up everywhere. I know there are other reasons small trucks don’t exist in the numbers they did, but this marketing is a huge part of it.
I agree the 9th gen gets an undeserved amount of hate, but “best” is a very strong word. The 9th gen is arguably best, and the 11th gen is definitely better (as are the Bricknose 8th gen and Bullnose 7th), but I’d at least put the 9th gen ahead of the 12th gen.
My first take on the 10th gen when they hit the auto shows was that they were too car like and soft. I didn’t like them at all. I also didn’t like the big rig Dodge truck when they came out. Actually, I still don’t, they look like toys with a masculinity complex.
At the time, I had a 77 k20, and really liked the squared looks, so to me, both the Dodge and the Ford where going the wrong direction in styling.
Fast forward 15 years, I needed a four door 4×4 pickup. While shopping around, I found the most affordable crew cabs were 01-03 F150s as they had been out longer than Dodge and Chevy. So I took a much closer look at them in person, and realized they solid trucks that actually looked pretty good. I ended up with an 03 Lariat SuperCrew with every option but sunroof.
12 years later, and I’m still happy with my truck, it has been dead reliable, tows my trailers without much issue, does cross country vacations every year, plows through snow and mud every winter and hauls my firewood and building supplies in its teeny tine bed just fine.
And when I see it in a parking lot next to some giant hideous Chevy or Dodge half ton with their ridiculous oversized grills, I see it as beautiful, and I to chuckle to myself because I once thought was one of the ugliest designs ever.
Crash test ratings… They were/are terrible for this generation.
We bought my son a 2002 F-150 XLT for his first vehicle this year from my brother-in-law for $500. (WHAT A STEAL!) I will do everything in my power to hold onto that truck. At over 230,000 miles it still has a strong, beastly heart. As a teen truck, I love that it accelerates ridiculously slow and due to some prior owner mods has a loud throating growl when hitting the gas. He’ll never sneak home in the white rust-dimpled beauty.
We had a 2019 RAM Bighorn that my ex-wife decided to castrate me over by trading it in for a 2-wheel drive 2020 Jeep Cherokee (Sorry, DT, this model sucks in comparison.) I dare say that I enjoy the 10th-gen F-150 more than the award-winning Bighorn partially because it’s still in my possession and also because it’s wrenchable. I’ve tried to instill this knowledge onto my son that he has a golden-era truck that while simplistic by modern standards is full of charm. What a wonderful truck!
Better than an 8th or 9th gen? Bullshit. Though i did once work for a guy that had a harley davidson edition, stepside one of these that had the lightning supercharged v8 in it. Did 0-60 in like 5 seconds with the bed full of fresh loam. Not bad.
yeah, dude, this design language was atrocious. So were their rounded interior bits and trim that Ford was so fond of back then. If they could have gotten away with an oval shaped bed I bet they would have. Maybe an oval rear window as well, like the Taurus. It just didn’t age very well.
Ovals were an absolute plague in the 1990s. Totally ugly and form-over-function everywhere they were applied in industrial design in that era.
The only pickup truck I ever owned was a 98 F-150 XLT extended cab flareside, 4.6L with the manual transmission in ‘Pacific Green Metallic’.
I really liked the styling at the time, I thought it made the truck seem smaller (or maybe just more manageable) than the previous generation. One thing that the tenth series offered which attracted me was it was the first year of a third ‘clamshell’ door which provided better access to the rear bench seat. That rear bench was more usable than you might think, for passengers or cargo.
Although I did like the truck and it never gave me any trouble, it turns out I didn’t really have any particular need for a pickup truck so I wound up trading it for a 2006 Mustang GT.
I’m a convert to the 10th Gen F-150s. Growing up I HATED them, especially the stepsides and crew cabs with the wavy taillights. In my later teen years my dad got one (a 2003 ex-DOT yellow F-150, ext cab reg bed) for $500 and fixed the rear driveshaft and 4×4 shifting fork. Couple years down the road he passed it on to my younger brother who always wanted a truck as his first car (my dad still jokes about getting it back from him). It’s got the 4.6 v8 which doesn’t make as much power as the 5.4 but makes up for it in reliability. Keep in mind that we’re talking about an ex-DOT vehicle that probably didn’t enjoy much love in its early life. It runs like a top and has 350,000 miles on it. My brother drive it from NC to Utah for college with no problems.
The looks took some exposure for me to get used to but now I find them very attractive (still no wavy taillights please). Of course it’s no OBS Ford but both for looks and reliability, I’d take it over a Chevy any day. That said, I live me some dodge and my first 4×4 truck is my current one, a 1993 Power Ram 150. Last year for first Gen looks, first year for second Gen 360 magnum v8.
I do think that Ford did that era of pickups the best. The Dodge has way too much going on, and those fender flares are ridiculous, while the Chevy is the worst kind of cost cutting bland. However, it does not make it the best looking generation at all haha
David is right on all counts, though I will grant that the F150 Lightning looks good with the more rounded look.
When Matt says the 10th gen had more in common with the OG F-series truck than any new truck, it brings to mind an argument I had with a friend one time about the 10th gen 150 and its styling ties to earlier generations. He insisted that it was a retro design with all the rounded features. I insisted that it was in no way “retro” , only a logical conclusion to the focus they put on aerodynamics, starting with the 9th gen. He went on to say that his dad’s was even called “Heritage edition”, like that proves anything. I explained that they slap that badge on all their leftover trucks while they retool/transition production to the new model. Chevy and Dodge (Ram) do it, too. He was not convinced.
I have been preaching this for years, the 10th gen F-150’s are great trucks and extremely underrated. I absolutely loved mine, the 5.4 made great low end torque and was a great towing rig (better than my 2014 5.0 IMHO, despite being down 100hp) it was dead reliable and served me very well for 215,000 miles. I only sold it because I needed something bigger than the extended cab for my growing family, and the rust was starting to take hold. I wish every day that I had kept it.
I will partially agree with David, even though these are one of my favorite generations of F-150 and look great, they’re not the absolute best. Even compared to the trucks of it’s day the Ram was certainly the best looking, but lets not forget that they were kinda garbage, with their electrical issues, and glass transmissions. Great looking trucks though and I window shop for extended cabs with the Sport package almost weekly. The GMT 400, can’t argue with that, great trucks that have aged extremely well, but by the point the 10th gen came out, that platform was old. The GMT800 that followed I’ve never liked. Reliable? Sure. Good looking? Meh. They’ve just always felt fragile to me and that’s held true for every one I’ve ever been in with interiors that are falling to pieces and squeak and rattle even on smooth roads.
I am firmly in DT’s camp, here. The 10th gen F-150 is a good truck, and has the reliability ratings to prove it, but it is ugly. I strongly prefer the 9th gen F-150 (current owner of one) and the contemporaries from Chevy and Ram. Plus, they dropped the 300 inline 6 for the 10th gen which doesn’t help its case. The 11th gen was SO much better and their resale values show it. At least they are cheap as long as you don’t care what your truck looks like.
Sorry, but for my money, the 9th generation F-series trucks were the last time that a Ford truck actually looked good. Pickup trucks need to be utilitarian, not hyper-styled. The 9th generation looked and felt functional. Everything after looked like the focus was more on the cab and passenger comfort than on what a pickup truck was actually designed for.
91 replies! Who says we don’t have opinions?
For me, that generation of Ford is the Fireball of pickups. I prefer the smooth Maker’s Mark Chevy or the smokey Laphroaig Dodge.
This is the type of analogy I can drink to
“I bet you’ll agree that the second-gen Ram did it right.” — no I don’t. The Ram looks plain hideous compared to the F-150. It looks as if a wasp had stung it in the nose, and the nose is painfully swollen to double its natural size (compared to the wings and the front lights).
The 10th gen F150 was amazing! I bought one during Covid after selling my 2019 Ranger that had some transmission gremlins and figured a simple old pickup would hold me over until my Lightning reservation came through. My 2004 F150 SuperCab 2wd with 4.6 in a papaw gold color was simply one of the best vehicles I’ve ever owned. It had 172K miles and NO RUST when I bought it and everything was original mechanically. It wasn’t fast or fancy like some of my other vehicles over the years, but the thing just worked. My wife’s new Volvo and my new F150 (Lightning reservation didn’t come through, so I got an ICE) both have minor issues related to advanced technological features. Glad they’re under warranty…
I’ve had three F150’s of three different generations. I love them all, but the 10th Gen was a gem!
My opinion on the 10th-gen F-series is probably tainted by the fact that the one I was exposed to the most was an absolute pile, but I never liked these, and it wasn’t due to the exterior styling. It was a poor driving experience compared to its rivals, the single cam Triton was a boat anchor, and the interior was designed by Playskool. Plus all you needed to enter the truck and drive it away was a small flathead screwdriver.