07/25/2001 – Ford’s iconic F250 and F350 are back in Australia – bigger, tougher and stronger than ever before.

“These vehicles
have legendary status in Australia,” says Commercial Vehicle
Marketing Manager, Kevin Lillie.

“The new F-Series ‘super
duty’ will build on that legend. These are definitely big trucks,
with everything that makes a truck great in terms of strength,
performance and safety, but they also have class-leading comfort and
style.”

Buyers of the new F250 and F350 will also have the
added security of knowing their vehicle was factory-built RHD and
comes complete with the full endorsement and warranty of Ford
Australia.

Available in both 4×4 and 4×2 form, the F250 and
F350 range includes both chassis cab and pick-up body styles, as
well as a choice of three cab styles – single, super and crew cab*.
Engine options include a 5.4 litre petrol V8, a 4.2 litre turbo
charged diesel I6, and a 7.3 litre turbo charged diesel V8, with
manual or automatic transmission.**

Power and torque figures for each engine are:

• 132kW @ 3400rpm and 500Nm @1600rpm for the 4.2L diesel 16;
  
• 175kW @ 2600rpm and 684Nm at 1800rpm for the 7.3L
  inter-cooled turbo diesel V8; and
• 194kW @ 4500rpm and
  475Nm @2500rpm for the 5.4L petrol V8.

______________________________________________________________________________

*Super and crew cab on sale from December, 2001.

**Not all
combinations available. Please check detailed specification sheet
for further information.

“Maximum power and torque on all
three engines is produced very low in the rev range allowing for
maximum pulling power. The 7.3 litre inter-cooled turbo V8 in
particular is a great driving experience – it has so much grunt that
it actually comes closer to a Newton-kilometre than a Newton-metre!”
says Kevin.

Both F250 and F350 come in
two specification levels – XL and the more upmarket XLT. All
vehicles come standard with airconditioning, power steering, power
mirrors, and LSD, while the list of XLT extras includes dual
airbags, power windows, cruise control, and alloy wheels on F250
models.

“The list of standard features on these trucks is
second-to-none,” says Kevin.

“F-Series builds on the
character of Ford’s class-leading light truck range, which shows our
customers they can have a work-horse vehicle without having to
sacrifice passenger car levels of comfort.”

F250 XL trucks
include:

• Front disc brakes
• 144 litre fuel tank (single and
  super cab)
• 114 litre fuel tank (crew cab)
• Shift
  on the fly on all 4x4s.
• Cloth trimmed seats in two
  standards of trim.

The F250 XLT includes all of the above but also adds:

• Pick-up box
• Alloy wheels
• Power windows
  
• Dual airbags
• Chromed front and rear bumper


• Cruise control
• Engine and load box light


• 4-wheel ABS
• LT 265/75 R16 tyres
• “Captain’s
  Chair” style bucket seats with fold-away armrests.

“The F250 XLT is targeted at dual-purpose buyers who are looking
for a vehicle to take onto the worksite during the week and to tow
the boat or horse-float on the weekend. The long list of features
available on this model allows them to do all this and more,” says
Kevin.

Key features on both the XL and XLT F350 include:

• Front and rear disc brakes
• 152 litre fuel tank
  
• ABS brakes
• Shift on the fly on all 4x4s


• Cloth trimmed seats in two standards of trim.

The XLT F350 also adds:

• Dual airbags
• Alloy wheels
• Chromed front
  and rear bumper
• Cruise control
• Power windows
  
• Bucket/console/bucket seats
• LT265/75 R16
  tyres

“Both the F250 and
F350 have key features that are unique to the Australian market,”
says Kevin. “They are factory built right-hand-drive in Brazil, but
our engineers had a significant impact into their development for
our local conditions. A local fleet evaluation program has been
running in Australia for more than 2.5 years, covering hundreds of
thousands of kilometres.”

One of the key actions derived from
the Australian testing was the development of a “Quadra-shock” rear
suspension system for the F250 to ensure occupant comfort while
traversing the “washboard” dirt roads prevalent throughout
Australia. It also handles bitumen surfaces without making the ride
too firm.

Other key functional items, including air filters,
door seals and engine fixtures, have all been tailored to handle
Australian conditions.

Ford
expects the F250 and F350 to create their own market position.
“These trucks cross so many barriers,” says Kevin. “There’s nothing
else quite like them in Australia so they’ll really be creating
their own market segment.”

F-Series will be targeted at
primary industries such as farming, mining and forestry, as well as
tradespeople, but its multipurpose appeal is expected to also bring
strong interest from people who do a lot towing – either boats,
caravans or horse floats.

“Quite apart from all the features
and comfort the trucks provide, they also have an almost legendary
status in the marketplace. Their presence on the road is awesome
and people just genuinely seem to love them,” says Kevin.

“They have a strong history of success in Australia and while
Ford hasn’t sold them here since 1992, you only need to look at the
interest they still attract in the used vehicle market to know that
there’s a lot of people out there who will be glad to see the
advances we’ve made,” says Kevin.

Super and crew cab
pricing will be available in August.