There’s a reason Tonka toy trucks are still around. Some kids want to pretend they’re firefighters. Others want to pretend they’re astronauts. Tonka kids want to pretend they get paid to get dirty moving big things.
You can consider the 2016 Ford F-650 XLT you see here a full-size Tonka truck. The truck editor for the site Construction Equipment had a chance to use it to haul two tons of gravel to a friend’s house. During his time with the bright-orange beast of burden, Tom Berg found its new front end styling attractive, the Crew Cab spacious and comfortable, and the 6.8-liter V10 unstressed at cruising speeds. “The driving experience is much like the older series: an easy climb up, good visibility all around, and good ride.”
That familiarity is perhaps the most important takeaway from Berg’s experience. In ways, the new F-650 is similar to both the Super Duty lineup and to the outgoing F-650. That not only helps keep costs down, but user-friendliness up. Berg’s time being a grown-up kid in the big F-Series probably kept him smiling for weeks.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
