Check Out Key Features of the 1991 F-150: Throwback Thursday

Ford’s unique standard features in the 1991 F-150 are things that we rarely discuss today.

This week’s Throwback Thursday video comes to us from the YouTube channel of Matt Krugman and it features a commercial for the 1991 Ford F-150. This commercial is a great deal like a modern Ford truck commercial, with a guy in jeans standing in a worksite of some sort, talking about the best-selling truck in the world. What makes this spot interesting is the list of key features that the Motor Company chooses to boast about, almost all of which are items that we don’t even think about today when buying a new vehicle.

Ford Truck Marketing

We have featured scores of classic Ford truck commercials over the past few years and in many cases, they have the same basic layout. A truck is sitting in some worksite-type location with a rugged-looking guy, usually in jeans, talking about everything that the truck does well. Basically, since there have been truck commercials on television, Ford has been marketing the F-150 in this format.

What changed from year to year was the list of features that the Motor Company bragged about in the commercials. In the early days, Ford talked up their unique twin i-beam suspension setup and through the years, the F-150 has often been the first competitor in the segment to introduce features or to make newer features standard equipment.

In this week’s classic Ford commercial, the company brags about things that most modern truck buyers take for granted.

The 1991 F-150

The commercial begins with the host talking about the impressively low price of the 1991 Ford F-150, which started around $10,309, but making that price even more impressive was the list of standard features.

The 1991 F-150 came with a standard 4.9-liter engine (one of the strongest base engines in the segment at that time), power steering, power brakes, rear antilock brakes, tinted glass, “styled” steel wheels, swing-away mirrors and an AM/FM radio. At this point, every new vehicle sold in the United States has power steering, power brakes with ABS, tinted glass, folding mirrors and an AM/FM stereo. In fact, an AM/FM radio and the steel wheels are generally only featured on the least-expensive models, showing just how far the industry has come since 1991.

Best of all, as a special promotion when this commercial launched in 1991, you even got a free Ford bedliner for that base price and that is something that the Motor Company still offers to bolster sales today.

Crank up your speakers and enjoy!

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

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