By the time the 2014 F-150 hits the showroom floors, 11 model years will have passed since the 2004 F-150 debuted.

The 2004 models were the pioneers of today's F-150's. In many people's opinions, the current gen trucks are essentially 11 years old. We had a major refreshening in the 2009 MY but the foot print is identical. Many things remain unchanged while the truck has evolved drastically. I'm going back to 2004 as the chassis, axles, suspension and 4x4 systems are the same or similar with minor improvements.

Thoughts? Discussion?

 

I'm not entirely sure I agree with that. While they haven't totally gutted the model and started over in one year, they've made some pretty huge improvements over time.

Engines - from the 2V motors to 3V, and then the 3.7/EB/5.0/6.2.
Transmission - from the 4R100 to the 6R80
Interior - totally different
E-locker rear end
Etc.

One of my biggest worries with the 2015/Atlas line is that they will screw up a good thing. Active grille/wheel slats, an active suspension, etc. may be great for cars... but I'm not sure I want them on a truck.

 

I do agree that a lot of the profile picture of the current model seems to be the same as the previous generation truck. I have always thought that from 2004-present Ford has built a fine looking truck. Although I owned one, I was never totally in love with the '97-'03 model design.

I will also say that my 2004 F150 was my favorite truck. I still miss that truck every day. It seems to me that it was easier to get in and out of and I prefer the smaller sized doors compared to the bigger doors on the truck I have now. I would also rather have the overall size of the 2004 compared to the current model.

On the other side, I prefer the engine choices in the current model year, steering, transmission, sync package and a few other creature comforts over the previous model.

 

The 3v 5.4L engine was introduced in the 2004 F150, that part was the same from 2004-2010. The dinosaur-like 2V 4.6L engine persisted until 2010 as well, but the 3V variant was also introduced in 2009.

Please don't confuse a concept truck shown at an auto show last year with a production truck, because they are not even going to be close. Just like the Super Duty trucks redesigned in 2008 and 2011 were nothing like the Super Chief concept of 2006. The Atlas was a concept truck and nothing more; the production model is almost certainly going to be very different. They even admitted at the time that the active wheel shutter technology wasn't even close to being ready for production. The upcoming 2015 F150 and Atlas concept are two very different things.

 

I'm hoping to get a bit more traction on this before it dies.

Part of the point is that the 2004-2014 being an 11 year run on basically the same truck is a bit shorter than the 1980-1996 trucks. Even though they did evolve and change they were the same basic truck all through the years just as the 2004-2014 has been.

I'm thinking that the 2015 model is launching a whole generation of F-150's. Lighter materials, another engine offering and who knows what else. Will this generation stand the test of time? Maybe till 2025 when the CAFE standards change again.

 

You know, I drive a 2005, and I've been looking at the newer trucks. Honestly, the biggest improvement is that transmission. I've looked at the torque curves for both the 5.0 and the EgoBoost, and I don't think my 5.4 is doing too badly. Having only 4 gears hurts when pulling hills though, seems really hard to find a "happy" speed. She'll pull as fast as I have ***** to go, but the sweet spots seem to be at either 55 or 75 mph. More gears might help that.

I probably will get a newer truck soon enough mine is getting a bit long in the tooth, has some rust and rattles, but I'm not expecting that big of an improvement. Maybe that's a good thing?

 

I honestly think the '04-present F150s will vindicate themselves quite nicely in the history books. If you took an '04 F150 and modernized the interior and gave it a new powertrain it would be a competitive choice today even ten years after its launch. And that's very close to what the brand-new F150s are. Yeah some things have changed such as the steel lower control arms, different wheelbases, longer crew cab, and a few others, but the base truck is identical. That makes it the oldest chassis currently on the market, and it's class leading in just about every spec that matters to a truck owner. That says a lot when the chassis is that competitive when it's this long in the tooth.

I completely agree, and the better transmission was one of the biggest reasons I found myself trading my '07 in. The 6R80 is a night-and-day difference compared to the 4R75E. No doubt the new engines are an improvement, but the increased power is severe overkill for just about anything you can tow with a half ton. Which is GREAT, but certainly not essential to safely towing 10,000 lbs. It's a shame there's no good way to swap the 6R80 into an '04-'08 truck.

 

I've often asked myself why did Ford ditch the aluminum lower control arms for the newer steel ones? My 2008 has the aluminum ones & I remember observing a "Truth about Trucks" Ford video stating that the aluminum control arms do a great job of eating road noise which they do my truck is quiet. So why did they go to steel which is just gonna rust over time?

 

They did the same thing on the IRS on the 2007 Expeditions. They were aluminum on the 04-06 models and they became stamped steel on the 07's. As I understand it, Ford feels that it's durable enough and yet much cheaper to produce.

 

I asked myself the exact same question when I saw the "Stamped Steel Lower Control Arms" on the spec sheet of the '09s. Perhaps it was cheaper to invest in higher quality suspension bushings to insulate from road noise than aluminum arms? My '13 is quieter than my '07 was, so I don't know.

Probably had to do with cost. All the tech wizardry on the newer trucks costs money, and if they didn't cut costs elsewhere the prices of the truck would rise substantially. Just a guess of course. By the way you should NEVER see issues with control arms rusting. Steel or otherwise, they are pretty thick steel.

The control arms on my 17-year-old Town Car look fantastic, and they are also stamped steel.

 

Is your 17 year old Town Car 4.6 V8 powered? If so how many miles? I luv that motor in my DD 2011 Crown Vic LX. Gets decent highway mileage for such I big comfortable car. They run forever too!

 

Yup, it has the NPI 4.6L SOHC V8. I just bought it three weeks ago for a thousand dollars, and it has 144,000 miles. It runs fantastic and is lots of fun to drive with a torquey V8 under the hood. She's a boat though, only 6 inches shorter than my Excursion!

This was taken the day I got it:

 

Very Nice! I think that they have a air suspension on the rear. I lucked out on a mint 2011 Crown Vic LX Black from a local Ford dealer last Febuary. Was a florida car with 37K miles on her. I just turned 50K & love it! I put Stainlessworks cat back duals on her! Keeps the wear & tear off of my 2008 F-150 as its my Daily driver+ fuel savings also!