At least the roof lights are cheap. I've complained about this on other threads. The LED headlamps / taillamps, for instance, are "standard" on the Explorer.

I think we need to remember most of the money spent is for the capability of the vehicle itself. The diesel engine option alone is almost half the value of your entire Kia. But I agree, I wish some things were standard. (Although I really don't care for the push-button starting).

 

There is no way to know. They could and should make power folding mirrors standard on ALL trucks regardless of trim level. Unfortunately you have to get the Lariat or higher trim levels to get that feature. The push to start system not being in the F-series trucks on lower trim levels actually has nothing to do with cost. All Mustangs for example have this feature. It's about market segmentation and getting you to spend that extra cash on the higher trim levels because those trucks have a lot more margin in them than the cheaper ones do. The cost increases between trim levels are not linear. A 2016 F-250 Platinum only offers a few cosmetic things that my truck doesn't have. The cost of that faux wood inlay in the steering wheel, or wood grain dash accents is minimal yet the same options on the Platinum vs. Lariat Ultimate is over $2,000. MSRP on my truck was 65,680 and it's about 67,000 and something for a Platinum configured the same way. By the same token, a "lesser" Lariat can be substantially cheaper but have most of what I do on my truck.

Again, it isn't about price. As for the clearance lights I agree with you but there are people that just don't like the way they look and don't feel any need to have them. Therefore, Ford offers buyers the choice. There are people who order the trucks without upfitter switches too. I don't know why, but they do. Ford offers it as a choice but most dealer orders will include them.

 

Again, it isn't about price. As for the clearance lights I agree with you but there are people that just don't like the way they look and don't feel any need to have them. Therefore, Ford offers buyers the choice. There are people who order the trucks without upfitter switches too. I don't know why, but they do. Ford offers it as a choice but most dealer orders will include them.[/QUOTE]



I am one who has a disdain for clearance lights. On an F-450 or larger, no problem. But on a SRW truck I really dislike the way they look. I will NOT buy a truck with them. That's why its really nice to have the choice.
Sam

 

I am one who has a disdain for clearance lights. On an F-450 or larger, no problem. But on a SRW truck I really dislike the way they look. I will NOT buy a truck with them. That's why its really nice to have the choice.
Sam[/QUOTE]

Not really my business, but why are they OK on an F-450 but not an F-350? I think the point is to let others know a large vehicle is coming. An F-350 could be moving 15,000lbs on a trailer at night, and I think all the extra warning to oncoming traffic is terrific.

 

I get where he's coming from. The DRW trucks should probably have them because they could be pulling serious weight and have a more "commercial" look and feel to them. Many F-250's and F-350's SRW's are often used as personal transportation more than anything by people who could make due with a mini-van or an F-150. That said, I don't mind them on any Super Duty personally. The clearance lights are something I didn't care about one way or another until parking in the garage at work. I wish my F-250 had them. I may add them, I don't know.

 

Well my truck is out of production waiting to be shipped to the dealer... what is the typical wait time? The truck is in Kentucky and i'm in California.

thanks!
Nate

 

Sometimes I wish they'd let us do factory pickup, Fly there get the 1000 miles on it on the trip home.

 

Clearance lights are not about looks. It is about law. Any vehicle over 80" in width is required by law to indicate the clearance and width by displaying 3 center lights (ID) and two outer limit lights (marker). Dimension E in the specification book shows the vehicle width (SRW) at 80". Right on the border of requiring clearance lights. The addition of a snowplow, for instance, makes the vehicle over the 80" standard and thus the clearance lights are required. The addition of a trailer over 80" also adds this requirement. These laws are little known and even less enforced for smaller trucks but try going through a DOT check with a commercial vehicle without the correct lights operating. These laws are actually quite complex and worth studying, even if compliance is not an issue.

 

You learn something new every day.

 

Not to mention, without them, your truck might look too much like a F150!

 

We have spent months analyzing every detail of the Super Duties to define them as separate from the F150. Wouldn't it be a kick in the grass if Ford redesigned the F150 to look more like the Super Duty? (It would certainly be an improvement but not very welcome here.)

 

I've never understood the anger about the similarity between 150 and 250/350.

Prior to 98 they all shared the same body and it was fine. You could usually tell right off the bat anyway what you were looking at if it mattered to you, just from stance, configuration and wheels. At least now they still have different beds and front clips.

 

No anger. The body styling of the F150 was terrible back when they first separated the styles. Without re designing the front clip they would still be far from my cup of tea. The sides sloped in, the grill sloped back and they just looked plain. Poorly designed and plain. No anger, just a dislike for the styling.

 

Wait and see. I suspect that's exactly what Ford will do with the supposed 2018 refresh of the F-150's design.

The split between the F-150 and the F-250/F-350 never made much sense to me. Essentially R&D costs for the F-series were double what they needed to be as two entirely different trucks with almost zero parts compatibility were designed and then built. That's probably why the Super Duty platform remained the same for so long.

 

I think Ford took a gamble in 1999 with the Super Duty trucks. They gambled that they could dominate sales by introducing a "bigger" truck...bigger cab, bigger nose, etc. The extra investment would be paid back in sales dividends. I'm surprised GM and Dodge did not follow suit. Ford did indeed dominate heavy duty truck sales.

On the other hand, it may have been a response to the new Dodge "drop fender" design of the the 1994 trucks. Those trucks had a much more imposing presence than the Ford trucks at the time.