i grew up in a mostly Ford family... we always had Ford trucks.. coming up, i knew that if you wanted to get some work done, you were gonna have to have a Ford truck.. this wasnt really "taught" to me.. i mean, dad never really said much about the trucks.. one way or the other.. when we went to the cattle auction barns, we always saw that there were more Fords than anything else... or maybe its just that since thats what we had, we noticed the Fords...
for me, my first car was a '75 Comet.. i did everything you shouldnt do to a car and it never gave a problem.. it was abused and "rigged" to the point where it did finally catch fire and burnt up at a redlight.. my next ride was an '86 gmc jimmy.. it did fine for almost a year. then electrical problems started.. then engine problems.. then trans.. then i sold it to my brother.. (no, we dont get along)..it had a rod knocking. he drove it anyway and it died on him.. my next ride was the family farm truck. 1979 F-350 crew cab.. i drove it for about a year.. once i got the holley carb tuned, it was fine.. we still have it.. i bought a gmc 2500.. we work it too hard and it keeps breaking things.. like the 4l60e trans.. i hate the truck.. i gave it to my dad.. he still has it.. in saying that its a crap truck.. it did haul my new (to me) 1979 F-250 supercab back from Kansas City with no worries at all.. ok.. i did have a blow out.. but still, it has been doing fine for dad.. so maybe its me?
i swear by Ford trucks because i have personally had really good luck with them.. in saying that, it is fair to mention that i did pass 3 Fords up when i bought the GMC... i didnt like the doors on the 1999 Ford trucks.. they looked too big...
so i am a Ford nut.. but i really have a crush on the Fords from '79 and before.. the newer ones, i have no knowledge of...

now you know what i think...

 

My first Ford was a '72 E-200 that my Dad was able to pick up for a song (used w/100K) from a mechanic friend of his who serviced the Sears fleet. It was a little banged up, but we did a little body work and had it painted and worked up the interior a little bit (bed included ). It was a great truck. Here's an old pic I scanned:



I actually learned to drive on my Dad's old work truck, a '62 F-100 (3 on the tree ) that was fitted as a plumbing truck (had racks and side boxes, etc.).

 

i came from a totaly chevy (excuse profanity) family, im the only one that saw the light. so i guess the brainwashing theroy is not compleatly true

 

my dad has been a salesman at the local Ford dealership since I was 6. He's been a car salesman for nearly 30 years but for the last 18 it's been for Ford. So for most of my 24 years of being on this earth Ford vehicles have put a rof overhead and food on the table. Didn't have too much of a choice when I went to buy my first new truck, it was either buy a Ford from dad or have an unhappy family life if you catch my drift.

 

I grew up liking Chevy's. I liked the way they looked and my first truck when I was 18 was a 86 Chevy K-10 with a 4.3 liter V-6 and a 4 speed. That thing took me to the lakes and rivers all around Nevada and northern California the first year I owned it. After a year, I spent more time under it and in the engine bay than I did in the cab of it.
I bought an 83 F-150 with a 300-6, 4x4 4 speed, and I swear that truck would drive me to hell and back if I wanted to. In the 5 years I owned it, I never had to replace the brakes, starter, alt, or u-joints. I put a clutch in it and a new carb, but that's it!
I sold that truck because I needed a family vehicle and a Bronco was too expensive in Reno, so I bought a 1990 fullsize Blazer. I owned it for 2 years and I replaced the rearend, distributor, TBI unit, fuel pump, wiring harness, exhaust system, ECM twice, and every sensor on it and it still gave me a "check engine soon" warning with a new code every time I checked the codes. It broke me, financially and emotionally. I spent $4000 in the 2 years I owned it.
I finally sold it for my F-250 2 years ago. I didn't even try to haggle with the car lot about the price. When they asked me if I wanted anything out of the Blazer, I told them that anything in it had been Chevified and I didn't want the germs on my new truck. So far, this truck has been the second best one I've owned and if someone GAVE me a Chevy, I'd turn around and sell it that day. It's the only brand that's beaten me, and I've worked on everything.

 

Chevy quality did it's own reverse brainwashing on me. My father had a 79 chevy c10 with a 305. It was a dog, then started spitting out connecting rods one day. We dropped a used 350 into it, it was still a dog, then the carb started dumping gas everywhere. Fixed that, about a month later, it threw a rod again. That truck was sold for an 80 F-100 three on the tree with a 300-6, that's what I learned to drive on. It was a good truck, we managed to fit a whole cord of wood in the bed with sideboards, it hauled it pretty well. The next was an 83 F-100 with a 300-6 and four speed overdrive. You would have to be doing about 70 in third to get it in fourth, but it was a reliable truck. I think he had it for about five years, not too many problems. Now, I prefer Fords, but I don't have blinders on. I bought an 86 s10 a few weeks ago, just because it was cheap and I need a compact pickup. It's ok, the po beat it to death. My 84 F-250 just finally succumbed to rust, and my 69 F-250 is about to undergo a total restoration and conversion to 4x4. I have owned Toyotas, Mazdas, Chevies, a honda, Ford trucks and Ford cars. Of all, I prefer the Ford truck the most, it just suits my needs better.

 

My dad drove what a lot of successful German immigrants drive- a Mercedes (a whole slew of 'em). This was back in the days before they were cool or cost as much as a house. My mom liked big, heavy, comfortable American cars. She was about evenly split between GM and Ford products before the 70's- then she stayed pretty much with Buick and Cadillac (I might have had something to do with that ).

We had a neighbor that was a contractor, and he always had a Ford pickup- and a 1910 Model T milk truck, that I got to ride around in sometimes. He liked to wrench on his own stuff, and I learned a lot from him. I remember him being ambivalent on Ford cars, but he swore by those pickups. He just died a few years ago- in his 90's, still had a Ford PU (and the milk truck- LOL!).

 

I don't think I'm brainwashed. My grandpa had a Maverick and a Futura, both V8's. My dad, on the other hand, had a Dodge Duster (I'm told). Then, some Gutless Cutlass that I do remember, followed by a Chevy Citation, a Celebrity Wagon, a Chevy Van with captains chairs and a sofa in the back, a Jaguar, a Buick Regal, and a motorhome on an Econoline chassis.

Basically, me being a Ford guy is all on my own. My buddy had a 5.0, but he also had full sized Blazers. I had a Tempo, and a 5.0, but when it came to trucks, I saw what kind of trouble he had with his Chevy. No way for me. I got me a 77 F 100. Best truck I've ever owned. Including my 02 Ranger.

My Ranger, however, is another story. Little truck, does more than it's share, and gets me where I'm going while I get to stay dry. Not like my 77. Ha ha. 2 totally different trucks, but I love them both equally. I guess they'd be kind of like kids. Who knows.

 

My father has always had Fords, because he likes the dealer in town. They have a great service department and it is within walking distance of our house. That started me into liking Ford, but what really got me was when I started paying attention to how many miles were on what kinds of vehicles. Seemed like every one I saw with over 200K was a Ford pickup with a manual tranny.

 

I just liked the styling of mid 80's Ford trucks. The First and only F150 I ever owned (almost ten years now) has been the best ride I ever owned. I had a Mustang GT before that, I was very unhappy with the quality of that car, it had alot of problems. That should have been enuf to keep me off the Fords, but owning a F150 brought me back to Ford and has kept me in the flock ever since.

 

I actually grew up in a chevy family, so I don't know what got me hooked on fords, maybe the looks, the actual reliability, i dunno. I have to say though, I'm happy with my decision, driving around my 94 ranger with darn near 200K on it and I see my buddies having more problems than I do with their chevy's and dodges, oh and them imports

 

i've owned almost every make of truck and i always come back to fords . theres a lot of reasons. i havn't had any real bad experiances with other makes. i just like fords better. the looks, ride, performance ect.
plus i like my truck to be a truck. i think the 97 350 i just bought will be the newest truck i ever own now. the new trucks are just to car like to me.