10 Ford Features NO ONE Saw Coming 20 Years Ago!
From the model lineup to engine output and technology, there are dozens of modern Ford features today that no one could have predicted in 2004. Here are the ten most surprising.
2004
Set your time machine for the year 2004. Your destination is a local Ford-themed car show. The parking lot is full of brand-new 2004 Ford cars and trucks. Everyone is milling about and chatting about the F-150, the Mustang, and all the usual Ford topics. Then you walk into the show from a nearby cornfield with news from the year 2024. What do you say? You have seen the future. You know everything about Ford in the year 2024. What do you think would be the most surprising news that you could tell people from 20 years ago? The iPhone in your pocket should be enough to convince everyone that you are from the future, so they should believe you. But will they?
We picked ten things from Ford in the year 2024 that we think no one saw coming 20 years ago. 2004 is really not all that long ago. But when you look at the state of Ford then compared to now, you realize just how much has changed. The following is our top ten list of things that we think people in 2004 would have a hard time believing about Ford in 2024. What would you add to the list?
1. Bronco's Back
In 2004, the Ford Bronco had been out of production for 8 years already. And there was really not any talk of the model being revived. Ford had the Explorer, Excursion, Escape, and Expedition in the lineup, so any type of SUV you desired, Ford already had. Except of course for the beloved Bronco. A Bronco that was great off-road and would allow you to remove the roof and doors and experience the world in a whole new way seemed like a dream in 2004. Now we have exactly that Bronco in real life. The new Bronco returned in 2021 and has been a smash hit ever since.
2. Ford Builds a 720 HP Pickup
The most powerful F-150 in 2004 was the 380-horsepower SVT Lightning. It was, and still is, an incredible performance truck. But the new F-150 Raptor R has nearly double the amount of power. In a pickup truck that you can buy right off the showroom floor. We think people in 2004 would never believe that a factory Ford pickup with 720 horsepower could ever exist.
3. 3rd Generation F-150 Lightning Is an EV
Speaking of the 2004 F-150 SVT Lightning. It was the last year of the second-generation Lightning. A "third generation" returned in 2022, but it was not equipped with a fire-breathing V8 like the previous two generations. The new Lightning doesn’t even have a V6 or a V anything for that matter. It's all electric. That's right, people of 2004, the next time you can buy a new Ford Lightning will be 18 years in your future, and you will plug it into a wall to charge it. We bet you couldn't imagine that.
4. Maverick's Back (& It's the New Ranger)
Even back in 2004, the Ford Maverick had already been out of production for nearly 30 years. However, unlike the Bronco, not many people were clamoring for the return of the Maverick. It was a rather forgettable compact car. However, Ford did bring the Maverick back, about 45 years after it was last produced. Only this time, it was a compact pickup truck that took the place of what the Ford Ranger used to be (before it grew up into a mid-sized truck).
Ford felt that, with the size of pickups getting larger and more expensive every year, the market could use a compact pickup truck again. And they were right. The Maverick has been a tremendous sales success for Ford ever since it was released. The people of 2004 would have a hard time believing you, but it’s true.
5. The Mustang Is Ford's ONLY Car
If you told people in 2004 that Ford no longer sells cars (except for the Mustang) in 2024, they would understandably be shocked. The Ford car lineup in 2004 included the Thunderbird, Taurus, Focus, Crown Victoria, and of course the Mustang. Ford has been selling cars for over 120 years, they would never drop everything except the Mustang, would they? The market had spoken. People were not buying cars like they used to. Everyone wanted SUVs and trucks, so Ford focused on SUVs and trucks, and starting in 2019, the Mustang was the only Ford car in the lineup.
6. Super Duties Can Tow 40,000 Pounds
A properly equipped 2004 Ford F-450 could tow 21,400 pounds. Impressive. But a new F-450 can tow nearly double that when properly equipped. That is about half of what an 18-wheeler can tow. If you told people 20 years ago that Ford would be building a truck with that sort of towing capacity, they would laugh in your face.
7. Ford Trucks Can Be Driven Hands-Free
Do you really want to freak out people in 2004? Load a 2024 Ford pickup equipped with BlueCruise in your time machine and take them for a ride. Without telling them, head to some of the 130,000 miles of North American roads that are Hands-Free Blue Zones. Then take your hands off the wheel. Watch the face of your 2004 passenger as the truck glides down the highway while you sit back and relax. They will be wearing an expression that is a mix of shock, disbelief, wonder, and fear.
8. An F-150 Can Act as a Mobile Generator
In 2004, if you wanted your truck to act as a mobile generator, it would require you to purchase a mobile generator and carry it around in the bed of your truck. But in 2024, there's no need for such a rudimentary solution. Ford Pro Power Onboard offers up to 7.2 kilowatts of power right from your truck bed. That is enough power to run all the tools you would need to frame a house.
9. Least Powerful 2024 F-150 More Powerful Than Most Powerful 2004 F-150
The most powerful engine that you could get in a regular (not including the SVT Lightning) F-150 in 2004 was the 300 horsepower 5.4L Triton V8. In 2024 the least powerful F-150 engine is the 2.7L V6 that makes 325 horsepower. The entry-level V6 in 2004 made just 202 horsepower. We think that people would have a hard time believing that the least powerful engine in a regular F-150 in 2024 has more power than the most powerful engine from 2004.
10. F-Series Is STILL Best-Selling Truck in America
In 2004 the F-Series was the best-selling truck in America. Ford sold 939,511 F-Series trucks that year. It was the 27th year in a row that the F-Series was the best-selling truck in America. So, it already had quite a winning streak going. But, if you told people that Ford would keep that streak going for at least another 20 years, you may have had some doubters. Yet here we are. And it looks like in a few short weeks Ford will announce that the F-Series remained the best-selling truck in America for 48 straight years. We are alive in 2024, and even we have a hard time believing that streak is still intact.
Images: Ford