A Decade-By-Decade Look at How Ford Truck Prices Have Changed
Here's a decade-by-decade look at how Ford truck prices have changed over the years.
Alarming Trend
It's not exactly a secret that Ford trucks - and trucks in general - have gotten significantly more expensive over the years, and this is especially true of the more modern era. Outpacing inflation by a long shot, new truck prices continue to rise not only due to macroeconomic factors but also, the presence of more and more technology and luxurious features. Thus, it's pretty fascinating to take a look back at how we got here, which is precisely what we've done here in a decade-by-decade look at historic Ford truck pricing.
Photos: Ford
1950s
The Ford F-Series debuted in 1948 and really hit its stride in the following decade, when one could purchase a brand new F-100 for a mere $1,287. Even in today's money - when accounting for inflation, that's a mere $16,890, which we imagine anyone would be willing to shell out for a new F-Series pickup today. By the time 1959 rolled around, that number had increased to $2,230, or $23,716 when adjusted for inflation, however.
Photos: Ford
1960s
In 1960, one could buy a new F-100 for $2,010, which is $21,072 in today's money - getting closer to the price of a new Maverick, albeit with far less tech, anyway. By the time that decade was closing out, prices had risen a little, to $2,430 or $20,547, too.
Photos: Ford
1970s
The 1970s continued the success of the F-Series in a big way, but buyers wanting to purchase one of these trucks at the dawn of the decade had to shell out at least $2,675, or $21,825 in today's money. However, following an update for 1978, that price increased to a whopping $4,729, or $23,336.
Photos: Ford
1980s
In 1980, it cost at least $5,782 or $22,921 to get behind the wheel of a new F-Series pickup as we continued to see a sharp rise in new truck pricing. Through the course of the '80s, that trend continued, and culminated in 1989 with an MSRP of $11,001, or $28,017.
Photos: Ford
1990s
The 1990s were no exception to the rule as Ford trucks continued to get more modern and packed with features. In 1990, one could buy a new F-Series pickup for as little as $11,211 or $27,140 in today's money, a number that rose to $19,205 or $36,050 by the end of the '90s.
Photos: Ford
2000s
Ford trucks really began their transformation from workhorses to luxurious family haulers in the 2000s, though pricing started out at around $19,510, or $35,647 when adjusted for inflation in the first year of that decade. In 2009, the MSRP of a new Ford F-150 stood at $30,475, however, which is $44k in today's money.
Photos: Ford
Today
This alarming trend has hit overdrive over the past few years as Ford trucks continue to get more and more expensive, yet no less popular. In fact, the refreshed 2024 Ford F-150 now starts out at $36,770 minus destination charges - and that's a bare-bones XL regular cab two-wheel-drive model. Stepping up to an XLT and nabbing the type of features one expects from most modern vehicles will cost you at least $47k - and it only goes up from there.
Photos: Ford
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