Hot Rodding doesn’t stop at the road’s end. In fact, the mechanized cultural phenomenon has permeated far beyond asphalt and into the hearts of freshwater boating enthusiasts across generations. For 2023, the Grand National Roadster show, held in Pomona, California welcomed hot road boats to join the festivities. Nearly an entire show hall was full of wild, vintage, and immaculately restored offerings to the maritime gods of speed. Feast your eyes on this gallery of hemi-powered, roots-blown, stack injected, and otherwise wickedly fast hot rod boats.
During Arizona Auction Week 2023, the ClassicCars.com Journal had the pleasure to attend The Scottsdale Auction hosted by Bonhams. Held at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in the northern reaches of Scottsdale, the auction was another well-heeled event to satiate enthusiasts.
Of course, Bonhams is one of the world’s oldest companies, having been founded in 1793. It’s also one of the world’s largest auction houses when it comes to antiquities, fine art, jewelry and, of course, motor cars (as the Brits like to call it).
The understated affair featured a small buffet breakfast for attendees, with plenty of staff on hand to attend to the hungry crowd. But what the crowd was truly hungry for were classic cars, some of which commanded millions of dollars. The cars highlighted to garner the most attention were the 2006 Maserati MC12 Corse track car ($3,811,000), 1912 Simplex 50HP five-passenger Torpedo Tourer ($4,845,000), 1958 BMW 507 Series II ($2,067,500), 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS roadster ($1,586,250), 1953 Siata 208S Spider ($1,572,500) and 2005 Porsche Carrera GT ($1,033,500). However, the cars that truly excited us were the 1957 Chrysler Ghia Super Dart 400 ($819,000) and 1954 Chrysler Ghia GS-1 ($802,500).
Those cars, plus many others, can be seen below, and follow this link for more coverage of Arizona Auction Week.
While Dodge’s Little Red Express may lay claim to the original sport truck monicker, Ford’s Lighting may have rolled out of the showroom at a quicker pace, and GMC’s turbo AWD storm warnings might have packed more era-leading tech, it was Chevrolet’s Silverado SS 454 pickup that had our hearts. The limited run, single-cab, big-block pickup revived a sound and presence that hadn’t been seen outside the muscle car realm in quite some time and was a bedroom wall poster aspiration for many a high-schooler. Today, surviving specimens are few and far between and even fewer are in as solid condition as this prime example that’s currently up for auction.
The truck is said to have been owned by the founder of Royal Purple oil, which seems like an obvious quell for any concerns about oil change intervals. The engine has been rebuilt and the paint resprayed in the original Onyx Black hue. Careful observers will note the cowl hood which is a tasteful, yet aftermarket add-on.
The inarguable star of the show was the 454ci big-block Chevy under the hood. While it only produced 230hp in factory trim, enthusiasts were quick to tap the performance potential of all those cubic inches.
The Garnet Red cloth interior is original and in excellent shape. According to the seller all of the original guages and HVAC controls function.
If you like what you see, make sure to check the auction page for more photos, info, or to make a bid on this 1990 Chevrolet Silverado 454 SS
Kit cars are the automotive embodiment of grand plans. They’re the means by which anybody with ambition and a set of hand tools can build an exotic or sporty car on par with something that would normally cost a few decades’ worth of salary. They’re also supposed to be rather quick to assemble, with the most basic and straightforward versions taking about a weekend to plop onto a running and rolling chassis. Then there’s the Devin-Crosley kit car that Jim Liberty has taken on, a project that will soon come to fruition after 75 years.
“How does a 75-year-old car just sit as it came from Devin?” Jim asked. “The owner’s only concern was whether he had enough juice to finish it.”
Jim, who is based in Costa Mesa, California, and is best known for his Porsche 356 restorations, isn’t above taking on something a little more unique. His shop truck is a lightly modified Crosley CC pickup, and he’s restored a 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite to recapture the feeling of his first sports car. It was the former, however, that led him to the long-dormant Devin project—the longest, in fact, that we’ve come across.
“I was buying parts for the pickup from the owner and he told me he just had too much work over the years to ever get started on it,” Jim says.
Photo courtesy Jim Liberty
According to the story that the owner related, the project began sometime around 1948, even before Devin started building fiberglass bodies. The prior owner of the project had a 1946 Crosley station wagon that caught fire and, rather than scrap it, he socked it away in his Ohio basement. Then, sometime after Devin established Devin Enterprises in 1954, the station wagon owner bought a Devin fiberglass roadster body.
Bill Devin, once called “the Enzo Ferrari of the Okie Flats,” only grew up in Oklahoma; other than a few years in Iowa, he spent most of his adult life in California. Cars, however, were a constant throughout his life, from the Chevrolet dealership that his father ran to the Chrysler-Plymouth dealerships that he operated and on to the Crosley Hotshot in which he started his sports car racing career and the Ferraris and other European cars he bought, sold, and raced. While other California-based hot-rodders and racers had already discovered the benefits of fiberglass bodies, Devin taught himself how to work in the medium and quickly became one of, if not the most, prolific manufacturers of fiberglass bodies for existing car chassis. He started by splashing a mold off a Deutsch-Bonnet for his Devin-Panhard, according to Kevin Callahan at Devin Sports Cars, then progressed to developing his own molds, patterned after an unnamed small Italian spider (reportedly a Scaglietti-bodied Ermini 357 Sport, one of three built). Rather than produce a single mold for a single chassis, Devin instead produced as many as 50 sections of molds from which he could mix and match to lay up bodies in dozens of sizes for multiple chassis.
Bill Devin with some of his production fiberglass carsPhoto via Devin Sports Cars
While Devin later went on to offer his own body and chassis combination under the name Devin SS as well as versions for rear-engine applications after the Volkswagen phenomenon took hold, the owner of the now-stripped Crosley chassis bought a front-engine body along with a couple of fiberglass racing seats direct from Devin. As Jim told the story, the builder got as far as extending the chassis by 24 inches and placing the body on the chassis before other priorities obviously took over. After Roughly 60 years, that owner then took the project to the Crosley Automobile Club‘s Nationals in Wauseon, Ohio, where he offered it for sale in the swap meet and where the Sioux Falls-based owner spotted it.
“It was 100 percent virgin when he bought it,” Jim says.
Photo courtesy Jim Liberty
Other than adding some Dayton wire wheels to the car, though, he never did anything with it either, so he sold the project to Jim. While the Devin came with a Crosley 750cc four-cylinder, presumably the station wagon’s original engine, and a Sprite four-speed transmission, a common upgrade over the Crosley’s unsynchronized three-speed manual transmission, Jim said trying to mate the two “turned into a nightmare” so he substituted a supercharged 1275-cc four-cylinder out of an MG for the Crosley engine and kept the Sprite transmission. He also widened the rear axle to accommodate the wider wire wheels, but left the rest of the chassis alone and focused on the bodywork necessary for preparing a 60-something-year-old fiberglass body for the first paint ever to coat its surfaces. Plans call for it to be black with red racing stripes and a red vinyl interior using those original Devin seats, Jim says.
Photo courtesy Jim Liberty
And while it’s not a 356, Jim says it’s still getting the same treatment as any of his projects, which benefit from a number of specialists within walking distance of his shop. “The best of the best,” he says.
According to Jim, the Devin will be titled in California as a 1948 Crosley and will be going up for sale sometime this fall.
Date: 1968
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Source: Laitila Unto, via Helsinki Photos
What do you see here?
Photo by Laitila Unto
Cars and trucks are some of the deadliest things humans use on a daily basis, and most drivers don’t even realize that. But automotive design and safety have come a long way in the past few decades. However, there have been extremely unsafe cars, even with modern safety enhancements. During the 1990s, SUVs were a hot-button issue and the Isuzu Trooper was at the forefront of the discussion as the worst.
The Ford Explorer was also the subject of intense controversy in the early 2000s due to explosions and rollover incidents. Looking back a few decades, the Chevrolet Corvair was so bad that a congressman named Ralph Nader penned a book about it titled “Unsafe At Any Speed”. We looked back through the decades and found some of the most unsafe cars on the road. You’ll want to avoid these rides, so find out just which model they are right here.
Chevrolet Vega
The Vega was known for “literally” being a rust bucket as it started rusting as soon as the driver left the dealership. But the Vega was also a very unsafe car with a poor crash test rating and build quality. The engine design was the poorest ever made out of GM, with everything from piston scuffing to head gasket failure (via Motor Trend).
There’s no denying the Vega was rushed onto the market. The real question was how did GM get away with it for so long? There was an onslaught of new compact cars that hit the market during this period, and the Vega was one of them. But between poor build quality and limited reliability, the Vega was an awful car.
The post Driving Dangers: The Most Unsafe Cars On The Road At Any Speed appeared first on Motor Junkie.
The 2023 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction just wrapped up and among the 1,907 vehicles sold (totaling more than $184.2 million in sales) were numerous offerings by Porsche. A 2005 Carrera GT was the top selling Porsche at the auction with a $1,595,000 hammer price. The Carrera GT was the second most expensive car at the 2023 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, trailing only a 1989 Ferrari F40 that sold for $2,750,000, and is proper example to lead the Top 10 Porsche sales from the recent auction.
Top 10 Porsche sales at the 2023 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction
It’s amazing how two simple letters can pack so much meaning for car enthusiasts. Chevrolet and its “Super Sport” models, or SS for short, have been a truly dominating force in the auto world since the early 1960s. The SS series was one of the first “royal family” models in GM’s stable. Technically, the SS designation was introduced in the late 1950s for a special track-only Corvette.
But it became truly well-known when those two S were bolted on the fenders of the 1961 Impala. That was the exact moment when the SS moniker became legendary and set the path forth for many cars that followed. Muscle car fans remember these fire-breathing GM beasts as some of the finest muscle cars of Detroit’s Golden Age, and for good reason. Check out the greatest car that bore the coveted SS designation right here.
1961 Chevrolet Impala SS 409
The legendary 196q Impala SS (Super Sport) package has its place in muscle car history as a very important model that promoted performance to the general public. This was one of the first high-performance automobiles that were relatively affordable and fast. Everything started when Chevrolet decided to transform its 409 truck engine for use in passenger cars and found out it could outrun all other cars on the road. Just with mild modifications to the engine, it could produce up to 409 HP, enough to propel the Impala from 0 to 60 mph in just six seconds flat (via Motor Trend).
At the time that was Corvette territory. So as a mid-year introduction, Chevrolet presented the SS package. It featured bucket seats, sports trim, and other details. It came with a 348 V8 engine with 350 HP. However, the most interesting option was the 409 V8 with up to 409 HP if you opted for the dual quad intake system. Even though Chevrolet sold over a million of its full-size models, it only made 456 Impalas SS models that year. Out of those, only 142 Impalas came with the 409 engine. Interestingly, the 409 option was available for all Chevrolet full-size models in 1961. Hence, Chevrolet could make sedans and wagons with 409, but those cars have yet to surface. Today, the 1961 Impala SS 409 is one of the most valuable cars in Chevrolet’s storied muscle car history.
The post Muscle To Masterpiece: The Greatest Chevrolet SS Models Ever Made appeared first on Motor Junkie.
This 1931 Chevrolet Independence sport coupe is said to have been modified in hot-rod style during the 1980s in Ohio and is powered by a 307ci V8 and a three-speed automatic transmission sourced from a 1970 Chevrolet Nova. The steel body is paired with fiberglass rear fenders and has been refinished in blue, and the interior has been redone in gray cloth. Features include 16″ wire wheels, Wilwood front disc brakes, a Flaming River steering rack, fender-mounted spares, a removable tow ball, a crank-up windshield, a roll-down rear window, a Kenwood CD stereo, and R134a air conditioning. The seller acquired the car in 2011, and recent service is said to have included rebuilding the carburetor, changing the oil, recharging the air-conditioning system, and replacing the steering rack, steering column, and steering pump. This modified Series AE coupe is now offered with an Ohio title in the seller’s name.
The body is said to have been modified in late 1980s, at which time it was repainted in blue with red pinstripes along the body lines. The rumble seat was converted into a trunk, and the car features fiberglass rear fenders, side-mounted spares, a front wiper, a crank-up windshield, a roll-down rear window, bright bumpers, and a removable tow ball. Signs of age and other imperfections are noted in the paint.
Chrome-finished 16″ wire wheels wear spinner center caps and are mounted with 215/55 front and 255/70 rear Performance Radial GT tires. The chassis has been modified, and Wilwood disc brakes are utilized up front. The seller states that a Flaming River replacement steering rack, steering column, and power-steering pump have been recently installed.
The interior features a bench seat with gray cloth upholstery, and the kick panels and rear trim have been covered to match. Appointments include a center console, a Kenwood CD stereo, and a Vintage Air climate-control system, which the seller states was recently repaired and recharged with R134a refrigerant.
An aftermarket steering wheel sits ahead of a VDO 120-mph speedometer and four auxiliary gauges. The five-digit mechanical odometer shows 14k miles, approximately 200 of which have been added by the seller. True chassis mileage is unknown.
The 307ci V8 and TH350 three-speed automatic transmission are said to have been sourced from a 1970 Nova. The engine is topped with a Rochester two-barrel carburetor and makes use of a mechanical fuel pump, tubular exhaust headers, and a dual exhaust system. The seller states that the carburetor was rebuilt and the oil changed in preparation for the sale.
Power is delivered to the wheels through a solid rear axle with 3.08:1 gears inside a 10-bolt GM 8.2″ differential. Additional photos of the underside are presented in the gallery below.
A reproduction VIN tag has been affixed to the car and matches the Identification Number listed on the Ohio title. The title lists “Mlg Brand Non-Actual: Warning Odometer Discrepancy” under the Brands section, and the document also notes the vehicle model as “12AE,” although the rumble-seat “sport coupe” for 1931 was known as 6AE. A redacted image of the title is provided in the gallery.
In the summer of 2021, Ford introduced a new F-150, the 14th generation of the F-Series pickup truck. Curiously, through those 14 generations over nearly 75 years, it has never once occurred to Ford to use any sort of official distinction among the generations beyond first, second, third, fourth, and so on. But as the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 40 years now, the F-Series has naturally generated legions of admirers and enthusiasts who have bestowed their own more creative nicknames on most of those generations. For handy reference, we’ve rounded those up here.
Bonus Built
1948-1952: The F-Series started with Ford’s first all-new postwar trucks, which also represented Ford’s first all-new postwar vehicles. Generally considered to be the first Ford pickups that didn’t share any chassis architecture with the car line (though Ford did start to separate car and pickup architecture as early as 1942), the F-Series also introduced a reasonably easy-to-understand model name system, with F-1 for the half-tons, F-2 for the three-quarter-tons, F-3 for the heavy-duty three-quarter-tons, and so on, up to the F-8 three-ton trucks. In addition to the flathead V-8, Ford also powered these F-Series trucks with flathead straight-sixes.
Naming Convention: Despite Ford’s insistence today that it has only ever referred to these trucks as the first-generation F-Series, the company consistently advertised them as the Bonus Built trucks and even called them such on the cover of the operator’s manual. Enthusiasts have followed suit.
Price Range: According to the Hemmings Price Guide, average prices for Bonus Built F-1s fall in the low $30,000 range, with decent examples ranging from the upper teens to the lower $60,000 range. Classic.com shows recent auction prices generally in the mid-$20,000 to mid-$50,000 range.
Effies
1953-1956: As part of the company’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the F-Series got a near-complete makeover, with new “Driverized” cabs, new front sheetmetal, and a redesigned chassis with a set-back front axle that increased front overhang but also decreased the turning radius. Ford also ditched the single-digit model designations after the first generation in favor of three-digit designations, starting with F-100, then moving up to F-250, F-350, and so forth. Drivetrains initially remained the same, but this generation saw the introduction of the overhead-valve Y-block as well as the Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission.
Naming Convention: In its marketing efforts for the second-generation F-Series pickups, Ford dubbed them the “Triple Economy” trucks (referring, apparently, to more economical engines, more efficient cabs, and greater money-making potential from increased load capacities). However, enthusiasts these days seem divided on whether to call these trucks Effies or Fatfenders, with some contingents sticking to 50th Anniversary Trucks and still others holding out for Triple Economy.
Price Range: Effie/Fatfender F-100s tend to be popular with street rodders, with modified examples fetching well north of the Hemmings Price Guide average in the low $40,000 range. Indeed, we’re seeing them trade hands from the upper $20,000 to the lower $70,000 range. Classic.com reports recent sales below $50,000.
Fridge
1957-1960: Ford pickups embraced full envelope styling for the third-generation F-Series with not just a wider cab and full-width wrapover hood but also the introduction of the Styleside bed. Despite the changes to the body, the chassis remained more or less the same as the second-generation trucks with a few tweaks. Perhaps the biggest of those tweaks came in 1959, when Ford management decided to stop farming out four-wheel-drive production to Marmon-Herrington and start producing four-wheel-drive trucks in-house.
Naming Convention: Late in the generation, Ford tried a “Certified Economy” slogan, but that never stuck. We’ve seen some enthusiasts also try to call these Effies, but most Ford F-Series fans know the third-generation trucks best as the Fridge trucks, given that they have the aerodynamics of a typical refrigerator.
Price Range: Much less popular with collectors than other generations, the Fridge F-Series is also a relative bargain. Average asking prices on Hemmings.com hover in the mid-$20,000 range, though most that you’ll find tend to be restored or restomod versions in the $30,000 range or unrestored examples in the low $10,000 range. Classic.com reports recent sale prices ranging from the low teens to upper $20,000 range.
Slick Sixties
1961-1966: For the fourth-generation F-Series, Ford tried something unique: an integrated cab and bed that the company called Unibody. Part of an effort to make the pickups more car-like – and possibly to give them more of a familial appearance with the new Econoline pickup and the Ranchero – the Unibody lasted through 1963 before Ford decided to revert to separate cab and bed, reportedly due to issues with the bodies flexing while hauling heavy loads. Other attempts to make the pickups more carlike proved more successful, with the introduction of both the Twin I-beam front axle and suspension and the Ranger trim with bucket seats in 1965. Engine-wise, the latter half of the generation also saw the transition from Y-block V-8s to the FE-series 352, as well as the jump from the second-generation straight-sixes to the fourth-generation (240/300) straight-sixes.
Naming Convention: Ford and GM pickup histories tend to parallel each other, but no more so than with the naming convention for the trucks from this period. Or should we say the lack of a naming convention. We see the occasional reference to the Unibody era of Ford trucks, but that seems less than adequate given the Unibody only lasted a few years and that Ford also offered its Flareside (stepside) beds in this era. A review of sales literature doesn’t show any alternatives; nor do Ford pickup enthusiast sources offer a catchy nickname.
UPDATE: According to at least a couple of our readers, this generation is often known as the Slicks or Slick Sixties.
Price Range: The Hemmings Price Guide shows an average asking price for this generation not too dissimilar from the average asking price of the Fridge generation, but that figure bears some elaboration. Average asking prices for the first three years of the fourth-generation F-Series well outpace those for the latter three years, likely because of high demand for the Unibody versions, generally seen as the most collectible F-Series trucks of this era. On the other hand, the Flaresides and the mid-generation versions that came from the factory with the previous generation’s Styleside bed are generally less desirable and can be had for $10,000 or less. Classic.com reports recent sales ranging from the mid-teens into the $30,000 range, with a number of outliers on the upper end.
Bumpsides
1967-1972: If the nameless fourth-generation F-Series didn’t bestow upon the world its unique body configuration, it at least provided a chassis that Ford would use for many years after, starting with the fifth-generation F-Series. Engine choices expanded during this generation to include the 302, 360, and 390, while Ford added a Falcon six-cylinder option. Similarly, the number of trim levels expanded, with the first appearance of the Ranger XLT and Explorer Special badges. Factory-built crew cabs (on F-250s and F-350s) entered the picture during this generation, as did the Highboy four-wheel drive F-250.
Naming Convention: Bumpside. However else Ford might have marketed the fifth-generation F-Series, the spear down the side of the trucks proved so distinctive that the Bumpside nickname stuck.
Price Range: Plentiful on the market, Bumpsides are also relatively inexpensive, with many sub-$10,000 examples to choose from and fully restored examples going for $25,000 or less. Restomods tend to command more, depending on the amount of work involved, but even high-end examples remain bargains compared to street-rodded first- and second-generation F-Series trucks. Classic.com generally reports sales in the low teens to upper $20,000 range, though like with the Slick Sixties, restomods are commanding far more, into six-figure sums.
Dentsides
1973-1979: Still on the late fourth-generation chassis, the sixth-generation F-Series pickups added some visual bulk as well as some refinements such as optional disc brakes, galvanized sheetmetal, a gas tank outside of the cab, and bigger 351, 400, and 460 V-8s. The Bronco migrated over to the sixth-generation platform right at the end of the generation, despite initial plans to do so much earlier. Perhaps more importantly, Ford added the Super Cab extended-cab body style to compete with Dodge’s Club Cab in 1975, the same year Ford also added the F-150 model designation. This generation also saw Ford overtake Chevrolet as the best-selling truck in the United States in 1977.
Naming Convention: Similar to the fifth-generation F-Series, the sixth-generation trucks are now universally known as the Dentsides.
Price Range: While we’ve seen high asking prices of up to $40,000, averages run $20,000 all day long, and like the Bumpsides, plenty of good sub-$10,000 Dentsides exist. Expect to see plenty of lifted, big-tired examples due to the Bigfoot effect. Classic.com reports sales in the low teens to upper $20,000 range with not as many upper-end outliers as the Bumpsides.
Bullnose
1980-1986: With the first all-new chassis since 1965, Ford made a number of significant changes to the F-Series. First, the solid-axle four-wheel-drive front end gave way to the Twin Traction Beam design. Second, Ford added a 6.9L diesel V-8 developed with International Harvester for the F-250 and F-350, the first oil burner for Ford light-duty trucks. The F-100 model designation went away early in the generation, though Ford added a Blue Oval badge to the grille that has remained on full-size Ford pickups ever since.
Naming Convention: From focusing on the sides, Ford truck enthusiasts now started to direct their attention to the schnozz with the Bullnose nickname. We’ve also occasionally seen these referred to as Slantnoses, but Bullnose seems to win out on the open market.
Price Range: The Hemmings Price Guide suggests an average asking price of $15,000, and our current crop of Bullnose classifieds seems to bear that out. Yeah, these used to be dirt cheap, but sub-$5,000 examples are the exception now rather than the norm. The trucks seem to top out at $20,000 in the majority of Classic.com’s reported sales.
Bricknose
1987-1991: Though riding the same chassis and using the same cab as the Bullnose, the eighth-generation F-Series started to transition into the high-tech era with composite headlamps, an entirely fuel-injected range of engines in 1988, an optional five-speed manual transmission, and four-wheel antilock brakes, not to mention the oh-so-Nineties Nite edition. Also of note: The F-Super Duty debuted with this generation, marking the first appearance of the bigger-than-an-F-350 line of Ford not-so-light-duty pickups.
Naming Convention: Bricknose
Price Range: While these typically lagged behind Bullnoses by a couple grand, now they’re easily fetching prices in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. Classic.com’s reported sales similarly fall into that range.
Aeronose / OBS
1992-1996: Still on the Bullnose frame, still using the same basic cab, still using the same basic engine lineup, the ninth-generation F-Series offered a few new talking points beyond the improved aerodynamics. The Flareside bed returned, albeit a sculptured double-wall take on the classic stepside. The International diesel gave way to Ford’s own turbocharged Powerstroke diesel. Meanwhile, the SVT Lightning debuted in this generation, adding a performance element not previously seen in Ford’s F-Series pickups. And thanks to Ross Roberts, the ninth-generation began a steady march toward comfort, luxury, and a parking spot in suburban driveways.
Naming Convention: Continuing the nose theme, some enthusiasts call ninth-generation F-Series pickups the Aeronose generation. However, the Old Body Style (OBS) nickname – a nickname also applied to GM’s GMT400 generation of pickups by its fans – is just as much, if not more popular. Yet one more point of contention in the never-ending Ford v. Chevy wars.
Price Range: Asking prices for Aeronose/OBS F-150s seem to range from the sub-$10,000 to $20,000 range, though, of course, expect to pay more for Lightnings. Classic.com reports sales in a slightly wider range, extending up to $25,000 or so.
PN-96 / Triton
1997-2003: Everything changed for the F-Series in 1997. The F-Super Duty models, previously just an extension of the light-duty trucks, split off into their own lineup with their own unique styling and engineering. The F-150, meanwhile, received new sleek styling, a totally reengineered chassis with fully independent front suspension for both two-wheel and four-wheel-drive models, and a completely revamped lineup of modular overhead-camshaft V-8s bearing the name Triton (along with one V-6, the first in the lineup since a brief two-year run in the early 1980s). Super Cab versions got rear-hinged doors, Ford added the Crew Cab to the half-ton in 2001, the Lightning returned, the Harley-Davidson and King Ranch special editions debuted, and Lincoln even borrowed the F-Series for the first time in 2002 for the one-year-only Blackwood.
Naming Convention: Ford’s internal designation for the 10th-generation F-Series, PN-96, might be well-known among hardcore Ford enthusiasts, but we’ve also seen this generation referred to as the Triton generation.
Price Range: For a truck that’s supposed to be at the bottom of its depreciation curve right about now, the PN-96 F-150s for sale on Hemmings.com show higher average prices than the prior few generations of F-Series. Pin that on the various special editions and the Lightning, all of which float average asking prices to $20,000 or so. Regular versions abound on the used vehicle market for much less. The recent sales reported by Classic.com seem to only include Harley-Davidson editions and Lightnings and pretty steadily remain guardrailed by $20,000 on the low end and $30,000 on the high end.
P221
2004-2008: All F-Series cabs, from regular to crew size, now featured four doors, even if the tiny rear doors on the regular cabs only permitted access to the area behind the seat. A brand-new chassis featured fully boxed frame rails, though the overhead-camshaft engine lineup continued with minor changes.
Naming Convention: Internally designated P221.
Price Range: Clean versions still trade hands for anywhere from $9,000 to $20,000, though as with the PN-96s, collectible examples – which now include tuned versions from Roush and Saleen – can command upwards of $40,000. Classic.com’s recent sales report shows similar prices.
P415
2009-2014: Styling elements from the Super Duty trucks started to filter down to the F-150s in the P221 generation (as did a 6.2L V-8), but became even more pronounced in the 12th generation F-Series. For the first time in the history of the F-Series, no manual transmission was available. In addition, at the outset of the generation, nothing less than a V-8 was available, though Ford eventually added a twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V-6 in 2011. The first Ford Raptor debuted in this generation as well, marking the switch from high-performance on-road trucks to high-performance off-road.
Naming Convention: Internally designated P415
Price Range: Asking prices on Hemmings.com generally hold at around $25,000, with Raptors commanding $40,000 to $50,000.
P552
2015-2020: The push for fuel economy ramped up with the 13th-generation F-Series. Bodies switched to aluminum to save weight while the engine lineup almost entirely flipped with no less than four gasoline V-6s, one diesel V-6, and a lone 5.0L Coyote V-8 engine option available during this generation. The Super Duty trucks that stood separate from the F-150s for the previous few generations folded back into the F-150 lineup in 2017.
Naming Convention: Internally designated P552
Price Range: Asking prices generally remain in the $30,000 to $40,000 range, though most of what you’re going to find on the collector car marketplace these days are fully loaded special editions and big-tire versions laden with aftermarket items. Raptors rapidly approaching if-you-have-to-ask-you-can’t-afford-it territory.
14th generation
2021-present: The cab and box carry over from the P552 generation, but everything else has been redesigned. The fuel-economy push continues with Ford’s first hybrid drivetrain in a light-duty truck – used to good effect in the recent Texas deep freeze – as well as the fully electric dual-motor Lightning for the 2022 model year.
Naming Convention: unknown
Price Range: MSRP starts at $31,500.