On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, September 9, 2000

2001 Ford SuperCrew opening new doors

Generally speaking, Ralph Waldo Emerson's name doesn't come up often in this space. While the old transcendentalist was quite a phrase-maker and deep thinker in his day, all we can imagine about his attitude toward automobiles is that he would almost certainly have deplored them.
   However, as I behold the bewildering spectacle that TruckWorld presents these days, I hear old Ralph's ghostly admonition echoing unmistakably through the years:
   "Simplify, simplify . . ."
   I won't bore you by retracing these well-worn paths, but there was a day when A Truck Was A Truck. Ford had a pickup. General Motors had a pickup (two, actually - Chevy and the virtually identical GMC). Dodge had a pickup. (So did a bunch of other guys: Studebaker, Hudson, International, but we'll let those phantoms recede into the mists of the past.)
   Times, of course, have changed - radically. "What's a truck?" isn't the question these days. Nossir. These days, the question is, "What isn't a truck?"

2001 Ford F-150 4x4 SuperCrew Lariat Base price: $31,125 Price as tested: $34,685 Drivetrain: 5.4-liter fuel-injected V-8, 260 hp; four-speed automatic-overdrive transmission Brakes: Front and rear discs, power-assisted, with standard antilock (ABS) EPA mileage: City 13/Highway 17 Website: www.ford.com

   FoMoCo has an edge
   Unconvinced? Consider: The 2001 model year, which is already upon us, will in short order deliver up a Lincoln pickup (the Blackwood, in case you want to touch base with your Lincoln store).
   All the American players are in on this melee, as are most of the Japanese car/truck makers as well. For now, the snooty Europeans turn up their noses at such stuff - but BMW and Mercedes-Benz, no less, have unbent sufficiently to cook up (somewhat grudgingly) their own sport utes.
   The market action is incessant, but at this particular microsecond in time, Ford Motor Co. just may have an edge on the other contestants. Dearborn is churning out a vast array of truck and truck-like vehicles (including the wildly popular Explorer, which you will recall came in for some, ah, unflattering exposure in recent months vis-à-vis the Firestone-tire controversy).
   And now the Ford guys have done it again. Just when you were saying to yourself that there couldn't possibly be any more variations on the pickup theme, here comes the SuperCrew.
   Let me walk you through this: It's a full-size F-150 pickup - and more. It's a crew-cab pickup - and less.
   Let's attack it from a different angle: Crew-cab pickups - those block-long monsters with four full doors and a regular pickup bed - have been on the scene from time immemorial: without exception heavy-duty vehicles, equipped for work, not play. Historically, you have not seen many such conveyances turning up in upscale suburban driveways. While imposing, they tend to be far too gnarly, uncompromising and rough-riding to have much appeal for yupsters looking to make a vehicular statement.
   Still, somewhere in the bowels of Fortress Ford, some bright soul kept turning it over in his/her mind: The crew-cab thing has real potential, if only . . . if only . . . Hey! How about we adapt the format to a light-duty F-150 - and slap on a shorter pickup bed so the thing won't be so dang unwieldy?
   Voila, as they say in Dearborn.
   Lots of room, front and back
   The really intriguing thing is that after a few days of living with the SuperCrew, you find yourself wondering why it took Detroit so long to make it happen.
   Understand, now, this is still a seriously large vehicle. However, that truncated bed out back (which can be expanded, not incidentally, through the use of one of those tubular steel - or aluminum? - bed extenders) makes it at least thinkable for you to venture into a supermarket or mall parking lot.
   Equally impressive - particularly since our tester was a 4-wheel-drive model - was the success FoMoCo has had in gentling down the ride. You'll never be fooled into thinking you're floating down the road on a fluffy pink cloud - but you won't be pounded to a pulp either.
   The roominess inside is genuinely impressive: While extended cabs have their uses, this just may be the Final Frontier. No compromises in the back seat: instead, remarkable stretch-out room for three (count 'em) adults.
   And the fun continues up front: Two cushy captain's chairs capable of accommodating just about any physique - and (more tech!) every SuperCrew comes with power-adjustable accelerator and brake pedals, the better to accommodate petite truckers.
   Power and comfort
   Your SuperCrew's standard motivation is the 4.6-liter Triton V-8, good for 220 horsepower. A worthy engine, no doubt, but . . . well, hang it all, if you're going to spend northward of 30 grand for a vehicle, why not just go all the way and check the box for big brother, the 5.4-liter, 260-hp Triton? Small is beautiful? Less is more? Not in TruckWorld, bud. Dwindling fossil-fuel reserves? Forget it: Party on - powerfully.
   (Wot'll she tow, you ask? Up to 8,000 pounds. Try that with your minivan.)
   As for the SuperCrew's road-going comportment, I've already noted that the ride is far gentler than you might expect.
   Handling doesn't seem to be any more ponderous than what you'd encounter in a conventional pickup.
   Reaching down from the driver's side window to activate parking-lot gates takes a little getting used to, admittedly; and on the 4WD version you'll definitely want the optional cab steps when entering ("scaling" might be more accurate).
   Historically, the one crucial question when a new full-size pickup debuts has been: Will Bubba like it? He's gonna love it - and the beauty part is, so will Chip and Muffy.
  
  

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