Did F-150 Sales Spark Ford’s Decision to Reopen this Week?

Blue Oval had a soft reopening to provide a safety check and cleaning, and the company’s best-selling pickup truck likely fueled that decision.

Now, we’re pretty sure that we could all agree that we are all tired of this %$#@ coronavirus pandemic and dealing with all that it entails. But when it comes to one of our favorite topics, Ford trucks, especially the F-Series, there does seem to be a shining ray of hope as it relates to Blue Oval vehicles. It seems that the Ford F-150 trucks are so wildly popular, badass, and unstoppable that they may very well have sparked Ford’s soft trial reopening of its factories earlier this week.

Our fellow website Ford Truck Enthusiasts shared a post this morning that highlights the Detroit Free Press‘ coverage of Ford’s reopening of some of its facilities yesterday, and the consensus by Ford Truck Enthusiasts and an unnamed Ford F-150 production worker is that the F-150 likely played a big role in the decision to get started on preparing for Ford’s planned full reopening in early May.

“Supporting the voracious demand for [the Ford F-150] requires almost nonstop production, spread across the three crews, which work seven days a week,” an unidentified Ford staffer who works on the F-150 production line at Michigan’s Dearborn Truck Plant told the Detroit Free Press.

‘Supporting the voracious demand for the Ford F-150 requires almost nonstop production.’

Ford has announced that it has established new safety protocols for when all workers do return to the plants. However, some workers and the UAW have reservations.

“There are several specific areas of concern; the close proximity of workers, the use of shared tools, common gathering areas used for lunch and or breaks, long shifts which equate to longer terms of exposure, and the sheer number of people within the plants,” the UAW worker told the Detroit Free Press.

Stay tuned to F-150 Online for updates on Ford and the F-150’s return to production.

Photos: Ford Motor Company

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David Ciminelli

Los Angeles-based journalist David Ciminelli has covered everything from high-profile Lexus and Toyota reveals to reality TV show competitions focusing on custom automotive mods. He considers the "Droptops & Dirt" event in Malibu, “Luftgekühlt” and Sunset GT among his favorite automotive events to cover.

He has also interviewed artists like Megadeth and Jennifer Lopez, handled red carpet interviews at the MTV VMAs, and covered rock icons Rush getting a star on Hollywood Boulevard for media including The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, Out Magazine, IN Los Angeles and more. His byline has also appeared in Billboard, Ad Week, Backstage and Art Voice.

Currently, David contributes to over a dozen automotive websites, including Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Club Lexus, Rennlist, Chevrolet Forum, Corvette Forum, Team Speed and Harley-Davidson Forums.