Modern television advertising is all about showing off what your vehicle can do relative to the competition with as many fancy graphics as possible and in looking at this Ford F-150 commercial from 1989, you can see that the direction of truck marketing hasn’t changed all that much in the past 25 years.
Interestingly, Ford brags that their base V6 has more torque than the comparable Chevy while also leading in “low towing horsepower” with their V8 engine options. To show off just how much low towing horsepower the 1989 F-150 had, Ford showed one such truck pulling a stuck Chevy out of mud.
Sure, the production quality of this video is pretty questionable, but the 1989 Ford F-150 was shown off in this TV commercial in much the same way the 2015 F-150 will be marketed – by bragging about what it does better than the Chevy Silverado and showing people who love their new Ford truck. Ford is also quick to point out that the F-150 has more repeat buyers than the Chevy half ton truck…a trend which has continued 25 years later.
Of course, nothing from the 1980s would be complete without a catchy jingle so make sure to crank up your speakers to get the full impact of this classic Ford F-150 ad.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
