I am the original poster. And, no, I do not own an F150. I am in the market for my first truck. I never stated that I owned an F150, please read the original post. I stated I liked the F150, but wished they had put side airbags and curtain airbags in the truck. It is 2004 and those items should be standard of at the very least options.

I was a potential Ford customer, potential Ford owner. Yet, all a good many of you can do is complain that I had the audacity to wish Ford had airbags in the year 2004. Some of the remarks were downright comical. I bet in 2005 Ford will have side airbags and curtain airbags. They already offer curtain bags in the Expedition, which means FORD SEES the need for such safety items. And, yes, to leave them off the 2004 F150 is a blunder, especially when every other manufacturer is offering them.

How do you folks think Ford decides to improve trucks? The improvements on the 2004 came from suggestions, wants, and complaints of previous trucks. If Ford never needs to change because Ford is Ford and that is enough, as many of you stated, then; why do you trade your old Ford in for a new Ford?

Now, I wish all of you well with your F150. It is a great looking truck. And, it offers a heck of a lot of great features, and a great ride.

 

This is an interesting thread........

 

Originally posted by dsemmen
... why do you trade your old Ford in for a new Ford?


Because after a while, the McDonalds fries under the seat and the Smoothie King Coconut Surprise smoothies start appearing from underneath the seats where they were hidden for a long long time LOL.

Also, it reminds me of my ex g/f whom I ditched n how my legs were too long when we laid sideways . Time for a supercrew..

 

dsemmen


Disregard a lot of the replies to your original post.

I thought this forum was for 150 enthusasits, whether you own one or not. I take it at face value that you are generally intersted in purchasing a new truck.

Great, because once you have one you will be hard pressed to want another type of vehicle.

One of the posts mentioned the importance of a good body structure. I agree 100% with this statement and will add that just because the Titan has side air bags does not mean it will be as safe if the structure is not as strong. Ford has a long history in manufacturing trucks and from other industry news that I have read Volvo has assisted them in the safety of this vehicle.

I will also mention that many manufacturers will deliberately make their vehicle perform well in these "crash tests". But does this mean that it will do well in an actual crash?

One more suggestion. If you like the way the truck rides, looks, features, etc. than that may be what is most important to you.

Good luck to you.

 

titank,
I think the only true way to decide on the pure safety of a vehicle is the real crash results, not the crash tests. And yes, some vehicles may score very well without side curtains, but we have not seen results from the truck categories, at least I have not. And yes, car makers prolly cook the engineering of the vehicle to score high in crash tests. Don't know about the auto industry as a whole, but it is a marketing thing big time on crash tests for vehicles especially family vehicles. I work for a software company and I know for a fact that benchmarks and standards for performance are engineered into software so the tests rock and we can say look at us we are the best. Get that same piece of software in the real world and it does not perform nearly as well. Just my $.02.

 

You could always buy one of these? Of course it may restrict you froom looking backwards while reversing or lane changing??,,,,98

 

I still stand by the fact that you ask for it when you start with comments like "I'm so pissed at Ford." How about "What do you guys think about the fact they don't have airbags?" That is what is comical, you are deliberately trying to start something, which you guys do, then you love to sit back and chuckle and say "gosh, why is everybody so upset. The board is for "enthusiasts" It is a free country, you can spew venom all you want and try to get everybody fired up, just accept what comes back. Look at your heading "Ford's blunder" Think about it, you are insulting people who just spent a shiit load of money on one of these, who generally love Fords, or wouldn't be here. YOu can go on any site, Dodge,, Chevy, (especially Chevy) Toyota or whatever and you will get the same response when you start a post "Dodge Rams blunder" You can't be this stupid---Then come back later with the Wally Cleaver act like "golly I can't believe you all get sooo mad and talk bad about little ol' me----" I myself, love Fords----You telling me their blunder won't change that, especially one that holds absolutely no water like lack of side airbags----My gosh, don't go offroad and hit any bumps either----If you ask people what their opinion is like "hey don't you all agree they maybe should have added these, I might consider not buying one of these now" You wouldn't get the crap that comes your way---At least fess up to it, and don't play Mr. Innocent----

 

Yes flame baiting is a nasty habit

Take it from me, a chronic flame baiter in need of therapy. Intentionally pissing everybody off is never a great idea, even if you're not here to make friends. Plus it's in violation of virtually every forums code of conduct.

 

It's cool dsemmen, this issue has just been beat to death before you brought it up. Plus we've got a few guys hanging out here who obviously aren't into the new Ford and just like to stir things up. I don't think this was really directed at you in anyway personally and your concerns are real. There are plenty of good vehicles out there With Side airbags for you to choose from. I don't know if I'd call it "Fords Blunder" for not including them, but it's obviously turned into an issue for some.

 

I dunno if I would call it a "blunder" either. Clearly Ford has the ability produce a truck with side air bag (or curtain) technology, but for whatever reason, they chose not to offer it at this time.

My speculation is: The reasons for not having the side air bags has more to do with how the pricing on their new truck launch would be perceived; and their bet that they don't need to offer side bags (which comments here do tend to support) to remain competitive in this segment of the market; than it is a statement of the side bags worth as a safety item. Secondarily, (as other have pointed out) this gives them a bone to toss for their second model year; giving the auto press something to talk about, which could stimulate new interest in the F-150.

Just an FYI: It is common for people that do any serious offroading to deactivate their air bags (i.e. pull the fuse), so that they don't accidentaly set off of their bags while wheelin'.

 

Ford may also be introducing curtian air bags one at a
time.For 2004 the Freestar gets the curtains.F150
next year.

Mike

 

the fact that a truck has one or two fewer explosive devices aimed at me is a benefit, not a drawback.

 

 

I'd have'ta say after reading all these posts, that Kawman2 sums it up the best with his comment.

This thread "strikes out". Hence, K

 

It is unfortunate that this thread ended up being so devisive, as it did ask, what in my view, is a perfectly legititmate question. Some of the replies showed a surprising (to me) number of members with a head-in-the-sand attitude toward safety features. Street driven vehicles neccessarily require a far different approach to protecting its occupants than do race cars. While a well designed perimiter protection system should be expected in a modern vehicle design, I would hope that in this day and age, I could get (at least as an option) the best new additional safety feature that is easily implementable in most vehicle designs -- that is the side air bag (side air curtain).

As I opined in my previous reply, this is really about $$$, and whether adding a safety feature will sell more vehicles in a given segment. As some of the replies clearly demonstrate, Ford knows its target buyer well.

Oh well, if nothing else, this thread shows our Forum gets more traffic than www.PickupTruck.com , as this very same question was cross posted there. FWIW, we had 3607 views vs. their 297. See: this thread.