Was just walking the Ford lot across the street. Noticed on an XLT sticker that the upgrade to the aluminum wheels is only $100 !! Damn I wish I could've gotten them with mine (my truck is a company leased vehicle, that wasn't one of the options). I'd have gladly paid $100 for those nice wheels.

 

I got the aluminum wheels standard on my '04. They're an option on the '05's.

 

I got the aluminum wheels on my XLT as an option.
I know Ford offers the steel wheels as a cost saving measure, but in the great white north (aka Canada) the salt and calcium and barrage ofther ice melting aids just rust the heck out of steel wheels...

I was looking at brand new trucks on the lot at the local dealer (which is beisde one of the busiest roads in Ottawa) and the salt spray from the roads was already starting to rust the wheels...

Rust streaks show up REAL NICE on chrome.

Aluminum doesn't 'rust' per se and therefore is the only real choice up here (well at least around these parts)

 

I'm pretty sure he's talking about the machined and painted alloy option, which is a step up from the standard option alloys that are found on the STX's as well. You can see them on my truck below.

 

I believe you are correct. I got what Ford called "Painted Accent" wheels on my 05 XLT Supercrew. They look really sharp and were only a $100 buck add on as stated above.

 

My 04 had alloy wheels as standard and I paid $100 extra for polished alloy. I think the polished wheels were only available as an option for about 1/2 of the 04 model year.

 

Last year the chrome plated steel wheels were an option for the XLT. This year, they are the standard XLT, with the alloys being the option...Kevin