So I went to play a paintball tournament this weekend in Jesup, GA....a really REALLY small town about 2.5 hours from where I live.....I rode with my buddy RJ who has an 01 KR F150 (blue).....and I was just looking at things that his truck had that my 2005 didn't....his handles were painted...mine aren't.....his center console has a divider on the inside (removable) that holds cd's and stuff.....and they have captain's chairs in the back (which I prefer the benchseat in mine, but still think it should be an option)....any reason why they decided not to do those things in the newer models?

 

Money talks...

The 01s and 02s were special. I had one. In hindsight, I kind of wish I still had it.

They put it out on the market on a whim in many of our opinions. It succeeded. It succeeded, in my opinion, because of those differences. The attention to detail was a big deal.

Now, KRs are almost common place (it seems like every third Super Duty that I see is a KR). They've lost their aberrant feel at this point in the game to the point that they're falling dangerously towards being 'just another truck'.

The 01's... well, that'll never be just another truck. I miss my 01.

RP

 

I still take note when I see the 01-03 KR trucks. I remember the first time I saw one. I had been on Fords website looking at the F150's and noticed the estate green was being offered on the F150. I clicked the color and it went into detail about the King Ranch package. The next day me and my friend went out of town to eat and I saw an estate green supercrew on a dealer lot. We pulled in to look at it, and I fell in love with it all. The leather, the color matched wheels, higher 2 tone paint lines, the big King Ranch badges on the fenders, and the tan trim work on the bumpers and bed rails. It was the perfect truck, just as how I would have made it if I had designed it. With the added bonus of the special castano leather.

After owning the 2004 F150, I would have rather just had a 2003 King Ranch Supercrew.

 

I was at the dealer Saturday for an oil change and went walking through the lot to kill some time. Of the 20 or so 07' F150's they had, 2 were Dark Copper KR's. Same options and everything. Makes my 06' KR not so special.

 

I also think that the reason you don't see features like captains chairs, unpainted door handles and so forth (the handles may be painted now, but all XLT and up 97-03 F-150s had painted door handles) is that Ford has gotten cheaper with their product.

 

The '07 KR's now have painted handles and mirror caps.

 

I just remembered he also had lights on his running boards....ours our puddle lamps on the mirrors....I think we should have gotten the running board lamps too!

 

Holding up very well - 85K miles on her.

 

Love my '03. I haven't paid attention to the choices on the later models, but small things like the 4 color choices only being on the KR (balck and white were available on others, but not with the AZ Beige), the tube step bars with Az Beige inserts, color matched handles and mirror insert, the AZ Beige front fascia and bumper insert...and the leather. Still feels like a very special truck to me.

 

I too owned a 2001 King Ranch- Blue with Tan trim and I have to admit, my 2006 isn't quite up to snuff when it comes to the interior...especially the seats. The seats in the 06 just aren't as comfortable and I miss the map pockets on the rear of the seats- for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, the map pockets on the older KRs were bigger and had an actual flap that closed with a magnetic snap...you could actually store a lot of stuff in them. It also seemed like the door pockets and the front console were bigger in the older truck. The front console in the 06 seems short and I find my elbow resting in the cup holder area more than on the actual console. The whole interior just seems less useful. While I like the console shifter, I miss the column shifter because it gave me space at the end of the console to put stuff in the floor...the new console in the 06 eats up a ton of space...

In my opinion, the 06 does have some strengths: It's a major improvement in overall quietness, ride and I like the new 5.4L V8.

But, if I could have the new body style, ride and the quietness of my 2006 with the interior of my 2001, I'd have me a truck made in heaven.

 

well put shane