'Built Ford Tough' or Just More Stuff?

In an age where nearly every basic product is also available in a premium version, Ford is releasing a new luxury edition of its F-150 pickup, a vehicle that has been the top seller in the United States for years, in part because of its popularity as a rugged commercial vehicle.

The 2009 F-150 Platinum will be the company's third stab at the high-end truck segment, following the short and disappointing runs of two Lincoln pickups (Lincoln is Ford’s domestic luxury brand). The Lincoln Mark LT is based on the Ford F-150. It debuted as a 2006 model and 2008 will be its last year of production. The Mark LT’s predecessor, the 2002 Lincoln Blackwood, faded after just one year.

Ford may be taking some risk out of the equation by proceeding with care, production-wise. “The F-150 Platinum is not expected to be a high-volume model,” says Stephanie Brinkley, industry analyst with Auto Pacific in Southfield, Mich. “There is a market for this kind of ultra-luxury truck. Ford has done well with their other luxury models like the Lariat and King Ranch.”

Others agree that one luxury hauler is apparently not enough for Ford's lineup. “There seems to be a real appetite out there for high-end, luxury pickups,” says Erich Merkle, vice president of forecasting at IRN in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“Look at the King Ranch; [Ford] couldn’t get rid of it, even though they thought it would be a one-time deal,” he says, referring to Ford’s continual production of the vehicle because of buyer interest.

The $35,825 King Ranch edition is currently the most luxurious Ford pickup, with a leather-trimmed interior, DVD navigation system, and gold-colored running boards.

Merkle predicts F-150 Platinum sales of a relatively meager 15,000 units a year, but he believes Ford has hit upon an untapped market. “It’s really a market of one,” Brinkley says, because there’s no major competition. Many feel the Lincoln Mark LT was not successful because, unlike Ford, Lincoln is not a pickup-truck brand. The same problem haunts the Cadillac Escalade EXT, which is an Escalade SUV with a short cargo bed. The GMC Sierra Denali may come closest to the Platinum, but it does not have the same luxury features.

Borrowing some visual cues from the Lincoln fleet, the F-150 Platinum will be adorned with satin chrome accents, mirror caps, tailgate trim, and an egg-crate grille with three big horizontal bars — think of the styling as Bentley meets forklift. Also included are a set of standard 20-inch, 16-spoke, polished aluminum wheels and running boards that automatically lower when a door is opened and retract when the door is shut.

The metallic theme continues inside with plenty of brushed aluminum on the dash and console. Elaborately named “Satin Gloss Rippled Lacrosse Ash” wood inserts also cover some interior surfaces. Raised contrast stitching on the leather seats, embroidered logos, and 10-way power adjustable captain's chairs round out what Ford calls “the most luxurious F-150 ever.”

Also standard on the Platinum are Ford's across-the-board upgrades to the 2009 F-150 line: traction control, the Sync communication and entertainment system, voice-activated navigation, an integrated cargo box, and a 700-watt Sony audio system.

Luxury cars are usually well insulated from the noises of the outside world, and Ford has gone to some lengths to quiet their flagship pickup. “The F-150 Platinum is quieter inside than the Lexus LX 470, according to tests that combined scores for wind noise, road noise, and harshness measured at highway speeds,” says Ford chief engineer Matt O'Leary.

Ford achieved the noise reduction with a laminated windshield, carpeting that is more sound absorptive, and additional insulation in the dash panels, doors, and rear cabin panel. These efforts go beyond the noise-dampening features found on the rest of the updated '09 F-150 line.

“Ford may not have much credibility on luxury, but [the F-150 Platinum] will do well with a certain group. Think Texas — the pickup and shotgun buyer,” says Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute in New York. He attributes the Ford F-150 Platinum to a "premiumization" trend permeating the auto industry, where vehicles in every class are spun with some sort of high-end appeal.

“No one really needs a Platinum pickup. It will be an uphill battle for Ford; if it works, it will be the charm of the paradox that sells it,” Pedraza says.

Ford has not made any sales projections, but the Ford F-150 Platinum will be more scarce than other variants in the F-series line, says Ford spokesperson George Pipas. “So much of the pickup truck market is tied to the home construction [industry]. With the home construction market not doing well right now, it’s not likely that the pickup truck market is going to rebound in the next year.”

Even if the market doesn't make a comeback, with the release of the Platinum, Ford may open the sales doors to a high-end market segment it has previously been shut out of — or plain uninterested in. Whether it succeeds, or, as Pedraza says, produces a “fad, not a trend,” could depend on buyers' willingness to pay luxury prices for a truck that doesn't bear the company's Lincoln luxury badge.

But when you consider the profits the automaker stands to gain by charging buyers for extra features added to a fleet of already-assembled F-150s, the economics make sense. The Ford F-150 Platinum is expected to be priced around $40,000.