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Behind
the Design of the Ford F-250 Super Chief
By: Michael
Levine
 Posted: 01-08-06
06:02 ET
© 2006 PickupTruck.com
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Ford’s
design team found inspiration from the power and luxury of the famous
“Super Chief” passenger train, that ran the rails between
Los Angeles and Chicago during the mid-20th Century, and crafted the Ford
F-250 Super Chief Concept pickup in its image as a bold new way to express
American luxury. The historical train is so integral to the F-250's form
that the pickup was introduced to the media with images of the original
Super Chief hurtling across the landscape as a backdrop.
In a twist
of automotive irony, however, it was actually General Motors that built
and produced the Super Chief locomotives that provide the distinctive
profile Ford has adopted in the Super Chief Concept.
Ed Golden, Ford’s Design Director for the Super Chief Concept,
told PUTC that, “There was a lot of freedom to think big and bold
with this truck. Ford has the strongest brand equity in trucks and (the
Super Chief) brings that strength to reality.”
And much of that big and bold design exploration can be found inside
the truck, which has warm burled walnut, leather, and aluminum textures
that are molded into natural surfaces, inviting chairs, and a precision
machined instrument panel.
Two huge
LCD televisions drop from the ceiling to provide entertainment to rear
passengers who might care to lounge in the Hollywood mogul club chairs.
The second row of the cab also features pop-up ottomans to rest weary
feet on, and a pleasure dome ceiling with visibility straight to the heavens
through coffered glass and wood.
Parking the
Super Chief in your garage wouldn’t just add another vehicle to
your personal fleet as it would add a first class cigar lounge - complete
with a humidor, ash trays, and a glass bottle ready to receive some 29-year
old scotch to celebrate that same number of years Ford has spent in the
top spot as the best selling pickup in the U.S.A.
Golden emphasized that, “We especially wanted to explore the ceiling
for high end interiors in a truck. Even with today’s luxury interiors
in our trucks (like the King Ranch) there’s still a pent up demand
from out buyers for even more luxury. Tough luxury. And this truck points
to where we might go.”
About the
only thing missing from Golden’s vision is velvet ropes and a bouncer.
The exterior of the Super Chief sports the new Ford three-bar grille
that debuted with the 2006 Ford Fusion sedan and is quickly being extended
to new Ford products like the 2007 Ford Edge that also debuted during
the Detroit show today.
Could this
be the end of nostrils on the front end of Ford trucks?
Golden commented
that, “I love the new look of the 3-bar grille. I believe it would
make for a strong, fresh look in Ford trucks, but nothing has been decided
yet (about this replacing the nostrils).
What does
the Super Chief mean for the general design of the next generation Ford
Super Duty?
“The
Super Chief could have the same impact the Ford Tonka Concept had on the
current Super Duty,” said Golden.
And what about Ford’s poor sister brand Lincoln that has suffered
the Blackwood and tepidly received Mark LT pickups? “Lincoln still
remains a luxury vehicle, but we still haven’t reached the limit
of luxury in our Ford trucks,” Golden said.
Golden further
defined the target audience for a vehicle like the Super Chief by saying,
“The truck is aimed at buyer’s who are self-made successful
individuals in business, like in real estate or construction. These are
individuals who wouldn’t consider driving a luxury car like a Rolls,
but would drive the right luxury pickup. Something
like this truck.”
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