Riding the range

Ford reckons New Zealand is big-truck territory and is about to launch a bunch of models here. Motoring editor ALASTAIR SLOANE reports.

Listen to the Texas storyteller. "King Ranch is so big those astronaut fellas in Houston had to go way out there in space to photograph it. Hell, it's so big the sun can't shine on it all in one day. Ain't that the truth.

"Summers are hotter than chilli ribs. Winters are colder than a Washington welcome. Hell, son, this is all of Texas right here. They was rustlin' horses and cattle on King Ranch 'bout the time of the Alamo. Spanish for cottonwood, Alamo. Know that, didja?

"Just you ask Ford about King Ranch. Them fellas up there in Detroit even borrowed the name. Stuck it on their trucks, they did. King Ranch pick-ups they call 'em. Ain't just that the American way?"

It sure is. King Ranch, a 334,000ha spread between Corpus Christie and Brownsville, isn't a working ranch any more. It's an agriculture corporation.

There are guided tours, a visitors' centre, museum, gift shop, clothing and furniture catalogue. Some folks say King Ranch pioneered the commercial side of modern American ranching.

It pioneered another commercial venture, too. It allowed carmaker Ford to use the King Ranch branding iron on the premium F-150 pick-up, America's most popular light truck range.

Ford will make about 800,000 F-150s this year - 19,000 will be King Ranch models.

The name is on the vehicle's sides, wheels, floormats, the two consoles, the armchair-like seats. There's a Harley-Davidson F-150 edition, too. The branding is about one American success story patting other American success stories on the back.

These special-edition models are among Ford's priciest F-150 pick-ups, pushing US$38,000 ($87,000) with leather-lined seats and cabins fit for cattle kings.

Yet, as the New York Times said, rather than real ranchers, "such trucks are likely to appeal most to Dallas bankers, Atlanta developers and Nashville drugstore cowboys in ostrich boots and fresh-pressed jeans".

The leather seatback pockets in the King Ranch even have flaps like saddlebags and plush carpets. If riding the range gets dull, a flip-down video screen lets rear-seat passengers catch a movie.

But there aren't many F-150s on King Ranch. Too itty-bitty, they are. King Ranch is big-truck territory, for more muscular models like the F-250 and F-350.

Ford reckons New Zealand is big-truck territory, too, because it is about to launch a whole bunch of right-hand-drive F-250 and F-350 variants, made at Ford's plant in Brazil and priced between $79,000 and $102,500.

The XL and XLT range will come in a variety of cab and body styles, in both two- and four-wheel-drive with manual or automatic transmission.

There will be a choice of engines: 5.4-litre V8 petrol or 7.3-litre V8 turbo-diesel. No power and torque figures for the petrol plant are available yet, but the diesel produces 175kW and a Texas-sized 684Nm of torque.

Ford New Zealand is talking up the all-American range. "These vehicles are huge," said light truck brand manager Jane Winterman.

"There is nothing else similar to vehicles of this size and versatility available in New Zealand. They are capable of carrying and towing phenomenal weights and are effectively a mobile workshop.

"We believe that there will be a great deal of demand for these vehicles from engineers, tradespeople and outdoors-oriented operators such as landscapers and developers.

"Recreational and sports people who want a vehicle that is capable of towing and transporting a boat, equipment and up to five people in comfort will find their needs met by F-series trucks."

Standard features on the F-250 and F-350 include power steering, front-disc brakes, limited-slip differential, air-conditioning, power mirrors, dual airbags, cruise control, tinted windows and a 4-tonne hydraulic jack.

On the list of accessories are bull, tow and sports bars, bonnet protector, headlamp guards, weather shields, carpet floor mats, mud flaps, fire extinguisher and first-aid kit.

Ford is also developing accessories tailored for local conditions, such as tray-mounted storage bins, tool boxes and bed-liners.

That's the way New Zealanders like their ute/pick-up trucks, ain't that the truth.