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Truck Review:
If you're looking for class, taste and sophistication, you've found the
wrong truck. This is the 2008 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson Edition, a
shrine to all things brash and loud. It's an unholy collection of
chrome, leather, Harley logos and raw power that thinks of the road as
its mosh pit.
The Ford F-150
Harley-Davidson edition draws its inspiration from the chrome, black
paint and leather of a classic Harley motorcycle. Harley-Davidson logos
are plastered every place they'll fit in this truck's cabin.
Yes, it's a mobile
death-metal concert, a celebration of overkill. And some people
absolutely love it.
Now, I'll be the first
to admit I'm not a fan of big pickup trucks in the first place, and
nerdy newspaper editors are far outside the target demographic for a
Hell's Angels truck. But I do see how this truck draws a crowd for how
raucous it is, both in its looks and its performance. It's that whole
overkill thing.
One way it goes
overboard is in Harley-Davidson logos, which are plastered everywhere.
They're on the seat backs, center console, interior trim, wheels, dash,
and tailgate. As if that's not enough, "HARLEY-DAVIDSON" is written in
raised chrome letters on both sides of the bed, and you know those
little dots that shade the top of the windshield? Those make up the
Harley logo, too.
It's also, I suspect,
trying to corner the market on chrome. Aside from a huge billet grille
and lots of shiny interior trim, it comes with massive, 22-inch chrome
wheels that, if you melted them down, could form a puddle big enough to
fill Lake Michigan.
And there's more
overkill under the hood, where you'll find not only a 5.4-liter V8
engine but a belt driven supercharger that boosts its output to 450
horsepower and 500 foot-pounds of torque. That's some serious muscle
plus it gulps gas at 13 mpg in town.
Like the less brash
F-150s, the Harley-Davidson Edition offers a rear-view camera and
parking sensors that can help when backing up. The camera is especially
neat because it has a display built into the rear-view mirror. When you
shift into reverse, an image of the road behind you appears like magic
in the mirror.
On the downside, both
the camera and the back-up sensor are located in the tailgate, so when
you fold the tailgate down and shift into reverse, guess what? The
camera gives you a great view of the ground and the sensor makes the
truck scream at you like you're about to back into a crowd of
third-graders. Not cool.
Another downside is the
F-150's interior quality. When this generation was introduced, it was a
step above every other pickup on the road, but now it's nearing the end
of its life cycle. Newer trucks have better build quality in the cabin,
so picky buyers may want to wait until the next generation F-150 comes
along next model year.
The Harley-Davidson
Edition only comes in black. You can pay an extra $250 to add a
copper-colored stripe on bottom, but the overall color scheme is black,
black and more black.
Finally, there's the
price. It starts around $38,000 and can easily reach into the low $40s
with options, so it's no budget truck.
Is that too much? Not
if you love bright chrome, raw power and hogs.
What was tested?
The 2008 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson Edition with a base price of
$34,850. Options on the truck were: Two-tone paint $250, navigation
radio $1,800, trailer tow package $350, Sirius satellite radio $195, bed
extender $195, power moonroof $995, power adjustable pedals $120,
reverse sensing system $245, power fold side mirrors $160, reverse
camera system $450. The total MSRP price as tested was $42,770.
Why avoid it?
It's expensive, gets bad gas mileage and is nearing the end of the
F-150's life cycle.
Why buy it? It's
a cathedral of chrome, power, black leather and Harley-Davidson logos.
By Derek Price ©
AutoWire.Net - San Francisco
Byline: Truck Review
provided by Tony Leopardo © AutoWire.Net
Ford Home Page
Column Name: Special
F-150 celebrates Harley Davidson
Topic: The 2008 Ford
F-150 Harley-Davidson Edition
Word Count: 724
Photo Caption: The 2008
Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson Edition
Photo Credits: Ford
F-150 Internet Media
Series #: 2008 - 47
Download
the Microsoft Word version here:
2008 Ford F-150
Harley-Davidson Edition
Download the Original Image File here:
2008 Ford F-150
Harley-Davidson Edition
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