In March of 2006, I was finally able to buy my first brand new vehicle. Being a pick-up man, I knew I couldn’t live without a truck. I had been driving a 1995 Ford Ranger, a great little truck that never gave me a bit of problems, despite some serious abuse being dished out to it! It was just too small, I needed a full-size truck, and coming from a Ford family, I knew I wanted a Ford F-150. So I was able to order my new truck exactly the way I wanted it. I ordered a Medium Wedgewood blue F-150 XL work truck with a regular cab and 8 ft bed. Having always preferred a stick-shift, I had to have the manual transmission, which meant the 4.2 V6 and 2WD. No problem! My V6 gives me all the power I’ll ever need, and respectable highway fuel economy. I can consistenlty get over 20mpg on the highway, in a big heavy truck! And by ordering it with the 3.55:1 axle ratio with Limited Slip, there is not enough snow in the world to stop this truck!! I have since moved to Pittsburgh, PA, and live at the bottom of a very steep hill, “Ol’ Hoss” as I’ve named him can make it up my street in over 6 inces of snow and not even think about sliding! It has also lived up to Ford’s reputation of quality and dependability by giving me over 3 1/2 years of trouble free service, and I maintain it very well, but that’s not to say it hasn’t been worked. When I work him, I work him hard. It is no wonder why the Ford F Series has been the #1 selling truck in America for over 30 years running. Thank you Ford for building great vehicles.