There is absolutely no question that Ford is one of the top car manufacturers in the entire automobile world. However, it is quite apparent that they have gotten most of their success from how well they have built their pickups over the years. When one buys a Ford truck, more often than not, it is going to be a model that will absolutely end up lasting a long time. However, in some rare cases, Ford has actually released some pretty horrible pickups that simply did not allow this to occur. With these specific instances, criticism is absolutely warranted and a necessity when looking for a new pickup from them.
Updated January 2022: If you're looking to purchase a used Ford pickup truck, you'll be happy to know that we've updated this article to help you make a better and more well-informed decision.
With all that has been stated thus far, in this article, we will be looking at trucks from Ford that are built to crumble in five years and some that are built to last. There is absolutely no question that Ford has done an absolutely amazing job over the years with their pickups, but there definitely have been some truly abysmal ones to add to this list. At the end of the day, it is extremely important to know which models were bad because the smallest of year differences from these models can go from you getting a great pickup to an absolute lemon. Ford definitely deserves a plethora of praise for all that they have done for the automobile world, but some of these pickups are just inexcusable.
14 Built To Crumble: 2004 Ford F-150
The 2004 Ford F-150 could very well go down as the worst pickup to ever come from that specific series. A massive reason behind this is the fact that this model possessed one of the worst engines in the history of the automobile world, so it was prone to having a lot of breakdowns.
This was truly a rare lemon from the series and one that the car manufacturer wishes that they could take back.
Although they were able to make up for it with later models, this truly ended up hurting their sales for a temporary set of time.
13 Built To Last: 2009 Ford F-150
The 2009 Ford F-150 is the perfect pickup to own if you are looking for speed. This is largely because of the fact that it possesses an extremely strong engine that allows it hit high speeds at a high rate. It makes owning this vehicle a very awesome experience. However, it is also extremely important to note that this vehicle also is a great one to own because of the fact that it is able to last for a long period of time as well. It simply is structurally sound and due to this clear fact, it has an immense amount of power at the end of the day.
12 Built To Crumble: 2001 Ford Ranger
The 2001 Ford Ranger was a complete and utter failure from the very start of its time on the primary market. In fact, many individuals consider this vehicle to be one of the worst pickups to have ever been released to the automobile world. Yes, it truly is that bad of a vehicle.
Perhaps the biggest reason as to why this model was a complete lemon is that it definitely is prone to breaking down frequently.
Its engine was far too weak to be productive and sadly for its owners, it would end up having an extremely short life cycle at the end of the day.
11 Built To Last: 2016 Ford F-450
The 2016 Ford F-450 is a fantastic model and one that definitely sets the standard for bigger trucks in the automobile world. There is no question that this model is able to possess an immense amount of power because of this, so it truly is worth the investment at the end of the day. There is absolutely no question that this model is one of the bests that Ford has on the primary market at this time and due to this, it is clear that it is built to last. This is the type of pickup that is perfect for work like conditions, so it is apparent that it will be able to have a long life cycle.
10 Built To Crumble: 2011 Ford F-350
The 2011 Ford F-350 is another large pickup from the car manufacturer that simply did not get the job done at the end of the day. At first glance, buyers definitely assumed that this model would be able to handle itself well with work tasks, but that turned out to be completely incorrect.
The F-350 line is usually supposed to be among the toughest offerings from Ford, but this was an exception.
However, this will never be the case because of how poorly this model was and how it would never last.
9 Built To Last: 2012 Ford F-350
The 2012 Ford F-350 is one of the most intriguing vehicles on the primary market because of the immense amount of power that it possesses. This is the perfect example of a pickup that workers should use during heavy projects because of how strong and durable it is. With all of this being stated, there is absolutely no question that this pickup is one that truly is built to last. Although it has been a few years since it has been released, it definitely would be worth investing in during this time. It truly would last its drivers a long period as well.
8 Built To Crumble: 2002 Ford F-250
The 2002 Ford F-250 definitely had a lot of potential to end up being a very solid pickup for its drivers, but at the end of the day, it simply had too many issues to be respected in a positive light. When seeing how this vehicle would break down so easily, it is easy to see why so many people hated it.
This was an uncharacteristically weak F-250, as these models are usually very durable.
Brake and transmission problems were also a significant problem with these vehicles, so there just was not much good to say about it.
7 Built To Last: 1993 Ford Lightning XLT
The 1993 Ford Lightning XLT is an older pickup, but there is absolutely no question that there are still a plethora of individuals who would love to add it to their arsenal. This is largely because of the fact that it truly is one of the most powerful trucks to ever come from the car manufacturer. At the end of the day, this is still a truck that is built to last, even though it has been out for a long period of time. However, this happens to be the case at the end of the day because of how amazingly it is set up when it comes to its structure and how fast it moves as well.
6 Built To Crumble: 2008 Ford F-250
The 2008 Ford F-250 definitely did not do as well as it should have and as a result of this, buyers started to avoid it entirely very soon after its release. This definitely wasn't good for the car manufacturer because the F-250 series is supposed to be one of their best models.
There is absolutely no question that this model could have done far better and instead, the company regrets its release because of the vast problems it had.
It is quite apparent that from this clear fact, the manufacturer simply released this too quickly.
5 Built To Last: 2001 Ford F-150
The 2001 Ford F-150 is a model that easily is one of the bests to have ever come from the car manufacturer and there are still many individuals who would love to add these to their arsenal. This is because this is the perfect work truck that has the ability to last for a long time. With all that has been stated, it is quite clear that Ford did a great job with this model, and it is largely is the reason behind why it was able to last for such a long period of time. This is definitely a model that had a positive lasting impact on the company, so it deserves a lot of credit.
4 Built To Crumble: 2006 Ford F-350
The 2006 Ford F-350 is another model from the car manufacturer that failed to reach its highest potential. When this vehicle first was released, it was expected to develop into one of the top big trucks on the primary market. However, this definitely would not be the case for many reasons. First and foremost, this pickup was prone to having a plethora of major issues with its engine, so it would break down on numerous occasions. From there, when seeing how major electrical problems it had to go along with its horrible transmission, it makes a plethora of sense.
3 Built To Last: 1999 Ford SVT Lightning
The 1999 Ford SVT Lightning is definitely one of the top models to ever come from the car manufacturer and will become a collector’s item as the years continue to pass. This is largely due to the fact that this model simply was built perfectly with both durability and speed. This model has been able to still alive to this day and that is because it was built so effectively. There is no question that it still would even be worth investing in today, even though it is pretty old now. At the end of the day, this is one of the bests ever from Ford because of its life cycle.
2 Built To Crumble: 2006 Ford F-250
The 2006 Ford F-250 really was the victim of having a horrible engine and due to this, now is considered to be perhaps the worst truck ever released by the car manufacturer. This is definitely a horrible title to own, so it is apparent that buyers should never look to add it. At the end of the day, this model failed because of the fact that it was extremely weak when it came to its overall power, which is unacceptable for an F-250 model. It had an engine that would go out all the time and needed constant repairs because of it. Lastly, because of all of this, it truly was built to crumble at a fast rate.
1 Built To Last: 2018 Ford F-150
The 2018 Ford F-150 definitely became a spectacular model because of the fact that it benefited immensely from today’s technological advancements. There is absolutely no question that this is the strongest truck Ford has released ever and it definitely is one to invest in. When seeing how this pickup has yet to have any red flags and is built so spectacularly, there is no question that it is a truck that is going to last for a long time. It is the perfect combination of speed and strength as well, so it definitely is just a fun pickup to own at the end of the day.
References: edmunds.com, caranddriver.com, jalopnik.com