No matter what the sales climate, it's not easy keeping products at the top of their game year after year, let alone decade after decade, but that's exactly what two major players are celebrating this year.
The first holds the longest-standing sales record for any vehicle: The Ford F-Series has been the best-selling pickup truck in the U.S. since 1977 and the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. since 1982. During those 40 years, Ford has sold more than 26 million full-size pickups — if lined up bumper to bumper, they could circle the globe three times.
The other auto-industry milestone is the 80th anniversary of Mopar, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' high-performance parts and service group. With deep roots in the U.S. muscle-car era and responsible for some of the most powerful performance packages in the auto industry, Mopar sells aftermarket performance, styling and upgrade parts for Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles. Started in 1937, Mopar now sells more than 500,000 parts in more than 20 countries.
Here are some interesting facts about the F-Series and Mopar.
Ford F-Series Fun Facts
- 1977: Ford sold about 2,000 fewer F-Series pickups than it did in 2016
- 1984: Ford F-100 is replaced by the Ford F-150
- 1993: Ford perfected the limited-run truck with the intro of the Harley-Davidson F-150 and SVT F-150 Lightning
- 1997: The F-150 gets a curvy, swoopy exterior design and now sits on two distinct platforms. (Did you know that technically there was no 1996 Ford F-150 because Ford started building 1997 models in December 1995?)
- 2004: The 11th-generation Ford F-150 started to take on a familiar shape with its new redesign
- 2011: Both EcoBoost and Power Stroke upgrades begin to push their respective platforms to new heights
- 2015: Ford stuns a skeptical pickup truck segment by making body panels and the bed out of aluminum
Mopar Parts Fun Facts
- 1937: The first product with the Mopar name was a new anti-freeze for Chrysler vehicles
- 1953: Mopar moved to the Center Line, Mich., complex where it is today
- 1960s: Racecar driver "Big Daddy" Don Garlits starts his relationship with Mopar
- 1968: The Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda Hemi Super Stock cars set many NHRA records
- 1987: Chrysler purchases Jeep assets from American Motors and Mopar grows its Jeep parts lists
- 2001: Mopar engineers decide to see if the 8.3-liter Viper motor will fit into a Ram 1500. It does, and the resulting concept shown at the 2002 Detroit Auto Show becomes the Dodge Ram SRT-10.
- 2008: Mopar begins marketing its first "packaged cars" with the Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak
- 2015: Mopar makes its first Ram 1500 Mopar Rebel with a package of selected parts to sharpen its attitude
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