Hot in the Lot
A "Vintage" Ride
NEIRAD enilno edition
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1991 was a good year. The Soviet Union formally dissolved into a Commonwealth of Independent States. Congress passed a resolution indicating that the US military would be used to liberate Kuwait. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast became the first and only animated movie to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. The majority of the current Class of 2009 at DHS was born in this year, which is definitely something important. But perhaps none of these events in 1991 are quite as significant as the production of Martin Hannon’s F-150 pickup truck.
Since its inception in 1948, Ford’s F-Series has been the best-selling North American pickup truck. Of the F-Series, the F-150 is the best-selling model. The Ford F-150 Explorer was first released in the Sixth Generation in 1977. The F-150 was originally designed to circumvent the upcoming emission requirements in the post-1973 Fuel Crisis United States. In every Ford redesign up to the present 12th generation, the F-150 model has been redesigned and updated. In fact, the 2009 Ford F-150 will be released later this year to anxious pick-up truck fans nationwide.
This month’s Hot in the Lot features senior Martin Hannon’s 1991 Ford F-150 pickup. With a spacious 4.9 litre engine, the 1991 F-150 has 150 horsepower that delivers incredibly on the road.
“It drives well for a 1991 truck,” Hannon says, “The truck doesn’t go over 70 mph though. It makes driving on the highway tough.”
The Hannons gained possession of the car only three years ago. Part of the mystique of the F-150 is the history of the car from 1991 to 2004. What was this 1991 F-150 doing for all those years? Was it a participant in some sort of extreme off-road pickup truck rally? Or was it simply sitting in someone’s driveway waiting to haul wood and fill other landscaping needs? It is anybody’s guess.
A few years ago, Martin and his family began to mow their own lawn. So currently, the F-150 is used to haul grass shavings and other landscaping equipment for the family. However every now and then, Martin uses the car for his own driving needs.
For a 17-year-old car, it still looks like it’s hot off the assembly line. With only a little wear and tear (a little rust never hurt anybody), and assortments of plant life under the hood, the Hannon’s F-150 is still Hot in the Lot.