This week’s Throwback video only dates back to late 2014, as it is one of the videos in which Ford showed off the toughness of the aluminum 2015 F-150 pickup. To show off that an aluminum cargo box could handle all of the abuse of a steel unit, Ford turned to a stonemason for one of the toughest tests I have seen. To be exact, this rugged stone worker plans to use the 2015 F-150 to haul tons and tons of freshly mined rock and to make this test even more grueling – the rock is both loaded and unloaded with an excavator.
This video starts with the stonemason explaining what he does and what he plans to do with the 2015 Ford F-150. He goes so far as to insist that the new aluminum carbo box will fail to stand up to this abuse, but as has been the case since the first new F-150 hit the road, John Swanson was proven wrong.
Over the course of the video, we watch a huge machine dump 100,000 pounds of stone into the aluminum bed of the new F-150 while a second machine removes the stone by dragging it out of the bed – and after 51 loads averaging just under 2,000 pounds each, the new F-150 was hardly any worse for wear.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
