Led by the 2015 Ford F-150 – aluminum body and all – the Ford F-Series pickup posted a monster sales year in 2015, with almost 800,000 trucks sold over the course of the year. To be exact, Ford sold 780,354 new trucks in 2015 and while the company doesn’t break the sales figures down by chassis and model year, we know that the aluminum 2015 F-150 was a big part of the success last year. Of course, that massive number includes all of the Super Duty trucks from the 2014-2016 model years sold during the 2015 calendar year and all of the “leftover” 2014 F-150s sold last year, but we know that the majority of Ford truck sales from month to month were 2015 F-150 pickups.
The Chevrolet Silverado was second in overall and truck sales with 600,544 units sold and the Ram Pickup was third (overall and truck) with 451,116 units sold. So, in a year plagued with first-year production delays, the Ford F-Series still beat the closest competitor by almost 180,000 units.
In winning the sales race in 2015, the Ford F-Series pickup has now won the title 34 straight years while also being the bestselling truck in America for 39 straight years. Early in the 2015 calendar year, there were a handful of production delays that hurt 2015 F-150 sales for a short time, but once the company was able to get both plants building these new trucks at full capacity, sales numbers went through the roof. In fact, in December alone, Ford sold 85,211 new full size pickups – marking the best monthly sales in more than a decade.
In short, the 2015 Ford F-150 is a hit and 2016 should only lead to bigger sales numbers.
"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.
