Unless he is in it!! I am right there with you on that one. His reasoning is stupid crazy I guess.

 

I like the truck itself, but the sporty styling on the interior is what is beginning to bother me. Well that and of course that ***** we call sync, but she's on almost all of the packages.

 

Here's a few reasons I chose FX2. Some of these things could have been changed after the fact, but these are my reasons.

1. I had a 2005 FX4 and used 4wd ONE time in 3 years. The difference in price was nearly 3500 more for the same truck I ordered in FX4 as opposed to FX2.

2. Painted/color matched fender flares. I own a small detailing company and HATE HATE HATE textured unpainted plastic like the FX4 gets. I was constantly having to treat the ones on the 2005 I had and never got around to finding ones to paint.

3. Body matched bumpers, mirrors, and NO CHROME! I absolutely hate chrome on a truck and I love that I have none of it on my truck. This of course is the same on FX4 and FX2.

4. Interior of the FX trucks is by far my favorite. I like the luxury feel with the console and carbon looking dash and door panels. Lariat for 2011 is the UGLIEST faux wood I have seen on a truck. I know in 2012 they made it darker, but 2011 was horrible. Platinum wasn't my taste either.

5. A little bit of rarity at least in my neck of the woods. The 09+ trucks that I see are almost always XLT or FX4 with an occassional Platinum. VERY rarely do I see an FX2 and I like having something not everyone else does. The FX2 Twin Turbo decals on the bed help too

Just like everyone else, I ordered and bought what i wanted and what suited me best. I had the FX4 and wasn't pleased with it or the mileage it got and never used 4wd. No need to pay thousands of dollars extra for something I don't need or use.

 

Climate and preferences ---- I live in Oklahoma on a 10 acre "gentleman farm" on the outskirts of my town

I might have a legitimate need for 4wd a week out of the year, sometimes 2. During those 2 weeks, i just tool around in an older Jeep Wrangler i have

My last truck was a 2wd XLT with 3.73 and limited slip ---- no problems unless i stuck it hard in a drift or something, but if the frame is buried, 4wd is not going to help much either. I also took it hunting in western Oklahoma many times on sandy and slimy back roads and hunting road trails

I dont have an FX2, but when the time came to get a new truck, i got a 2wd EcoBoost --- We didnt even get a "winter" this year to speak of this year, but in the event we ever do, - the Wrangler is a blast to drive in those conditions , and i'll take the mileage savings of the 2wd on the freeway the rest of the year.
I also typically drive a truck into the ground (165-175k + mileage or more) -- so differences in resale value is moot -- the trucks are next to worthless when i'm done with them anyway

 

Just like in my field (mental health), when the big corporations forget about the people and focus on the money, people get unnecessarily injured or hurt and THEN the corporations attempt to fix gaping holes in the system. That's all fine if you can live with yourself at night, but preventive maintenance goes a long way towards keeping folks safe.

That said, I feel safe is my F-150 moreso than in my folks 300 or gf's Mom's Camry.

 

Same reason someone would buy a plain jane XL... That's what they want..

I'm an XLT guy. I don't want or need leather in a TRUCK.. But, that's just me... I wanted Pwr windows and locks and the other XLT stuff.... I wanted 4x4 too, so that's what I got.. Found out it's pretty handy too.. Don't really care what others think... It's MY truck, not theirs..

Just be glad we have these kinds of options to choose from and get the rig we want... I'm drooling over a 2012 F150 XLT 4x4 with the 5.0, tow package, #7350 GVWR and chrome package.. Here's a pic of it...



I can't afford it at this time, but this is my dream truck this year!

Mitch

 

So I started this thread to hear some answers to questions I've been hearing. Now I have a question of my own.....

Why the FX2 sticker? It makes no sense to me. You guys know what FX4 originally stood for????? It stands for "Fly by 4 (FX4)" meaning you can shift into 4X4 on the fly. Thats what it stood for when it first came out. With that said, why FX2? Fly by 2 makes no sense.

These days I think that meaning has changed. Now it's all about looks and appearance packages. The logic behind the original engineers has gone away over the years. Don't get me wrong. The FX4 is still a wonderfully designed truck. I don't see myself owning any other model F150.

 

Originally, you could be a regular '4x4' or the '4x4 Off Road'. The 'Off Road' was an additional option where you got some skid plates and the cool 'Off Road' sticker..

My '4x4 Off Road' has shift on the 'fly' 4x4.. So does the 4x4 models only. Even if they have the 'manual' shift lever on the floor.. You can shift those on the 'fly' too.

Somewhere along the line, the "FX4" was simply the 'Off Road' version where you got the skid plates and such.. It was for "Four x 4" and I guess later on, it became just a trim option?

So now the FX4 means you get this "FX" trim and have 4 wheel drive. FX2 means you get the "FX" trim and have 2 wheel drive.

At least that's how I understand it...

Mitch

 

I think that's what it means now. I think the FX4 came out in 2003 and prior to that no other Ford truck had shift on the fly. I think in 2002 that technology was just beginning and the FX4 model was the first truck with that technology.

 

Huh... I can shift my 4x4 while driving. Do it all the time. My Dad could do it with his 1989 Bronco. Push a button and it was in 4 wheel drive. I just rememberd that the original FX4's came with Rancho shocks too.. F250's and F350's had an FX4 option too.

Mitch

 

Yeah I remember the Ford Broncos. But as far as trucks I believe the "fly by 4" was introduced with the FX4. My brother was a Ford mechanic in 2002 and remembers seeing the first 2003 FX4 with shift on the fly. I could be wrong I guess but it seems logical to me.

Somewhere along the road the FX2 came out and the name "FX" changed its meaning. It was now an appearance package for the F150, only one was 4X4 and the other was 4X2.

 

My 97 F150 had shift on the fly.

 

Did it have the off road package? I just remember the FX meant "fly by" many years ago, again I could be wrong though.

 

Yes it did. It also had the big 17" wheels. Now 17's are small.

 

I've never hear Ford say that "FX" meant fly by. I've never heard them explain the meaning of any of the trim levels. Maybe they have, but I haven't heard.

I have an STX. I don't know what that would stand for. To me, it means an XL with some uplevel appearance bits.

I think in a majority of cases auto manufacturers use these letters to denote trim levels, not to denote features. There is an alphabet soup of trim level letters out there, that probably don't have any meaning at all.

It's been a while since we had to get out and switch the hubs. It's been "fly by" for quite a while now.