Through gas price hikes, recession and global warming, the Ford pickup endures.
Ford Motor Co., bleeding money just a few years ago, posted a profit of more than $2 billion in the first quarter, in part on the strength of its pickup sales.
Revenue jumped to $28.1 billion, up $3.7 billion over the first quarter of last year.
The company's gas-sipping Fusion also was a star performer, to be sure. But it didn't upstage the perennially popular F-150 pickup, which trundles along at 14 miles per gallon in the city and 19 mpg on the highway.
Ford said brisk F-150 sales helped boost its U.S. market share by 2.7 percentage points – to 16.6 percent.
Ford pickups have long held a special place in the American truck market. The company's F-Series – which includes the F-150, F-250, F-350 and F-450 brands – has been the best-selling vehicle segment in the United States for 33 years running.
Californians also have a fondness for Ford trucks. Historically, only Texans have bought more pickups. And more than a third of the full-sized pickups sold in California during the first quarter belonged to the Ford F-Series.
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