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April 3, 2008 http://www.thecarconnection.com/fullreview/ford_f-150_2001

  TheCarConnection Team
 TheCarConnection Team

by Dan Carney

You review the '01 Ford Lightning 

It’s a lowered, supercharged, hot rod of a pickup truck, so there is no question that it really hauls. But as an unexpected bonus, the Ford F-150 Lightning also hauls – lumber, mulch, boat trailers, whatever. Souped-up pickups and SUVs from General Motors typically have had limited or no towing and payload capacity, so it is nice to see.

But practicality is probably the last thing on a Lightning driver’s mind. The garish styling and boastful rumble that pours out of ceramic-coated side exhausts is a delight for lovers of traditional automotive Americana. If the 21^st-century edition of Webster’s Collegiate needs an updated icon to display next to the definition of “American car,” the Lightning may well be the best vehicle to replace the ’59 Cadillac in that role, even if it isn’t a car.

The Lightning’s 5000-lb towing capacity and 800-lb payload capacity will not displace many one-ton dually pickups from the heavy lifting chores. But the Lightning is equipped to provide the basic benefit of owning a truck; the ability to haul heavy objects. So Lightning owners can use their truck to haul a boat to the lake or to take a car to a show or race track.

Agility test

This is a tremendous accomplishment for a machine as fast and agile as the Lightning. Ford’s gearheads on the Special Vehicle Team built the Lightning with lower (half an inch in the front, two inches in the rear), stiffer suspension, revalved gas shock absorbers, and sports car-spec 18-inch wheels shod with low-profile tires. The result is handling that is drastically removed from the usual sluggish, vague steering and bouncy ride exhibited by most trucks. Such changes can easily improve handling, but can simultaneously wreck the cargo-carrying capacity if not executed as well as in the Lightning.

by Dan Carney You review the '01 Ford Lightning  It’s a lowered, supercharged, hot rod of a pickup truck, so there is no question that it really hauls. But as an unexpected bonus, the Ford F-150 Lightning also hauls – lumber, mulch, boat trailers, whatever. Souped-up pickups and SUVs from General Motors typically have had limited or no towing and payload capacity, so it is nice to see. But practicality is probably the last thing on a Lightning driver’s mind. The garish styling and boastful rumble that pours out of ceramic-coated side exhausts is a delight for lovers of traditional automotive Americana. If the 21st-century edition of Webster’s Collegiate needs an updated icon to display next to the definition of “American car,” the Lightning may well be the best vehicle to replace the ’59 Cadillac in that role, even if it isn’t a car. The Lightning’s 5000-lb towing capacity and 800-lb payload capacity will not displace many one-ton dually pickups from the heavy lifting chores. But the Lightning is equipped to provide the basic benefit of owning a truck; the ability to haul heavy objects. So Lightning owners can use their truck to haul a boat to the lake or to take a car to a show or race track. Agility test This is a tremendous accomplishment for a machine as fast and agile as the Lightning. Ford’s gearheads on the Special Vehicle Team built the Lightning with lower (half an inch in the front, two inches in the rear), stiffer suspension, revalved gas shock absorbers, and sports car-spec 18-inch wheels shod with low-profile tires. The result is handling that is drastically removed from the usual sluggish, vague steering and bouncy ride exhibited by most trucks. Such changes can easily improve handling, but can simultaneously wreck the cargo-carrying capacity if not executed as well as in the Lightning. by Dan Carney You review the '01 Ford Lightning It’s a lowered, supercharged, hot rod of a pickup truck, so there is no question that it really hauls. But as an unexpected bonus, the Ford F-150 Lightning also hauls – lumber, mulch, boat trailers, whatever. Souped-up ...