Ah, the ability of the web. We had been intrigued sufficient by CarMax’s collection of 11 almost similar 2022 Ford F-150 pickups completed in an uncommon shade of inexperienced to jot down about it. We had quite a lot of questions. How did they find yourself scattered throughout the nation, starting from Washington to Massachusetts? Were they beforehand owned by software producer Ryobi? Crucially, may these bare-bones work vans be used to start out a one-make racing sequence? We nonetheless haven’t answered that final level, sadly, however a reader who says he used to drive one reached out to The Drive and gave us the total story.
First, the vans had been certainly utilized by Ryobi as fleet autos, which explains why they’re all painted in a colour that’s not discovered on Ford’s palette. What’s fascinating is that they had been painted straight on the manufacturing unit—Ryobi seemingly talked Ford right into a Paint-to-Sample-like deal, so its distinctive shade of inexperienced has its personal paint code within the Blue Oval’s system. The reader added some had been alternatively completed in black with white and inexperienced decals.
Not each Ryobi worker was eligible to obtain a company F-150, although. The reader defined that these vans had been assigned to people within the Leadership Development Program, which was largely aimed in school graduates trying to rating their first job. Representatives would hop of their vans, drive to a ironmongery store (like Home Depot), and assemble issues like promotional cardboard fixtures. Ryobi paid for fuel and upkeep.
The XL trim degree was positioned on the very backside of the F-150 vary, so it denotes a really primary configuration, however the reader advised us that the vans nonetheless featured Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and a distant engine starter accessible through an app. He additionally identified that the inadequate quantity of sound-deadening materials made them loud on lengthy drives; extra upmarket trim ranges must be a lot quieter.
Should you purchase one? The reader had perception on that, too. “The actual query is how diligent lots of the reps had been on servicing, oil adjustments, and so on,” he careworn, noting that the drivers weren’t allowed to carry out their very own upkeep and that Carfax ought to element the service historical past.
Ryobi guardian firm TechTronic Industries phased out the corporate truck program earlier in 2024, so extra F-150s ought to quickly present up on CarMax tons. That’s nice information in case you’re out there for a no-nonsense truck, or if you wish to begin a one-make racing sequence. Especially as a result of 10 of the 11 vans we wrote about yesterday have already bought or mysteriously disappeared from CarMax’s stock.
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