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AUTO REVIEW
2017 Ford F-350
By Steve Schutz, MD
I am not a pickup fan. Never owned one, My first impression of the F-350 was, Before it arrived, I fantasized (not really)
don’t want one. But I know many of my “Big.” I mean, it’s really big. I’m 6’2” tall, about taking the F-350 out and rolling coal
readers own pickup trucks, so I said yes and the Super Duty is taller than me at — the annoying big truck thing that in-
when I had the chance to drive the all-new 6’6”, and it’s wide too, like almost-as-wide- volves flooring the throttle so you can cover
2017 Ford F-350 Super Duty pickup. as-the-road 80 inches wide. Wow, just big. the car or bicycle behind you with a cloud
Once you climb up into the cab though, it of diesel soot — as I accelerated away from
Naturally, I had other reasons too. Ford shrinks. No, it never made me think, any number of Toyota Priuses, but no luck,
makes a lot of money on these big trucks — “Wow, it’s like a Fusion or an Accord,” but the new Super Duty diesel pickups are too
up to $15,000 or more on each one by some it certainly drives smaller than it is. While clean. No matter what you do, these new
estimates — which comprise about 30 per- you sit up higher than just about anybody trucks are models of civility and don’t release
cent of that company’s total F-series output, else on the road, the F-350 is maneuverable any visible smoke from their exhaust pipes.
and like the best selling F-150, the latest and easy to manage in most driving situa- As an avid cyclist, let me say, “Thank you
Super Duty pickups now have aluminum tions, including city streets. Honestly, I Ford Motor Company” for that.
bodies. And while I’m a sports car guy at thought it would be like living with a trac-
heart, I always want to be in the know about tor trailer for a week, but it wasn’t, it was There’s not much to say about the design
any important happenings in the automo- easy. Yes, parallel parking and doing any- of the F-350. It’s a big pickup, full stop. Sure
tive industry, including truck news. But thing in a parking garage were difficult, but it has LED lighting, aerodynamic exterior el-
mostly I wanted to experience a vehicle everything else was much easier than I an- ements, and chrome accents galore, but ul-
which, though clearly meant to do work, is ticipated. I could drive this every day. timately it looks like what it is. Is it better
surprisingly popular as an everyday driver. looking than its GM and Ram competitors?
52 San Antonio Medicine • August 2017
