Hot take:  I've owned that steering wheel edition.

"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97) 02/12/2018 at 11:47 • Filed to: None

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The FP’s post ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) about Elton John’s 1997 Aston-Martin Vantage lead to me follow their link to auction website. I only got a few clicks through the photos when I saw the dash shot and realized just how far Ford took parts bin engineering to Aston with the realization that I’ve owned that steering wheel. Aston doesn’t even look to have included the cruise control buttons.

I suspect more than a few other oppos have too. In my case, I owned that steering wheel on this truck back in 2004/2005ish.

Disregard the date stamp, I never bothered setting the date on that old camera. This would’ve been taken in 2004ish.

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As an added bonus, I bought the neighbor’s suburban in this picture three or four years after this was taken.

92 F-350, 7.3l IDI (non-turbo) diesel, auto, 4x4, two bench seats, and a turning radius of, well, we’re parking at the end of lot (that era of Ford heavy duty 4x4 steering design considerably limited steering angle, in addtion to being a crew-cab, long bed). The truck was a beast, so long as you weren’t in a hurry climbing hills while towing.

Sadly, I don’t think I have any interior pictures of that truck, but mine was leather wrapped and had the cruise control switches. That wheel was used on a lot of Fords from that time.

A crown vic from the Clinton era:

A fox-body mustang:

WilliamsSW > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 02/12/2018 at 11:51

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It looks like you could peel off that A-M logo on the steering wheel. I bet “Ford” is embossed underneath that...

punkgoose17 > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 02/12/2018 at 11:54

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I think my father had that steering wheel in a 1990 Taurus wagon.

facw > WilliamsSW 02/12/2018 at 11:58

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Wouldn’t be the first time:

fintail > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 02/12/2018 at 12:01

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Back in the day, my mom had a 93 Taurus with the same wheel as well. Something like this:

I also remember the car still had an 85 mph speedometer, maybe the last of that wonderful feature.

Future next gen S2000 owner > facw 02/12/2018 at 12:04

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH

*heavy breathing*

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > fintail 02/12/2018 at 12:04

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I dig the blue interior. I think that truck had an 85mph speedo as well. I know I buried it a couple of times, but it wasn’t really a vehicle that ever made you want to set the cruise control too far past 80 anyway.

Cash Rewards > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 02/12/2018 at 12:05

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Goddamn that truck is long!

fintail > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 02/12/2018 at 12:08

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My mom’s car actually had a blue interior just like that. It was white on blue, a combination I mocked then as some kind of government fleet special, but now seems rare and somehow tasteful. Blue interiors almost don’t exist anymore.

I remember getting the Taurus into the upper ranges, too. 3.8, puked a head gasket (of course) at 80K, she liked the car, but walked away and has bought Toyota since.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Cash Rewards 02/12/2018 at 12:21

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It is a good counter to the narrative that trucks have gotten bigger. They haven’t. The belt lines have gotten taller, and the frontal area at the nose has gotten bigger, but if you looked at 1-ton crew cab long bed like this from the 80's or 90's and a 2018 F-350 of the same configuration in overall length, height and width, they’re not much different. I think a lot of folks are fooled by the high-belt lines of today and the huge grills (combined with many more folks daily driving trucks compared to previous decades) into thinking trucks have gotten bigger.

shop-teacher > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 02/12/2018 at 12:56

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The cabs have gotten a bit longer, especially extended cab versions. On the whole though, you’re right.

Also, for everybody complaining about how big mid sized trucks are, I don’t think they appreciate how big a difference being 6" narrower makes when parking.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > shop-teacher 02/12/2018 at 13:03

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I agree that extended cabs have gotten a little bit longer. It does seem like mid-size trucks have grown, but I’ve never really paid much attention to them simply because my towing needs have always dictated a 1/2 ton truck or better.

shop-teacher > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 02/12/2018 at 13:08

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The mid sized trucks have certainly grown, but for everybody who thinks they’re the same size that full size trucks used to be 20 years ago, nope.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > shop-teacher 02/12/2018 at 13:16

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Indeed. A new mid-size truck still isn’t this size. This 91 F-150 was the first truck I owned. I used it as a daily driver in 2003 as a counter to my 18 year-old self’s habit of setting the cruise control at 120 in my MX-6 and then getting to speak with local law enforcement. It also meant I didn’t have to borrow the parent’s tow vehicle to play my with my racecar.

Cash Rewards > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 02/12/2018 at 13:21

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This is very true

ranwhenparked > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 02/12/2018 at 20:32

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Part of it is that single cabs are nearly extinct on new trucks, but were still very common 20-30 years ago, so the trucks we’re used to seeing today seem to have longer cabs than the ones we were used to seeing in the past.

Of course, it seems like a lot of the newer double cabs are ordered with short beds the dimensions of a Crown Victoria’s trunk lid, so that kind of balances things out in the length department.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > ranwhenparked 02/12/2018 at 22:21

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I’m doing my part to keep single cabs alive. :)