27 February 2008

F for Ford



Henry Ford is reputed to have said something along the lines that buyers could have any colour Ford they wanted, as long as it was black. I wonder what he would have thought of blue?

Fords have also come a long way since the Model T, but no fancy Fords will be featured here.



My poor little Ford Bantam "bakkie" braving the road out of the Elands River Valley. For the uninitiated a "bakkie" is a small truck in South Africa. If you are an Australian it would be a "ute". The literal translation of "bakkie" from Afrikaans is a small bowl.



Looking out towards the Groot Winterhoek Mountains and the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area, with my "bakkie" enhancing the view.



This old Ford truck is parked in front of the Padstal Restaurant, at Patensie, in the Gamtoos River Valley. It does not qualify for "bakkie" status by today's standards - it is too big - but in its hey day it probably was.

...
It must have presented quite a jaunty sight on the roads, with its blue livery and yellow wheel rims. It is a partner to the Chevrolet featured several weeks back.

26 comments:

dot said...

Wow, I love that mountain scene but those look like some rugged roads to travel! Your pictures are great!

photowannabe said...

Terrific F post for the well used Ford. I like the rusty textures and that is some rugged road.

Leslie: said...

Ah, the good old reliable Ford! I used to have '73 Ford Taurus that we called "The Tank." lol Great shots of the Ford and love the surrounding countryside! :D

Katney said...

Some members of my family used to swear by Fords. Known fondly as "Fix Or Repair Daily" to some, in those days you could fix or repair yourself if you were slightly handy.

Gerald (SK14) said...

we used sing a song that included the words

a Ford a Ford
a biscuit tin
with an engine in
a Ford a Ford

love the view of the mountains and the blue sky but I'm not sure my bones could handle the shaking these days.

Anonymous said...

What a great post for F! My husband loves to spot these oldies in the backroads...

Petunia said...

F is definitely Ford!
Great choice!

Daryl said...

Oh I love old trucks .. Ford .. Cool!

kml said...

Love the first image - the rust, the old style writing - a perfect classic!

Lilli & Nevada said...

Great post i think so far this is the first

DeeMom said...

Fords ROCK

we have two FOrd tractors one an 8 N one a 9 N
they still work

also a Ford 1981 pickup


Awesome

Bob Johnson said...

Love the color of the truck, and the view, love coming here to see what warm weather looks like, totally have forgotten.

Neva said...

This is a great "F"....love the old fords....

Jan said...

I'm a truck lover, too. These are great photos.

FO - 2 said...

Very good shots! :)
The old Ford is charming.
And both of them are blue.... ;)

MedaM said...

To be honest, it is the blue sky and the mountains that attracted me the most. Believe it or not I am not a driver so I don’t care much about cars, but my husband does very much as well as my sons, of course. :-)

Dragonstar said...

Lovely photos. You always have posts worth viewing.

Tom said...

Great Post Max.. love the road and both the trucks.. I'd like one like that old ford..

Flassie's Fil'a said...

I really like your F post!

Such beauty in the landscape.

I really like old vehicles.
Especially Vintage Trucks.

Have a God Blessed Year!!!

gma said...

MaXe
Great pix. Love the old Ford...it's great! Would love to go out riding in that back country.

Swubird said...

Hey, I love the photos. The one at the top reminds my of my neighborhood when I was a kid. That style of house was popular way back then. There must have been half a dozen just like that on my block.

Great stuff. Have a nice day.

Kerri Farley said...

Fantastic F post!!

Rune Eide said...

We might need some of those for our roads!

I am a bit late in commenting, but better late than never!

myonlyphoto said...

Max-e, as always, these are really cool shots, not really big fan of Ford cars here, but I have to give mr Ford a credit, because we be still walking if it wasn't him, lol. Anna :)

Max-e said...

Anna I always say that if you drive a Ford you don't have to carry tools, because they are so reliable. But then the Ford Bantam and the Mazda Rustler pickups are identical, except for the badges. They both have a Mazda engine.
The funny this is that some years ago they stopped producing the Ford pickups and only sold Mazdas. Sales dropped off because some people still wanted Fords, so the makers branded some Fords and the others Mazda.
I am one of those who prefers to drive a Ford, rather than a Mazda, even though they are identical.
Must be the badge :)

myonlyphoto said...

Max-e, North American cars like Ford are popular here too, even if there are problems. I just not one of those who like big cars. The Japanese cars getting established, but lot of north american's don't have faith in them, because they still trying to put 4 cylinders on the big vehicle, you known how they like to optimize them, and then they may not work in our climate too, so it is stretch. Thanks for sharing Max-e, Anna :)