Big trucks are for big, hairy-chested macho men — right? With a huge turbo diesel engine and dual rear wheels — hmm? Grunt. The big Ford 350 Supercab four-door is fearsome to look at up close, and when started, its huge turbocharged 7.3 liter Power Stroke diesel engine grumbles like an 18 wheeler.
    Climbing up into the cab begins to change one's perspective — it’s gorgeous. A luxurious penthouse. Leather seats, power everything, a full range of instruments, cup holders, carpets, maplights, a great radio and an incredible view of the world. Fire up the big diesel and from inside all I hear is a gentle thrum — good, sound insulation. Hey, anyone can drive this thing, it’s easy — just be careful of the width of those dual wheels. Ladies, this truck is for you.
    Accelerating hard onto the freeway, there's a lot of power here, along with some diesel acceleration racket which momentarily bests the sound insulation. This truck is easy to drive, although it is prone to freeway hop on concrete and, as with all tall vehicles, sharp cornering must be executed carefully. The F350 also is wide, so one has to be extra careful not to wander out of the lane of choice. Trust me, other drivers won’t argue over your lane choice. Allow lots of space at gas stations and when parking.

The Ford 350 carries six in comfort and yanks out stumps.

    At cruising speeds the diesel noise is muted, and listening to Beethoven on the excellent radio can be enjoyed by all six occupants. Yes, six people fit easily into this leather-coated extended cab, with oodles of head, shoulder, hip and leg room. The four full-size doors complete this spacious package. For such a huge assembly of metal, this truck is tight, with no sign of a rattle or squeak. The big four-wheel disc brakes quickly haul it to a stop from 70 mph without a sound.
    It seems that this truck is designed to satisfy the needs of two types of customer; one who genuinely needs a stump-puller with full four-wheel-drive (high and low speed) capability, a high torque engine, lots of ground clearance, a large crew cab and a huge cargo bed; and the other who will probably never seriously use any of these features, but who likes to own and be seen in the most luxurious and powerful truck on the road.
    When this truck reached stoplights, a sea of upturned faces shone, most perhaps wondering what huge growling thing had blanked out their sunlight.
    An astounding 44 optional configurations are available with this truck, including snow plow, camper and trailer-towing packages. There will be no attempt here to detail all 44 configurations with their prices; however, here's an outline: The F350 Super Duty Crew Cab Four-Wheel-Drive 172-inch Wide Body Lariat with dual rear wheels carries a base price of $30,440. The standard engine is a 6.8 liter, 275 hp, V-10, the 7.3 liter, 235 hp diesel turbo costs an extra $4,110. A five-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard with the 6.8 liter gas engine and a 6 speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard, with the 7.3 liter diesel engine. A four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is optional for either engine at $995. Four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, carpeting, 38-gallon fuel tank, manual locking hubs, dual power mirrors, front tow hooks, trailer harness and trip computer are standard.
    A preferred equipment package including air, cruise control, tilt steering wheel, leather split bench seat with power for the driver's seat, keyless remote entry system, leather-wrapped steering wheel and premium, polished aluminum wheels costs $1,510. Other useful items, such as a passenger's air bag at $300, a trailer hitch receiver at $150, a four-wheel drive on the fly electric shifter at $150 and a sliding rear window for $125, can be added. You can buy an off-road package with skid plates for the fuel tank and transfer case for $125, and a heavy service suspension package for $200. The Ford warranty is three-year/36-month bumper to bumper, which includes roadside assistance, and a five year unlimited miles rust through warranty.
    Nowhere can you find out what the likely fuel consumption of this beast is. The EPA doesn’t publish it, it isn’t on the new vehicle sticker, and the manufacturer keeps it a deep, dark secret. All that can be said is that the diesel engine will have considerably better fuel consumption than the gas engine, probably around 13 to 15 miles per gallon overall.
    If you need the ultimate in off-road and load-carrying capability, or want to have it just in case, this is probably the truck of choice. The other two members of the Big Three manufacturers sell some excellent trucks, but none have the sheer size, the torque or the cab interior of the F350.
    (Many thanks to the helpful folks at Kearny Mesa Ford on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, and to Juan at Colonial Ford in National City who lent me his last F350 brochure.)

Motoring since 1952, Austin Lynas has owned 54 cars and at one time raced mini-sedans in England. An aerospace engineer, he was instrumental in developing the anti-skid systems used in British military aircraft that preceded today’s ABS systems. Lynas can be reached by e-mail at osten@aol.com.