What Does Bonus Built Mean?

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In 1948 when Ford put out their new line of trucks they needed a marketing slogan. The trucks had lots of new features, and were a good value for the money compared to the competition's trucks. The ad geniuses of the time called this "Bonus Built" to imply that you got a little something extra--a bonus--when you bought a Ford truck.

The key elements of bonus built are:

Million Dollar Cab. The cab was redesigned to be more comfortable for the driver and passengers. The doors opened wider to make it easier to get in and out and the cab was made taller to accomodate a tall driver or a driver wearing a hat. They paid a lot of attention to the seat, in an effort to achieve "living room comfort". They claim that they did achieve that by putting the seat on tracks so that it could be moved toward or away from the steering wheel. They also introduced an adjustable seatback for added driver comfort (convenience was yet to come as you need a couple of wrenches and a few minutes to adjust the seatback). Finally, Ford used cotton batting and individually pocketed coil springs to make the truck seat as comfortable as as an easy chair in your living room. Sure my 98 Explorer, with 6 way adjustable power seats and inflatable lumbar support, laughs at this alleged "living room comfort", but in 1948 it was a big improvement.

Level Action Cab Suspension. Rather than being bolted directly to the frame, the cab was placed on it's own insulated mounts. This insulated the cab from the natural weaving action of the frame and also insulated it from engine and chassis vibration.

Three Way Air Control. Well, 2 way air control at least. The 3rd way was an option. These trucks have a cowl vent to bring air into the cab and onto the legs and feet of the driver/passengers. The doors have vent windows to bring air in at face level. Finally, the optional heater/defroster/blower completed the air control package. In hot weather the driver could run the blower and be bathed in fresh air (just like the vent on modern cars). This package is far from comperable to modern heating/air conditioner systems, but it does the job. I can drive my truck in the summer with the cowl vent and vent windows open and be perfectly comfortable as long as I'm moving. At a stoplight things change--drastically.

Built Stronger to Last Longer. Other ad slogans Ford used at the time was "built stronger to last longer" and "Ford trucks last longer". Ford designed the F series to last 10 years. That might not seem like much today, but in teh 40's that was a large claim.