Ford-Tonka dump truck a huge 'toy' - USA TODAY
Ford Motor says it teamed with toy maker Tonka for a really big "toy" truck -- a full-size, fully functional, diesel-power, F-750 dump truck. Ford will exhibit it at the National Equipment Association Work Truck show in Indianapolis Wednesday, then take it on tour of other work-truck and equipment shows. The Mighty Ford Tonka dump truck is real -- hauls up to 17,000 pounds in the dump box, he says. "Creating this F-750 Tonka truck is a special way to celebrate that many of today's Ford truck customers first drove a Tonka truck," says Kathy Hawk,vice president of marketing for Tonka parent Funrise Toy. The Ford Tonka also is meant to call attention to the fact that Ford has moved production of its heaviest-duty F-series models -- the F-650 and F-750 -- to Avon Lake, Ohio, out of Mexico where the previous version was built. The model on which the Tonka is based is beyond what Ford calls "Super Duty," which runs from F-250 to F-550. Those wind up on the street as factory-made high-capacity pickups, and after-market modified into ambulances, tow trucks and other... Perversely, for those not truck savvy, the hulking, brawny dump truck and its ilk are considered medium-duty. Source: www.usatoday.com
