How Much Testosterone Do You Need in Your Truck?

Ford's F-150 is a pretty studly ride to begin with. But if you really want to make a statement, order it with the Harley-Davidson package. Yes, Ford and the fabled motorcycle company have gotten together to create a new kind of easy ride.

Start with an all-black F-150, in club or crew cab. Lower it an inch. Now throw on the chrome, lots of it, beginning with 20 inch wheels that give the F-150 a low and menacing look. Add more chrome touches to the interior, and put Harley-Davidson logos everywhere you look. Oh, and of course, the interior has to be leather.

The suspension comes from Ford's high-performance Lightning. As in the Lightning, power is delivered by the 5.4 liter Triton engine, this time without the supercharger but with a specially-tuned exhaust note that will remind you of Rolling Thunder.

Think of it as a Hog with room for your dog.



Whose Vehicle Is It Anyway?

Manufacturers give vehicles names to create an image. The Mustang might not have fired the public imagination quite the same way had it been called the Sea Slug.

Sometimes, it's easier to borrow an existing image. When Ford wanted to build a tougher version of its F-150 pickup, they worked with Harley-Davidson to create a vehicle that would project the Easy Rider image.

That's not an entirely new concept; some of us still remember the Dodge Road Runner, which even had a horn that went meep-meep. Or the U.S. Ski Team Subaru, although they've since slalomed over to GM. These days, though, the practice is spreading. Think of the Eddie Bauer Explorer, the Louis Vuitton PT Cruiser, the Warner Bros. edition Chevrolet Venture. There's even the Ducks Unlimited Tahoe.

I haven't heard the horn on the Ducks Unlimited Tahoe yet, but I think we all know what it's going to sound like.