• The Ford F-150, one of the best-selling vehicles in America, serves several purposes, including a utilitarian vehicle, a daily-driving truck and a general, all-purpose, heavy-duty vehicle. The 1997 model year introduced a new direction for the F-150, adding aerodynamic design elements and new body, chassis and engine choices. It also set an industry standard with its third door on its SuperCab model.
  
  

Trim Levels

• Ford manufactured the 1997 F-150 in two cab designs and 12 trim levels. The Regular Cab models consist of the Short Bed with 4WD (four-wheel drive) or RWD (rear-wheel drive), the Long Bed with 4WD or RWD and the Flareside Short Bed with 4WD or RWD. The SuperCab versions consisted of a Short Bed with 4WD or RWD, a Long Bed with 4WD or RWD and a Flareside Short Bed with 4WD or RWD, as well.
  
  

Performance

• The F-150 had two engine options, a 4.2 liter V6 for its Regular Cab models and a 4.6 liter V8 for its SuperCab versions. The 4.2 liter produced 205 horsepower at 4,950 rpm and 255 foot-pounds of torque at 3,700 rpm. The 4.6 liter V8 generates 220 horsepower at 4,750 rpm and 265 foot-pounds of torque at 3,700 rpm. The Regular Cab four-wheel drives had a fuel economy of 13 to 16 mpg in urban driving environments, and 17 to 20 mpg on the highway. The SuperCab four-wheel drives got 13 to 15 mpg in the city and 17 to 18 mpg on the freeway. All RWD models got 14 to 17 mpg in the city, and 18 to 22 mpg in highway driving conditions. A five-speed manual transmission with automatic overdrive came standard with all models, although a four-speed automatic with overdrive was also available.
  
  

Interior

• The 1997 F-150 had standard seating for three and optional seating for two in its Regular Cab models. There was standard room for six and optional seating for five in the SuperCab versions. All trim levels had a front headroom of 40.8 inches, with 37.8 inches of rear headroom in the SuperCab models. All models had a front legroom of 40.9 inches, and the SuperCabs had a rear legroom of 32.2 inches. Every trim level had a front shoulder room of 63.8 inches, and rear shoulder room of 64.7 inches in the SuperCab models. Each model front hip room equaled 61.3 inches, and the SuperCab had 64.9 inches of rear hip room.
  
  

Exterior

• Of the Regular Cab 4WD series the Short Bed had an overall vehicle length of 203.7 inches, the Long Bed had a length of 222.3 inches, and the Flareside had a length of 207.4 inches. Of the SuperCab series, the Short Bed had an overall length of 222.3 inches, the Long Bed had a length of 240.90 inches and Flareside had a length of 226 inches. Each model had a width of 79.5 inches and a ground clearance of 7.3 inches. The Regular Cab Short Beds had a height of 75.4 inches, and the Long Beds had a height of 75.1 inches. The SuperCab Short Beds had a height of 75.5 inches, and the Long Beds had a height of 75.1 inches.