There
always seems to be much confusion and discussion in various
online venues about trademarked marketing terms used by Ford in describing their products
versus what the competition used for similar products. So
let's clear the air about the use of these 'terms'...consider
this a primer course on the correct vernacular, a.k.a.
Ford-speak.
Overwhelmingly, the biggest problem lies with former fans
(or students/children of fans) of Chevrolet incorrectly
trying to adapt Chevrolet marketing tradenames to apply to
Ford products. Chevrolet used registered tradenames such as 'Stepside'
and
'Posi-trac' (and even terms like 'big-block/small-block') for some of their
products, and those registered tradenames and terms apply ONLY to
Chevrolet and should never be used to describe anything to
do with Ford, since Ford also had their own trademarked
names for similar products.
Unfortunately, it appears many people have gotten used to
the idea of using incorrectly using Chevrolet tradenames and
terms to also
describe the Ford's products, so we've come up with this
reference guide to help guide you back from the dark side
and into the (blue) light.
Stepside/Fleetside vs. Flareside/Styleside
Probably
one of the most-common mistakes made when talking about Ford pickup
trucks relates to bed styles vernacular, so let's discuss this.
Up through
1956, all major American pickup manufacturers were producing one
pickup bed style, which had the rear wheelwells outside the bed.
There was no reason to call the bed (or cargo box) anything
special...no specific tradenames...because they were all the same; there were no variations.
But
starting in 1957, a new bed style was introduced by Ford and added to the
existing line-up, a bed which had smooth bedsides and the rear wheelwells INSIDE the bed.
Since they now that two different bed styles, a way of
differentiating between them was needed, so their new smooth box
style was dubbed 'Styleside', while their conventional cargo box
with external rear fenders was named 'Flareside' and those two
marketing terms were trademarked.
Chevrolet
announced their new smooth-side 'Fleetside' bed on March 9, 1958,
which was more than halfway through the '58 model year. Their new
'59 pickup trucks were the first to use their new 'fleetside' and
'stepside' tradenames. Yes, that's right...Ford drivers were
enjoying their flareside pickups for nearly two years before
Chevrolet introduced their 'stepside' models.
The other auto manufacturers
immediately followed Ford's lead with their own smooth-sided cargo boxes
and as a result, each manufacturer had to have a way of
differentiating between the two bed styles to their customers. Each
manufacturer came up with their own trademarked name for each bed
style and this name applied to ONLY their products and used
exclusively in ALL their own advertising. However, these trademarked names are
NOT universal or interchangeable between manufacturers!
'STEPSIDE' is a Chevrolet-only tradename!
NEVER use 'stepside' to describe a Ford 'flareside'.
MANUFACTURER |
REAR
WHEELWELLS
INSIDE THE BED |
REAR
WHEELWELLS
OUTSIDE THE BED |
Ford |
Styleside®
(1957) |
Flareside®
(1957) |
Chevrolet |
Fleetside®
(1958) |
Stepside®
(1959) |
GMC |
Wideside®
(1958) |
Fenderside®
(1958) |
Dodge |
Sweptline®
(1959) |
Utiline® (1959) |
FORD -
Styleside® and Flareside® |
SOURCE: 1957 Ford truck dealer's brochure
This is the first time Ford used the tradenames 'Styleside' and
'Flareside' to describe the different cargo box
styles. |
|
|
|
This 1958 Ford newsletter (printed Dec. '57
for the '58 model year) is meant to educate Ford salesmen
with the competition from Chevrolet and continues to refer to
Chevrolet's offerings by model number...no 'fleetside' or
'stepside' tradenames yet, since Chevy still only had their
conventional bed. |
This February 1958 Ford newsletter compares
their Styleside with Chevrolet's new 'Fleetside' (as well as
the similar offerings from Dodge and IHC) prior to the
official announcement by Chevrolet scheduled for March 9,
1958 and is Ford's first acknowledgement of Chevrolet's
'Fleetside' tradename. |
|
This March 1958 Ford vs. Chevrolet
comparison brochure was printed by Ford
halfway through the '58 model year, the same month that
Chevrolet announced their 'new Fleetside pickup'. |
1965 dealer's brochure |
|
1969 Ford dealer's brochure |
1976 Ford dealer's brochure |
|
1985 Ford dealer's brochure |
1999 Ford dealer's brochure |
|
2003 Ford F-150 dealer's brochure |
2008 Ford dealer's brochure |
|
CHEVROLET -
Fleetside® and Stepside® |
The tradename 'fleetside' first appeared
in Chevrolet factory literature halfway through the 1958
model year...more than a year AFTER Ford registered the
'styleside' and 'flareside' tradenames and actually produced
the trucks! Chevrolet's tradenamed
'stepside' finally made its' appearance a year later, in
1959. Here's the proof: |
|
This 1956 Chevrolet dealer's brochure shows
the full truck line-up, but no smooth-sided truck is
pictured or mentioned. |
|
|
This 1957 dealer's brochure is the first time
a smooth-side pickup appears in any Chevrolet factory
publication. As you can see, all other trucks are simply
referred to by model number, but the smooth-side truck is
referred to as the Cameo Carrier. Fiberglass panels were
installed on the same conventional box as previous models.
The description doesn't mention any tradenames, only
mentioning the Cameo's "smooth-lined pickup sides", though
it does give a hint of what might be to come in the way of
tradenames, when it states "...the Cameo Carrier is just as
fleet as it looks..." However, as stated, the Cameo
wasn't actually a smooth-sided bed, it was simply their
conventional bed with a fiberglass cover for the side. |
|
|
|
This Jan. 1958 brochure is the first mention
of the term 'fleetside' in a Chevrolet publication....though
'stepside' hasn't made an appearance yet. Their trucks with
conventional cargo boxes are still simply referred to by
model numbers only. |
|
This mid-1958 brochure announces Chevrolet's
new fleetside pickup, though still no mention of 'stepside',
just a mention of their "conventional bodies". |
|
1958 Chevrolet magazine advertisement
touting their "new fleetside pickup". |
1959 Chevrolet dealer's brochure...and the
first one in which the term 'stepside' makes it's
public appearance.
The tradename has been used ever since. |
|
SOURCE: 1960 Chevrolet dealer's brochure |
SOURCE: 1964 Chevrolet dealer's brochure |
|
SOURCE: 1975(?) Chevrolet dealer's brochure |
SOURCE: 1983 Chevrolet dealer's brochure |
|
SOURCE:
1985 Chevrolet dealer's brochure
|
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|
|
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SOURCE: 1995 Chevrolet dealer's brochure
This 1995 brochure pictured is the last
'fleetside/stepside' reference I could
find in Chevrolet dealer literature. |
This 2004 Chevrolet
brochure shows a change to a 'Sportside',
since while it does have rear fender
bulges reminiscent of their stepside
beds, it's not a true stepside. |
|
|
Some misguided
individuals say that if a bed has a step, it's a
'stepside', regardless of manufacturer. Just as an FYI,
both Ford (left) and Chevy (right) refer to them as a
'running boards' in their official literature and parts
manuals, not as steps. |
|
|
As you can see, each
manufacturer had their own unique tradename for their respective bed
versions. Some might argue that the term
'stepside' has become a generic description to describe all pickup
beds with external rear wheelwells. Granted, usage of the
'stepside' term has become a very common mistake, and it's
usually due to truck enthusiasts incorrectly thinking that
Chevrolet's
tradename is a generic term describing all conventional bed styles and then passing along this
misinformation to a new generation. It's NOT an industry standard
nor has it ever been a universal term!
Ford has never EVER used the term 'stepside' in any of their
advertising...and neither has GMC.
And neither should you! And
here's why...
Tradenames are registered for a
specific purpose: to prevent misidentification with other
manufacturer's products, as well as to distinguish them apart from
their competitor's products. While it's possible to put a 'Muncie'
4-speed transmission into a Ford product, you can't call it a
'Toploader', because it's not. While both are manual 4-speed
car-type transmissions, Muncie is a Chevrolet transmission, a
Toploader is a Ford transmission. The two legally-registered
tradenames are unique identifiers of each respective product,
registered by the manufacturer, and not interchangeable.
'Stepside'
is NOT a generic term.
It's a very specific legal name for a specific bed style
by a specific manufacturer.
And it's not Ford.
|
Ford has
Flareside
&
Styleside
trucks. |
|