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You are here: Home Tech Articles & Tutorials The Proper Use of Truck Bed Tradenames
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The Proper Use of Truck Bed Tradenames

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.

 

1957 Ford magazine advertisements touting "new styleside pickup".


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

 

It's been claimed by a few in the discussion of Ford trucks that Ford didn't incorporate the 'flareside' name until the '90s. As you've learned already, that isn't accurate. However, what's probably confusing them is that in 1992 Ford released a special-edition sport F150 with 'Flareside' nameplates, celebrating it's unique style and bring the registered 'flareside' tradename out into the mainstream. So for some, this was the first time they'd been made consciously aware of it's use. But as you've learned, it had actually been used exclusively by Ford for the previous 35 years!

        

These 1992 Flareside dealer brochure images courtesy of http://www.lov2xlr8.no

 

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 1957 Chevrolet dealer's brochure was meant as a training tool for the salesmen only...not intended to be viewed by the public. This brochure compares their '57 trucks with Ford's '57 models, and specifically acknowledges Ford's Styleside pickup box that was "...obviously designed with appearance in mind...", while still touting the merits of their own standard cargo box (with exterior fenders).


Here is another 1957 Chevrolet dealer's 'Us vs. Them'-type brochure, comparing their trucks to those of Dodge. Again, no mention of 'fleetside' or 'stepside'...or even an alternative to their conventional cargo box. Their comparison simply states "Superior styling on all models is also shown by Chevrolet's rear fenders, sculptured to blend with the front-end sheet metal", referring to their conventional cargo box.


This 1957 Chevrolet dealer's fold-out brochure shows their complete truck line, including the Cameo. All models are still referred to by model number...no mention of 'fleetside' or 'stepside'.

 


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



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.

 

 
GMC -
Wideside
® and Fenderside®
 


1958 GMC pickup ads
First mention of tradename 'Wideside'.
 
1959 GMC pickup ads - no mention of tradenames 


1961 GMC pickup dealer brochure

1971 GMC pickup dealer brochure


1971 GMC pickup dealer brochure

70's factory dealer brochure pages
showing Wideside and Fenderside tradenames


1977 GMC pickup ads

1979 GMC pickup dealer brochure


This page from the 1987 GMC trucks dealer's brochure
shows a 'Wideside' crewcab dually

So as you can see, GMC's truck division didn't use the 'stepside' tradename because it wasn't a GM tradename, it was a Chevrolet-only tradename, exactly like 'Silverado' or 'C-10' was.

 

DODGE - Sweptside®,
Sweptline
® and Utiline®

1957 Dodge Sweptside Pickup

In 1957 and 1958, Dodge manufactured a 'Sweptside' pickup, which utilized the rear fenders and bumper from the 2-door Dodge Suburban station wagon. The Dodge 'Sweptline' truck began in 1959.



Dodge's first cab-wide, smooth side 'Sweptline' cargo box
was new in 1959. Shown is a 9-foot Sweptline D300 pickup.

1959 Dodge Trucks dealers brochure
showing first use of "new" Sweptline and Utiline.


1960 Dodge Trucks dealers brochure


SOURCE: 1967 Dodge Light Truck dealers brochure

SOURCE: 1971 Dodge Light Truck dealers brochure


SOURCE: 1971 Dodge Light Truck dealers brochure

SOURCE: 1973 Dodge Light Truck dealers brochure


SOURCE: 1977 Dodge truck dealers brochure

SOURCE: 1984 Dodge truck dealers brochure
This is the last year Dodge produced a Utiline pickup.

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.

 

 
You are here: Home Tech Articles & Tutorials The Proper Use of Truck Bed Tradenames


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