I'm an ex-staffer on Four Wheeler Magazine. I've driven plenty of pickup trucks for road test data-gathering purposes.

In 1993. I suffered a stroke. My wife and I sold my Mustang and readied to move from the Los Angles area to our retreat in the Desert Southwest. We needed transport for towing and packing loads. We went shopping for a pickup truck.

It didn't take long for us to decide on a 1993 Ford F-150 4x4 Extended Cab with 355cid V-8. The window sticker listed all the amenities we desired--and then some. Air conditioning would meet our extremely hot desert summers head on. Deluxe bucket seats would provide for our comfort. The rear seat would give our big dog, a Rottweiler, a comfortable place to travel.

In the six years we've had the truck, it has provided us means to haul our foodstuffs from a shopping center 30 miles distant, take our trash to the local dump and allow us to cruise desert trails safely in four-wheel drive.

We plan to keep this vehicle for at least 20 years.