Before the United States had the Ford Expedition and Ford Excursion, the biggest SUV in the Ford lineup was the 1978 through 1996 Ford Bronco. However, Mexico had a precursor to these big SUV’s, the Ford B-100 and B-150 Carryall.
From 1963-1994, the B-100 and B-150 filled the need as a family hauler built to battle Volkswagen’s offerings in the market.
According to a Ford advertisement:
“The B-100 is a unit for large families with small transportation needs. Ideally for transporting 8 to 10 passengers comfortably. Its four-speed manual transmission takes full advantage of its power and provides great climbing power…Ford Motor Company only manufactures the chassis but the bodywork can be manufactured by any specialized company.”
So, Ford provided the F-Series platform, while the unique bodies were grafted on by any of (13) different coach builders.
The B-100 and B-150 lived up to their name as a carryall serving as family vehicles, ambulances, delivery vehicles, and panel vans.
Made only in Mexico, these SUV’s had two doors on one side and one on the other, plus barn-doors out back.
The interior featured three sets of bench seats. The second-row bench seat was shorter to allow passengers to get to the rear seats. The rear barn doors had vent windows, and there was a vent window on the driver’s side.
Power for these vehicles came from a Ford 302 and a 4-speed manual transmission.
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In the end, NAFTA opened the doors to tons of trade. This included sales of the Econoline/E-Series van. Thus, the B-100 & B-150 faded away.
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