>>Ford Cargo

Ford Cargo

Ford Cargo

Also called	Freightliner/Sterling Cargo Ashok Leyland Stallion
Production	1981-present
Predecessor	Ford Transcontinental Ford C-Series (USA) Ford D-series (UK)
Successor	Ford LCF
Body style	Cabover
Designer(s)	Patrick Le Quément

The Ford Cargo is a cab-over-engine truck model manufactured by Ford in Turkey and Brazil. It was originally launched in 1981 by Ford of the United Kingdom.

The Cargo was styled by Patrick Le Quément who included windows which extended down to floor level in the doors to enable drivers to see pathways in urban locations more easily when parking. The Cargo cab was very successful and was commonly seen in US Postal Service duty, and as a city tractor for freight companies such as Roadway Express.

The model is still made by Brazilian, Argentinian and Venezuelan (aka Ford Trader) Ford subsidiaries, the Turkish Ford Otosan, and the Indian Ashok Leyland(Stallion). And it is also made by Freightliner Trucks and sold as the Sterling Cargo or the Freightliner Cargo in the United States.

Facelifted Ford Cargo in USPS livery

2012 Ford Cargo 2628

Ford now sells the Ford LCF as a smaller cab-over alternative in the US to be more competitive with similar trucks, such as the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter and Isuzu Elf (N Series).

European Ford Cargo

With the demise of the Ford Transcontinental heavy truck range, British Ford introduced a range of heavyweight Cargo tractor units ranging from 28- to 38-tonnes gcw. The 38-tonners were powered by the Cummins L10 while those at 28- and 32-tonnes had Perkins, Cummins, or air-cooled Deutz diesels.

In 1986, Ford sold its European truck operations to the Italian Iveco group and subsequent vehicles have been badged Iveco Ford. After the recession in the 1990s, Iveco rationalised its production operations,overlooked by Keith Stanley Jones, Production Engineering Manager and its Langley, Slough, plant closed in October 1997, bringing UK Iveco/Ford truck production to an end.

The original lightweight Cargo was replaced in 1993 by the Iveco Eurocargo range, covering the 7.5-ton to 18-ton GVW range.