Johnny Lightning 1:64 1999 Ford F-450 Tow Truck: Gulf Oil

The Ford F-Series is a series of trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford. In production since 1948, the F-Series is a range of light trucks marketed as full-size pickup trucks, slotted above the compact Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range. Since 1999, the F-Series also includes the heavier-duty Super Duty series, which includes pickup trucks, chassis cab trucks, and medium-duty trucks. As of current production, the Ford F-Series includes the F-150 pickup, F-250 through F-450 Super Duty pickups, F-450/550 Super Duty chassis cabs, and F-650/750 Super Duty Class 6-8 trucks. The most popular version of the F-Series is the F-150, now in its thirteenth generation.

The best-selling pickup truck in the United States since 1977 (the highest-selling vehicle overall since 1981) the F-Series is also the best-selling vehicle in Canada.

As of the 2018 model year, the F-Series generated $41 billion in annual revenue for Ford. At various times, Ford has marketed the F-Series across all three of its divisions in North America. From 1948 to 1968, Mercury marketed the F-Series as the M-Series (in Canada); during the 2000s, Lincoln sold the F-150 as the Blackwood and the later Mark LT. The F-series platform has underpinned several sport utility vehicles, including the Ford Bronco, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.

As of current production, the Ford F-Series is manufactured by Ford in four facilities in the United States.

Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from 1901 until March 15, 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger with Standard Oil of California, Gulf was one of the chief instruments of the Mellon family fortune; both Gulf and Mellon Financial had their headquarters in Pittsburgh.

Gulf's former headquarters, originally referred to as "the Gulf Building" (now the Gulf Tower office condos), is an Art Deco skyscraper. The tallest building in Pittsburgh until 1970, when it was eclipsed by the U.S. Steel Tower, it is capped by a step pyramid structure several stories high. Until 1973, the entire top was illuminated, changing color with changes in barometric pressure to provide a weather indicator that could be seen for many miles. After 1973 until the 2000s, only a beacon on top would change colors.

Gulf Oil Corporation (GOC) ceased to exist as an independent company in 1985, when it merged with Standard Oil of California (SOCAL), with both re-branding as Chevron in the United States. Gulf Canada, Gulf's main Canadian subsidiary, was sold the same year with retail outlets to Ultramar and Petro-Canada and what became Gulf Canada Resources to Olympia & York. However, the Gulf brand name and a number of the constituent business divisions of GOC survived. Gulf has experienced a significant revival since 1990, emerging as a flexible network of allied business interests based on partnerships, franchises and agencies.

Gulf, in its present incarnation, is a "new economy" business. It employs very few people directly and its assets are mainly in the form of intellectual property: brands, product specifications and scientific expertise. The rights to the brand in the United States are owned by Gulf Oil Limited Partnership (GOLC), which operates over 2,100 service stations and several petroleum terminals; it is headquartered in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The corporate vehicle at the center of the Gulf network outside the United States, Spain and Portugal is Gulf Oil International, a company owned by the Hinduja Group. The company's focus is primarily in the provision of downstream products and services to a mass market through joint ventures, strategic alliances, licensing agreements, and distribution arrangement. In Spain and Portugal, the Gulf brand is now owned by Total S.A..