This heavy-duty Louisville-series truck was introduced for the 1997 model year as part of Ford’s medium/heavy commercial lineup. The nameplate identified the short-hood, set-forward-front-axle version of the Louisville 9500 family with a 101-inch BBC configuration, placing it in Ford’s conventional vocational and regional-haul truck range rather than the light-duty pickup lineup. It was positioned as a rugged Class 8 work truck for applications such as dump, towing, construction, and other specialized commercial bodies.
The nameplate appears to have had a brief original run, with model-year documentation showing it in Ford’s 1997 and 1998 commercial-truck offerings before the Louisville series was phased out under Ford branding. These trucks were part of the last generation of Ford heavy conventionals before the company exited its heavy-truck business, making them a relatively short-lived but important chapter in Ford truck history. Enthusiasts and commercial-truck historians often recognize this series for its role in closing out Ford’s long-running Louisville line and for its straightforward, vocational-focused design.