The HD pickup truck continues to move upmarket with seemingly no ceiling on how much well-heeled buyers are willing to pay for plus-size luxury trucks. Every truck in this class, namely the Ford Super Duty, Ram HD, and the HD versions of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, has expensive luxury trims that can cross into six-digit pricing territory. Now, the Blue Oval is adding an extra cherry on top to the Ford Super Duty Platinum Plus to deliver a luxurious experience that goes beyond the truck itself.
The Platinum Plus package available for the Platinum trim has effectively replaced the old Limited trim in the Super Duty lineup, eliminating some redundancy in the model range. In addition to the extra luxury features on your truck like satin chrome exterior trim, unique 20-inch wheels, a twin-panel moonroof, and a “Smoked Truffle” interior with upgraded materials, you now get a 2-year/25,000-mile maintenance plan, a 90-day accessories discount, an upgrade in your FordPass Rewards tier, a welcome package with a “tribute item,” and a personal touch with an “Elite Welcome Call” and one-on-one texting with a Ford truck expert.
“This is an all-new bundle. It’s all-in-one given to the Platinum customers,” Super Duty marketing manager Brian Rathsburg told the Detroit Free Press. “The new element is there to try to revise the experience level for our most premium customers.”
This is similar to the Black Label experience that Lincoln offers buyers of its most expensive and exclusive models. In addition to getting the fanciest example of a given model, you get upgrades to the ownership experience, like a longer maintenance plan, Lincoln Access Rewards perks, and an Avis President’s Club membership.
We’re curious how much luxury pickup truck buyers will be swayed toward a Super Duty over its competitors because of the new perks that come with Platinum Plus ownership. It raises a question for GM: should The General offer similar ownership experience perks for premium HD trucks like the GMC Sierra HD Denali Ultimate and Chevy Silverado HD High Country with the Premium Package? Do gimmicks like discounts on accessories or a phone call from someone from the automaker truly enhance the ownership experience, or do these luxurious trucks speak for themselves?
Comments
Honestly, it’s getting to the point where it’s more of an embarrassment to drive one of these upper trim trucks; “yeah, I’m the rugged HD 4×4 type and use my 65 year old azz uses it to pick up bags of mulch and tow my Airstream – did you know I have a truffle interior and a sky roof?” Come on, a FordPass Rewards tier, a welcome package with a “tribute item,” and a personal touch with an “Elite Welcome Call” and one-on-one texting with a Ford truck expert??? Surely folks aren’t swayed by this.
As someone that currently owns two GM HD trucks…..
Forget all of the frills and just put more quality into the build of the trucks where I don’t have to run to the dealership every month for stupid breakdowns that should have never occurred.
GM needs to upgrade its interiors to get rid of all the plasticiness. The Ford Lariat interior is such an upgrade compared to the Denali interior, the biggest difference is comfort. The GM seats are hard and have very little padding. Come on GM, at least be competitive it this category.
I agree that the seats are hard in my 2500HD, but I also expect them to hold up better 10 years from now.
Also, the Chevy heavy-duties ride 10x better than Ford, so you need those softer seats in the Ford, otherwise you’d probably hammer yourself to death via blunt force head trauma from the B-pillar.
Its hard for me to wrap my head around buying a $110k plus truck and be deathly afraid of getting it dirty !
I like that Ford is offering a light colour interior. Gm is so stuck on black. The interior lighting is inadequate,especially with a sunroof and no center light.
Thanks but I don’t need creepy follow-up calls, or rebates on accessories so I can spend even more. Just get me out the door with a fair price.
The two year/25k mile (40233 km) maintenance plan is a great idea, but that should be across the board for LT/SLT and up, for the amount we’re paying for these trucks. If you’re confident enough to offer it for a $100+k truck, you should offer it to me for my $75k SLT.
GM needs to build better quality trucks without all the engine and transmission issues.
Also better Interiors with other colors besides Black!
How about building a robust reliable truck, made from quality materials. A truck that won’t rust out in two years.