How Ford Quietly Broke A 40-Year Truck Rule On Its Biggest SUVs

Ford’s SUV lineage traces back to body-on-frame design, but a key change arrived in 2003. Early full-sized Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator models shared underpinnings with the Ford F-150, including truck-focused suspension that left 4x4 versions sitting higher than 4x2 variants. From 2003, however, the more capable 4x4 setups began to sit lower than the 4x2s—breaking a long-standing rule of thumb in American truck and body-on-frame SUV design. The article frames this as a quieter engineering departure that still echoes in how manufacturers think about ride height, capability, and packaging.