The 1959 F-100 was Ford's first in-house 4x4 truckThe F-100 truck was a part of many major events in Ford's history, including being the company's first 4x4 vehicle to be fully developed in-house. However, it wasn't the first ever 4x4 SUV to bear a Ford badge.The first appearance of AWD drivetrains on Ford vehicles dates back to the late 1930s, though it wasn't Ford's patent. During those times, the Woodie Wagon was one of Ford's most popular utility models, but the only available drivetrain configuration from the factory was rear-wheel-drive. Marmon-Herrington, a much smaller Indianapolis company, started producing a 4x4 drivetrain system that Woodie Wagon owners could install on their vehicles. Although the upgrade cost nearly as much as a base-model V8 Woodie by itself, it proved to have lots of potential. Later on, Ford helped manufacture some of the U.S. Army's Jeeps, which all featured 4x4 drivetrains.It wasn't until years later, in 1959, that Ford started to compete with Jeep in the booming market of all-wheel-drive utility vehicles. Instead of relying on third-party contractors like Marmon-Herrington, Ford began making AWD drivetrains in-house for regular production, and that's how the first 1959 Ford F-100 4x4 came to be.