Here’s Why CarMax Had 11 Identical Lime Green, Single-Cab Ford F-150s For Sale

Ah, the power of the internet. We were intrigued enough by CarMax’s selection of 11 nearly identical 2022 Ford F-150 pickups finished in an unusual shade of green to write about it. We had a lot of questions. How did they end up scattered across the nation, ranging from Washington to Massachusetts? Were they previously owned by tool manufacturer Ryobi? Crucially, could these bare-bones work trucks be used to start a one-make racing series? We still haven’t answered that last point, unfortunately, but a reader who says he used to drive one reached out to The Drive and gave us the full story.

First, the trucks were indeed used by Ryobi as fleet vehicles, which explains why they’re all painted in a color that’s not found on Ford’s palette. What’s interesting is that they were painted directly at the factory—Ryobi seemingly talked Ford into a Paint-to-Sample-like deal, so its distinctive shade of green has its own paint code in the Blue Oval’s system. The reader added some were alternatively finished in black with white and green decals.

Not every Ryobi employee was eligible to receive a corporate F-150, though. The reader explained that these trucks were assigned to folks in the Leadership Development Program, which was largely aimed at college graduates looking to score their first job. Representatives would hop in their trucks, drive to a hardware store (like Home Depot), and assemble things like promotional cardboard fixtures. Ryobi paid for gas and maintenance.

The XL trim level was positioned at the very bottom of the F-150 range, so it denotes a very basic configuration, but the reader told us that the trucks nonetheless featured Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and a remote engine starter accessible via an app. He also pointed out that the insufficient amount of sound-deadening material made them loud on long drives; more upmarket trim levels should be much quieter.

Should you buy one? The reader had insight on that, too. “The real question is how diligent many of the reps were on servicing, oil changes, etc,” he stressed, noting that the drivers weren’t allowed to perform their own maintenance and that Carfax should detail the service history.

Ryobi parent company TechTronic Industries phased out the company truck program earlier in 2024, so more F-150s should soon show up on CarMax lots. That’s great news if you’re in the market for a no-nonsense truck, or if you want to start a one-make racing series. Especially because 10 of the 11 trucks we wrote about yesterday have already sold or mysteriously disappeared from CarMax’s inventory.

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