Ford F150: the lowdown
It can be difficult for Europeans to comprehend the importance of full-size trucks to the health of the big American manufacturers. Cars like the F150 are some of the biggest sellers in the US – and the big three are reliant on continuing sales of these pick-ups to keep their meagre fortunes intact. They’re under attack as never before, especially from Asian manufacturers. If you saw Toyota unveil the new Tundra at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, you’d have thought they ruled the roost in the full-size truck sector. Which is very much what they want to do.
So what’s Ford’s response?
The new F150, that’s what. It hopes that a revised, fettled and improved pick-up will claw back sales from its competitors. CAR Online was on hand when a trio of final confirmation prototypes were out on test near Ford’s global HQ at Dearborn. Although the cars were still wearing heavy disguise, you can make out a lot of detail that spills the beans on this, one of the Blue Oval’s most important new cars in years.
So what’s it like inside?
Mention the words ‘truck’ or ‘pick-up’ to your typical European motorist and they’ll look aghast, expecting shiny plastics and as much refinement as you get in a seedy student nightclub. The F150, and rival trucks, are slowly changing that belief, though, with a steady improvement in quality. Whereas the last model represented a huge leap forward, this time the improvements will be more incremental. It might not have the ambience of Europe’s latest Mondeo, but it does share that car’s classy, chrome-ringed, round air vents, and we can make out some pretty upmarket equipment on these prototypes: cruise control, electric gadgets galore, a column-mounted automatic gearlever and (naturally) a flurry of super-sized cupholders. Very neat.
But will the F150 lug and carry and be tough as nails still? I don’t want it too comfy
You bet. These cars had some cunning disguise in the loadbay to make the flatbed look less capacious than it really is; rest assured, with the foam padding removed it will offer a vast capacity. Short cab, extended cab and four-door double cab bodystyles will be offered and under that disguise you’ll see a traditional Ford, three-bar grille, a kinked waistline and many tips from the classic F150s of the past, according to our sources.
So when can I finally see the new F150?
We hear the latest F150 truck will be saved for America’s biggest auto show – the Detroit show at the Cobo Arena, just down the road from the Blue Oval’s main offices.