For those who need to catch up, this pick-up truck has been the best-selling automobile in the United States for almost forty years, outselling both urban cars and other trucks by an expressive margin (Can you imagine how many of them hits those streets every year?). When a product reaches similar status, the automaker's first thought is to everything untouched as long as possible, but sooner of later the need to change always arrives. Even though the vehicle manages to stay attractive, like VW Beetle in the 1970s, at some point the rivals start to threaten that leadership by investing on solving whatever flaws the "target" has started to show. Not to mention that the public is always fond of novelties.
Therefore, after admitting the need to do something, the automaker needs to figure if it's better to keep a low profile or take the risk of bigger investments. The general rule is that if you've worked right, the bigger the changes will be the longer they'll be capable of maintaining the car with good sales, but it's very easy to spot the trick on that: figuring out what would be "the right thing to do" is what intrigues every automaker each time it needs to perform any change on any of its models, regardless of its depth. However, Ford can say this particular case wasn't that hard to “solve” because it didn't take much more than giving a good look to the outgoing truck.
F-150's previous phase was based on a project which first arrived in the 1990s. That is, late enough after the oil crisis and soon enough before the 2000s crisis as to worry with any of them. This is what starts to explain old-school North-American conception of cars, expressed through using big dimensions on pretty much everything. So that right thing to do, in nowadays, surely needed to include being much more efficient, but not in a way that would take off what made the vehicle famous in the first place. Ford found out that the structure needed to keep its basic layout in order to preserve its capabilities but the rest could change. And this opportunity is what ended on this truck receiving cab and bed made in aluminum for the first time.
Ford claims that strategy helped to reduce around 320 kg of the old truck’s weight. Besides, there are also more high-strength steels at the frame, which made it lighter and more rigid. But the new F-150 isn’t all about internal parts. Most of the styling was anticipated by the Atlas concept, but even with the typical tune-down performed at production cars it still looks amazing. The front now looks as futuristic as imponent, combining chrome accents to an impressive three-dimensional design. On the sides, the windows were reshaped and now aid to better front visibility. And the rear features not only a beautiful set of lights whose shape remind of the front ones as also an entirely different tailgate. The car doesn’t surprise much, but the overall feeling is highly positive.
It’s very interesting to notice that those expressions of stylish solidness are mimicked by the interior. The room manages to be sophisticated and strong, which suits perfectly a modern pick-up truck even at its cheap, working-focused versions – there will be XL, XLT, Lariat, Platinum and King Ranch. But if you’re thinking of an upscale trim, Ford will offer a list of equipments that could easily equip a Lincoln model. The electronic safety package includes LED spotlights for bed and side mirrors, remote-locking tailgate, trailer-hitch assist, seat-belt airbags for the second row and Curve Control, Ford’s special stability control. Other items include LED lights, leather and wood trim, up to 20” wheels, multiple grille designs and Sony audio system.
The bed lenghts will be 5.5 feet, 6.5 feet and 8 feet, while the cab options are regular, Supercab and Supercrew. When it comes to the powertrain, the “old-school” line took advantage of F-150’s diet and went through a down-sizing process: the 3.7L V6 turned into a 3.5L and the 6.2L was dropped, leaving the V8 lineup only with a 5.0L. Besides them, the EcoBoost offer kept the 3.5L V6 but added a 2.7L unit which uses twin-turbo and start/stop. Ford didn’t reveal none of the performance figures yet, but all options will be launched with rear-wheel-drive as standard and AWD as optional and always use a six-speed automatic transmission. None of the prices are known, too, but Ford did announce that its new pick-up will hit the streets at the end of this year.