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2009 Ford F-150 Preview

Ford's F-150 is more than a truck. In many ways, it's a legend. It's been the

Ford's best-selling F-150 has been completely redesigned, emerging with a new look for '09. (Photo: Ford)

best selling vehicle for the past 23 years and the best selling truck for the past 30 years. At one point in time, it was the best selling vehicle in the world! It also happens to represent a massive portion of Ford of North America's operations. The current F-150, as you can imagine, speaks volumes about what pickup buyers want and need, but the all-new twelfth generation truck which debuted in Detroit yesterday, does something better than any previous F-Series truck; it listens to what owners and buyers have to say.

Over the past few years, trucks have been transformed from merely tools for work to items of personal expression, and Ford is offering a number of models to reflect the varied personalities of truck owners, but Ford's chief of design for trucks, Pat Schiavone says it best: “You can't make a truck look tough enough.”

The underlying theme of the new F-150 is toughness, a good thing.

Sure it might've been designed for the city, but the F-150 Platinum can play dirty. (Photo: Ford)

There's a lot of Super Duty in the appearance of the F-150, particularly the shapes and lines of the bodywork which are more upright and more block-like, yet more aerodynamic. This is achieved by taking the edges off the hood and fenders, while adding features like spoilers and new mirrors to shave the drag rating. The highly structured grille forms are accompanied with heavy-duty, industrial-sized (and shaped) headlamps that have a bit of Edge and Flex, while the taillights look like they're framed with girders. Schiavone says that most trucks have a face that can be easily recognized, but when it comes to tail ends, it can be a lot harder to tell one from the next. That's why with the new F-150, time and design went into creating a unique tailgate that features cross strakes, and in the case of certain models, tailgate décor. Ford is also offering the F-150 with 12 different types of wheel designs, each making its own statement.

The standard range of F-150 trim levels will remain the same – XL, XLT, Lariat – but there are also models that help to define the F-150's

An interior that'd be fit for a Lincoln. This is the nicest truck interior I've come across. (Photo: Ford)

image within the marketplace. The FX4 is the sporty, off-road model that will sport items such as a limited slip differential, beefier suspension components, plus a black molded grille and unique alloy wheels. There's also the wildly successful “Western” themed King Ranch with its saddle-style leather-trimmed seats and woodgrain trim. But new for '09, Ford is taking the F-150 to the city with the Platinum model, the ultimate Ford truck. The Platinum model takes the place of the Dearborn automaker's most luxurious truck, the Lincoln Mk.LT which was recently discontinued, and it caters to people who view their trucks as more than just heavy duty workhorses. It's on this model that you'll find things like real aluminum trim, matte-finished ash wood accents and the finest leather available on a pickup truck, which is also both heated and ventilated. It's the hues, colors and textures that define this as city slicker cool, not to mention the mesh grille, satin chrome trim, and polished 20-inch wheels that reinforce the image of luxury. It's the nicest truck interior I've ever sat in.

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