Report: Emasculated by Ram's Impressive Size, Ford Wants to Up Its Inches

Get your filthy minds out of the gutter — we’re talking about touchscreens here. Big ones. Specifically, the monstrous, tombstone-sized slab of screen found in Ram’s new 1500 and Heavy Duty pickups.

Apparently, the boys and girls in Dearborn are envious of their rival’s vertically-oriented footlong and aim to get their hands on an even bigger one.

According to sources who spoke to Bloomberg, Ram’s dominance in the touchscreen size contest has compelled Ford to develop a worthy competitor. Blue Oval engineers are apparently tasked with boosting their screen’s size by at least 50 percent. For current-generation F-150s, touchscreen width tops out at 8 inches.

As the two rivals battle for torque, towing, and fuel economy supremacy, it seems another battle has broken out. This is what happens when you’re sharing space in a hot segment.

“When you get in the Ram and look to your right you see a big, 12-inch display and it’s very eye-popping,” commented Kyle Davis, analyst at IHS Markit. “There’s a decent amount of content on it, but it doesn’t overload the user.”

Ford’s aim is to at least match Ram’s screen size, the sources claim, with future truck buyers being able to handle simultaneous functions on the glowing expanse of plastic. Navigation and audio, you get the idea.

Ford’s not commenting on future product, but Bloomberg‘s sources claim the automaker wants the screen ready for the looming next-generation F-150, expected to land next year as a 2021 model. Should the engineers succeed in incorporating such a screen into the next F-150, both Ford and Ram will hold a tech advantage over General Motors, which just released its new full-size and heavy duty pickup models. The screen in those trucks tops out at 8 inches.

[Image: © 2019 Matthew Guy/TTAC]