#F150

It is flummoxing when automakers decide to saddle an enormous expanse of digital real estate with relatively few display options. Sure, the whole so-called Calm Screen from Hackett-era products at Ford was a fine idea – but not without supplementary options from which to choose.

Fortunately, someone at Ford finally plowed through the red tape and infused the new Mustang with entertaining choices. First, a Fox Body-style gauge option was on tap, a neat throwback now joined by a display selection inspired by the 1967-1968 model years. Best of all, it found its way into cars by way of an over-the-air update.

I just tested a 2023 Ford F-150 Tremor -- yes, 2023s are still in the press fleets and this isn't unusual, no big deal -- which is supposed to split the difference between the badass off-roader Raptor and the "regular" F-150.

Does it do that? Read on.

Yes, I had to check the calendar to learn if this is April Fool’s Day. It is not. Ford announced this morning a new trim for their all-electric pickup truck. It has an extended range (320-mile) battery, popular equipment, and a price tag right at $70,000. 

On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it would be expanding its investigation into late-model Fords equipped with EcoBoost engines. What initially started as a probe into 2021 model-year Broncos equipped with 2.7-liter turbocharged engines has evolved into a much broader look into several other models and the larger 3.0-liter EcoBoost motor.

Last summer, the NHTSA was prompted to launch an investigation into 2021 Ford Broncos after nearly 30 complaints were issued about the 2.7-liter motor cutting out at highway speeds. This was accompanied by a few petitions demanding the agency take action, prompting the NHTSA to launch a formal investigation. At the time, regulators were fretting over the possibility of “catastrophic engine failure” due to a presumed defect with the intake valves.

A revamping of this nation’s best-selling vehicle (well, the half-ton portion of those numbers, anyway) is always worth a few words. The build-and-price tool for the 2024 Ford F-150 is now live, meaning we can poke around in what Ford asserts is a streamlined ordering process in which the number of buildable combinations has been cut by 90 percent compared to last year.

In Detroit, the Truck Wars never sleep. All the players enjoy nothing more than beating each other over the head with power outputs, towing capacity, and what they think is the Next Great Gadget™. For 2024, Ford is re-upping the F-150 with a midcycle refresh – and answering GM and Ram with an innovation of its own.

Can manufacturers tend to enjoy shrouding their upcoming vehicles in a cloud of ranchland dust or billowing tire smoke – depending on what they’re trying to keep under wraps, of course. Pickup trucks often get the former, which is exactly what was deployed for a brief teaser video for the next F-150 which popped up on Instagram just one day before the entire thing is revealed in Detroit.

Like ‘em or not, the musings of Consumer Reports can carry quite a bit of weight with John Q. Public when shopping for big-ticket items like a car or pickup truck. This month’s issue featured machines in numerous categories slapped with an ‘avoid’ label – including America’s best-selling vehicle.

It’s been ages since the venerable 5.0L V8 engine has been the F-150’s volume seller, but that hasn’t stopped some gearheads deep within the skunkworks of Ford Performance from coming up with a relatively affordable supercharger kit for the mill – one which cranks the wick to 700 horsepower.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A line of pickup trucks from Dearborn is the best-selling vehicle in America. There’s a very good chance you have indeed heard this before; after all, it’s been happening for 41 years. 

Prices of everything are going up these days – food, gasoline, our Managing Ed’s subscription to Utne Reader – and vehicles are not immune. We’re not just talking about the haywire used car market or greedy dealer markups, either; Ford has seen fit to hike its asking price for the dandy F-150 Lightning. Again.

Do you remember when suits at Ford breathlessly announced their all-electric F-150 Lightning was priced at a sliver under $40,000? Pepperidge Farms remembers – and TTAC does, too. Hot on the heels of a price increase two months ago, the least expensive Lightning now stickers for an alarming $53,749.

Ford Motor Company’s 2021 Model Year is full of new trucks, crossovers, and SUVs. The one hundred and seventeen-year-old company has a renewed focus on these profitable categories while no longer offering a sedan in North America. The Bronco, Bronco Sport, and Mustang Mach-E expand Ford’s vehicle portfolio while adding new segments for the brand. These are all very important products for the future of Ford Motor Company. However, none of those vehicles provide the company with the same level of revenue as the other new vehicle in the 2021 lineup; the 2021 Ford F-150.

It’s safe to say that the F-150 is Ford’s most important product. It has been the best-selling vehicle in America since 1977 and is in a segment where average transaction prices are near $50,000. In 2014, in order to create a more capable and more fuel-efficient truck, Ford moved the thirteenth-generation F-150 to an all-aluminum exterior. But between that release and today, the full-sized truck segment has become even more competitive. General Motors released an all-new Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 and FCA introduced a brand new RAM 1500.

In what is assuredly the most Nineties looking Rare Ride to date, today’s Ford F-150 wears its decade loud and proud. Let’s find out more about this one-off pace car.

Part of the appeal of pickup trucks is that they can be many things to many people.

Tow machine to haul your boat? Check. Home-improvement aid? Sure, throw those 2x4s in the back. Guarantee that your friends will call you when they need help moving, even if they never call you any other time? Sure. Cowboy Cadillac? If you like cruising the streets of Texas in comfort, pardner.

Ford’s F-150 is already at least perceived as doing all those things well – Ford doesn’t sell approximately a zillionity billion for no reason – and adding a diesel powertrain to the mix doesn’t hurt.