2009 Ford F-150

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What is it?
2009 Ford F-150

What's special about it?
It's not too much of a stretch to say that the introduction of the 2009 Ford F-150 pickup is the only introduction at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show that really matters.

For exactly 1 billion years, the F-150 has been the biggest-selling vehicle in these here United States. This remains the case despite improvements to the Ford's most potent competitors from Dodge and GM, not to mention the concerted efforts of Nissan and Toyota.

If it's any indication of how competitive the truck market has become, consider that it's been only five years since the F-150 was last completely redesigned. It used to be that a pickup — the symbol of utilitarian consistency — could go a decade without a complete overhaul. Now the pickup product cycle is essentially identical to that of the midsize sedan.

For the new F-150, Ford has decided that pickups should be ever more brutish-looking. The result is a nearly flat monolithic face that towers above all who dare approach it. Specifically, Ford stole a page from its own design book for pickup trucks and plastered a version of the company's cartoonishly humongous Super Duty grille across the F-150. The grille is flanked by headlights that recall the Ford Edge. Consider the tall, nearly flat body sides, outside mirrors that are supposed to look like they're mounted on two fat struts and a tall cargo-box side; no one is likely to call the new truck wimpy.

Tailgates are boring, Ford thinks. So it's made the F-150 tailgate unique with a sort of spoiler lip hanging off the top edge and some horizontal ribbing across the expanse of the gate. It's surely distinctive, but it might make a pretty poor canvas for airbrushed portraiture of deer heads or desert landscape murals as favored by a small segment of pickup owners.

And because a V6 just doesn't sound nearly as burly as a V8, Ford will no longer offer the 202-horsepower 4.2-liter V6 that was the F-150's base engine last year. For 2009, the F-150 will be an all-V8 proposition. Two versions of the 4.6-liter V8 — one with two valves per cylinder familiar from last year and one with three — will represent the bulk of sales. The upgrade engine will be the 5.4-liter V8 with three valves per cylinder, just as in years past.

Ford will not release horsepower figures for the 2009 engines. But it's fair to assume that they'll be similar in output to last year's motors. This means the 5.4-liter will make at least 300 hp and 365 pound-feet of torque. The two-valve 4.6-liter will make about 250 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque, and the three-valve version of that motor should make around 275 hp. If these power figures are accurate, they'll be on the low side for V8s in the class. Ford will allow that the new lineup will return a 1 mpg improvement in efficiency versus the outgoing engines. And Ford acknowledges that it will offer a diesel engine and a turbocharged direct-injected engine — likely a 3.5-liter V6 — in 2010.

The 5.4-liter and the 4.6-liter with the three-valve heads will come standard with a six-speed automatic transmission. The base V8 will come with a four-speed auto. Naturally, a range of axle ratios will be offered.

Ford says that with three cab styles, four cargo bed options and seven trim levels, the F-150 can be configured in 35 different model combinations. We don't have the space to explore them all here (or anywhere, for that matter). Like competitors, the F-150 will come as a regular cab, a cab with a decent-size rear seat (Super Cab), or a Super Crew that features a wheelbase that's 6 inches longer than that of the current model.

Bed lengths range from 5.5 feet to 8 feet. And wheel sizes range from 17-inchers to 20s. The other major mechanical systems are familiar: rear- or four-wheel drive, independent front and live axle rear suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes. Ford says it has further reinforced the fully boxed frame of the F-150 to boost the truck's payload and towing capacities, but failed to mention by how much. The four-wheel drive is a conventional system with high and low ranges. No fancy all-wheel-drive system will be offered.

There are still five trim levels (XL, STX, XLT, FX4, Lariat) along with the King Ranch. New for '09 is the F-150 Platinum, a luxury pickup for all those rich people who inexplicably wanted the recently discontinued Lincoln Mark LT but didn't act quickly enough. It features a whole suite of luxury and convenience options including the Sync hands-free communication and entertainment system, voice-activated navigation system and a 700-watt audio system. Sirius Travel Link combines with navigation to provide traffic and weather conditions and fuel price information for more than 120,000 gas stations, which the truck will no doubt visit on a regular basis.

All F-150s will offer a heapin' helpin' of electronic safety systems, including ABS, traction control, stability control with roll mitigation and something called Trailer Sway Control (TSC). As its name indicates, TSC aims to control the, um, sway of your trailer by using the truck's stability control system. Also available for tow hounds is an integrated trailer brake controller and rearview camera assist.

To more easily use the available cargo space, the Ford F-150 will be offered with options like a retractable step to ease access to the side of the bed, a tailgate step first shown by the Super Duty and a three-piece bed extender that snaps together when in use and disassembles when it's not.

What's Edmunds' take?
There are some notable improvements here. But there's also notably stiff competition and brand loyalty won't necessarily last forever. Game on. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit