Who’s Honoring Ford Now? The Detroit News
Stephen Colbert on his show often has a segment called “Who’s Honoring Me Now.” With all the awards Ford has been winning lately with their new 2015 F-150, they could have a segment like that of their own.
The latest to honor the F-150 is The Detroit News. They have declared the F-150 their overall vehicle of the year.
According to Henry Payne, author and reviewer with The Detroit News describes the F-150 as, “… much more than the Truck Wars top dog du jour. This pickup is a daring innovation on a new American frontier.”
He lauds the F-150’s extensive use of aluminum to improve power-to-weight to deliver better performance while appealing to bureaucrats who want a green vehicle. “Fuel efficiency must double by 2025.
Which means Detroit engineers have to serve vehicles that meet both the dietary needs of tree-hugging, bark-chewing bureaucrats and stump-pulling, red meat-eating Neanderthals like you and me.”
Payne is also not concerned by the possible inflated EPA fuel economy numbers, saying that that is what the government wants. They want high EPA numbers while the average man wants a hard-working truck.
The F-150 delivers on both fronts. I’m not so sure that buyers don’t care about hitting the fuel economy numbers that are on the sticker; Ford has had to adjust theirs more than once on other vehicles including the C-Max. However, Payne’s overall point is valid; aluminum makes sense in a truck for both better fuel economy and more working capacity.
What Ford learns in this process will be handed down to all the other vehicles in Ford’s lineup, which will improve fuel economy across the board. The F-150 won not because it’s the best looking vehicle out there, but because of the future implications of making such a bold and daring truck.
Join the F-150 fans in the forum.>>
Photos by Ed Tahaney
