Say it ain't so!

2015 Ford F-150 is Not Truck of the Year? - Ford Trucks

Do you agree or disagree with Motor Trend's pick?

 

So a truck that has been out for 2 months beats out a truck this isn't out yet. Doesn't bother me, Motor Trend has been in GMs pocket for years anyway.

 

Ed, Ford didn't deserve it this time. They didn't complete the package. Had the new transmission been available even in the top of the line trucks, I would have been calling BS all the way.

Let us not forget, the Raptor was discontinued and it seems that it will be resurrected in 2016/17. Another chance for Ford to take the title.

The Superduty is coming out as all new, another opportunity.

 

Well the Motortrend Truck of the Year announcement is out and say what you want about Motortrend and their flawed reviews or they have a bias or whatever - which is untrue as the F150 has chalked up four of these awards since its inception and there wasn't much belly aching during those years interestingly enough. Also, interestingly the years the F150 did win it was years of major model redesigns but this year - arguably the most significant ever the F150 didn't win - didn't even place second - it finished third!

Anyhow, this award was Ford's to loose and loose it they did.

I get the payload numbers and towing numbers that will inevitably be cited in response by F150 die-hards but the demand within the truck market is evolving payload/towing are assumed by more and more buyers and the differences among the big 3 are quite frankly - very thin. A couple of hundred pounds here and there are not going to move the needle any more. But what is increasingly moving the needle???

FUEL EFFICIENCY!!!

And why is this the trending consideration? This is the only one of the three (towing/payload/mileage) that directly affects the truck owner in the wallet. Again, I understand among the die-hards - bigger badder trucks with bigger badder motors are big deals. But more and more its fuel efficiency because no one and I mean no one likes to pull away from the pump and feel like they just poured wasted dollars into their fuel tank. There is a lesson to be learned here the devil in details lies in the MPG numbers and GM just did an end run and got the prize.

Be that as it may let's face it Ford got 98 yards with this redesign and muffed it at the end. They left the prospect of their own higher speed transmission until the 2016 model year (I bet) and the the further prospect of their own light duty diesel until 2017 or 2018. This is unfortunate because these components are the easy, low hanging fruit in the truck mileage game when compared to the truly hard decision to go with the aluminum body. Ram figured this out with their 8 speed and the V6 eco-diesel.

Can you imagine an aluminum bodied, 3.5L Eco-boost with a 10 speed transmission? Or an aluminum bodied F150 AND a light duty diesel AND a 10 speed transmission? That configuration is a game changer, will move the needle in a huge way and will win many, many awards.

This is a shame as Ford has done the hard work - the shift to aluminum is huge - billions of dollars of investment and for a couple of million more or maybe even a few hundred thousand they should of done the transmission and the light duty diesel and stole the entire show! Just say'in...

 

I haven't paid any attention to the "prestigious" motor trend for years. What I value in a truck and what they value never match. Rams light diesel is a gimmick. The payload is pathetic. I do miss the ranger but the international ranger is over 90% the size of the F150. I dont see the benefits. The 4.4L power stroke diesel should be an option absolutely. They have prototyped it in F150. There are some nice options on the other marques but I wouldn't trade my 2014 5.0 F150 for any other half ton on the market.

 

Kinda expected the F150 to win 2015 TOTY with the Colorado/Canyon grabbing it next year with the 2.8L Duramax diesel engine (unless Ford dropped the mic by pushing the 10spd out a year early).
Maybe the positive to come from this loss is that the Ranger reboot might get more momentum for an earlier return.

Sidenote: While the TOTY award helps sales, Ford still out sold everyone despite Ram winning back to back awards.

 

Nothing against the Colorado, I'm sure it's a fine truck but does anybody really take the MT car / truck of the year seriously? It's the subjective opinion of a handful of "experts" that have previously nominated some design, production and sales disasters as well as some really fine machines. It is for entertainment purposes only. The reality is that the market is king and will ultimately decide the truck of the year.

 

The Honda Ridgeline won TOTY too. Evidently it doesn't mean much.

 

A lot of people probably take awards into account when they spend the kind of dough on a brand new truck. GM probably has been giving MT money for years which should come to no surprise.

 

I haven't taken motor trend seriously since they gave the Ridgeline the truck of the year award.

 

Any of you guys bashing GM for "buying" this award, don't get your panties in a bunch. The "winner" each year buys a massive amount of advertising space in the magazine and website, and also spends their dollars promoting the magazine as a credible source. It's all paid-for marketing, each and every year, even when ford wins.

 

Ridgeline

 

While advertising dollars are exchanged, I tend to believe their decisions are based on the writers skewed views on what (they feel) customers want as opposed to basic comparable factors (performance, cost of ownership, ease of use). The subjective stuff shouldn't be included in the evaluation process.

Granted, this is a competition that's basically a post high school popularity contest with vehicles instead of people, so there is bound to be some hurt feelings in someone's camp.

 

No small diesel engine, no updated transmission and a new 2.7 EB that gets 1 mpg better than it's big brother. That's hardly a recipe to win anything.

 

Though I do tend to feel Motortrend has bias towards GM products, I also agree that the 2015 F-150 didn't move the needle enough to win this years award. It's basically an evolution of the current generation truck, where's the Colorado/Canyon are attempting to bring back smaller trucks in America, there's a little more ambition behind those two I believe.

With that said, I am in no way a GM guy I always have been and always will be a Ford man, and I do think the 2015 F-150 will promote many good idea's for the 1/2 ton truck market. I think that the 2015 F-150 would have been more deserving of this award had it shown up with the 10-speed transmission and/or a small diesel as well.