Looks pretty cool, I watched the video of the unveil where some of the new features were ever so briefly covered. I must say it's not what I was expecting (I was looking forward to the 2014 F-150) but nonetheless shows what Ford has been busy with for a while now. Besides the next-gen Ecoboost, there's tech in the front end that would lower the truck to make it more aerodynamic. Also, there's an auto-shuttering grill to cut down on wind resistance, stop-start technology that shuts the truck off at stop lights (but is disabled when towing), and parking assist for towing. An interesting but handy addition was a bed rack that appeared out of the tailgate to help carry longer items.

More than these were some things that stuck out to me, especially in the design area. I don't think it's a mystery that the Atlas has design ques that we'll see in the 2014 F-150. I think the three bar grill and aggressive front-end that resembles the super duty's will stay, following the trend set in 2012 that is aiming at aligning the F-1/2/350 designs. The bed rack will probably make it in also. I think it's quite possible that all major technologies mentioned will find their way into the final design because if they didn't it would not look good in light of the competition.

In spite of the "new" technologies, many of these same features can be found in the 2013 Ram 1500. The other two (you know who I'm talking about) also revealed their revised 2014 models with some of the same features. Perhaps Ford is waiting on selling more of the 2013 model before unveiling the redesigned model. Yet, it almost feels as though the Atlas prototype is there to show that Ford is working on something. And from what they showed, it appeared as though it was a "me too!" unveil, mirroring the other companies' new technologies almost entirely -- yet I'm sure there will be more to add when the 2014 F-150 takes a bow sometime during this year. This really couldn't be avoided... After the powertrain upgrade in 2012 the Ford F-150 wasn't due for a major upgrade for a few years and so it provided the competition a nice little window to take a stab at the market leader. Now, Ford has to play "catch up" in a sense when it comes to the efficiency technologies. That next-gen Ecoboost should fit the bill.

I'm hoping that the statements made at the end of the unveil, "This is only a fraction of what we're working on" or something to that effect is true and Ford reveals something that will set the bar just a bit higher in the 2014 F-150.