Super Cowboy Cadillac? Our 2017 Ford Super Duty Predictions
The State Fair of Texas auto show media day is just over a month away, and there we will see the brand new 2017 Ford Super Duty. It’ll be a big change over the previous generation for a lot of reasons. Here are some of our predictions for the new truck.
It’ll Be Made Out of Aluminum
This is the no-brainer prediction. The 2017 Ford Super Duty will save weight by adopting an aluminum body like that on the 2015 Ford F-150. How much weight? It’s too early to tell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it saves the F-150s 700 pounds or more.
It’ll be interesting to see how the truck buying public receives the change to aluminum on the Super Duty. Ford has spent the last year convincing people that aluminum is as strong as steel, but we’re afraid they might have to have that battle all over again.
One potential saving grace is that many construction companies already have equipment made out of aluminum, or the buyer has experience with aluminum. They’ll already know the value of aluminum and shouldn’t have a hard time accepting it as a material to build a pickup truck out of.
It’ll Have 1,000 lb-ft of Torque
The 2016 Ram Heavy Duty, with the diesel engine cranks out an Earth-moving 900 lb-ft of torque. As time progresses, these truck makers are making their diesel engines more and more reliable, and they’ll be capable of making more and more power safely.
A safe prediction would be in the 950 lb-ft range, because they’ll have to beat Ram’s torque figures. But we wouldn’t be surprised if they go whole hog and crank it up to 1,000 lb-ft. It’d be an incredible story to tell.
33,000 Pounds of Towing
With the increase in engine size and torque, naturally towing will increase. Through making the truck lighter and more powerful,, Ford will be able to dramatically increase the towing capacity of the truck. The current Super Duty is SAE J2807 certified to tow 31,200 pounds currently. They might go higher, but we think 33,000 is a good bet.
It’ll Be Loaded with Technology
While you’ll still be able to get a basic F-250 pickup truck, like you can still get a basic F-150 today, the higher-end trim levels of the Ford Super Duty will have many technology features available.
We’re sure SYNC 3 will be on hand, since it should be in all new Fords by the end of the 2016 model year. It’s faster and more responsive than the MyFord Touch it replaces.
Pro Trailer Backup Assist will be available. I know that none of you guys like it, but it’s easy technology to implement, and Ford already will have the cameras in place for it. It’ll be on the options list.
We also expect there to be a fully-loaded Platinum (maybe even Limited) edition with everything the F-150 has, including cooled seats, massaging seats, radar cruise control, and automatic parallel parking. Ford makes Cowboy Cadillacs today in the Super Duty line, we expect that trend to continue with the new truck.
What do you think? Let us know over in the forums!
