Sorry if I'm posting so much 'helpful' information is various forums around here. Part of the problems of being the new guy around here...

Anyway, has anyone noticed the design patterns between the Super Duty and the F150? It always seems like the Super Duty (F250/F350) is always one step ahead of the F150 in design features.

For example, the '99 F250s were very different from the '99 F150s, but were similar in some ways to the then-upcoming '04 F150.

The '11 Super Duty was quite a bit different in styling from the '11 F150, but seems disturbingly similar to the '15 F150.

Can we expect the next generation F150 to look similar to the '17 Super Duty? It seems like Ford is trying to use the Super Duty's styling for the next generation F150. What do you guys think?

 

I think your thinking is backwards on this. Up until 96 they were both the same body. Ford updated and down sized the F150 in 97 to increase MPG's, before making the SD larger for 99. As fuel economy needs on the F150 were met, The F150 got bigger and stronger in 04. The Superduty was upgraded in 05 for more capacity. SD got minor revisions twice in 08 and 11, while the F150 got full restyles in 09 and 15 while the cab on the F150 was widened (to be able to be used on the SD) and lengthened . Finally SD uses the F150 cab again for 17.

 

Not sure what the trend is anymore, but when I drove in to the Ford dealer last night to pickup my F150 from its state inspection and oil change, I saw on of those silly looking Ford Flex things...all I can say is the new 2017 Super Duty has the same looking front end.


Somehow, most of the vehicle lineup's have an underlying similarity that's hard to put a finger on. Heck, even the front of the dealership has this thing built onto the building that looks like a Ford grille/front end.


Or I could just be seeing things........

 

This is the only thing I dislike about the 17 SD.


The F150 cab interior is cheapish and reminds me of the quality of a 1989 Hyundai. Leather seats with wrinkles, arm rests that don't fold in flush, and unknown sources of wind noise inside the cabin, etc.


Most of the F150 forums have threads of interior nightmares.


The outer cowl panel looks as if it were made by a model toy company. Its flimsy with a sticky sponge material in the center that doesn't match up together.
And my only hope is that KTP keeps quality together and these things don't happen with the SD.


Sorry for the rant but this is coming from a guy who wanted a 2015/16 F150 but I just couldn't take a chance on buying a turd.
For the amount of money F150 vs. SD, the best deal is the SD.

 

The seats have arm rests? Didn't think the seat have had folding arm rests for years now?

 

Rear seats.


Every Lariat SCREW 4X4 I looked at had flaws with the rear arm rest not sitting flush and or the stitching in the seats looked as if a drunken one armed circus monkey was at the helm of the sewing machine.
I guess I'm picky when it comes to shelling out over $60K + in a vehicle.
Ford is letting quantity over ride quality.

 

Ford, and every manufacturer, uses what they call a design "language." They basically try, in some way, to make every vehicle recognizable as being from the same brand. For the Ford cars recently, it was the Aston Martin grille used on the Fusion, Taurus, Focus, etc.

When designing a new vehicle, they may very well look at past designs which were well received, and try to incorporate some of those styling cues.

In the case of the new Super Duty, the challenge was harder, because they needed to use the same cab as the F-150...so part of the task was to make sure the truck was sufficiently differentiated from the half-ton. I think GM and RAM do a fairly poor job at differentiating HD trucks from half tons. Some folks don't care, but some do.

The nose clip is certainly different on the Super Duty, much taller and more bluff. Lighting is a critical design element, but the LED lights and optics themselves are identical to those on the 2015 F-150, as are the fog lamps. Mirrors are identical. Even the taillights follow a nearly identical cutout shape in the bed, just extending all the way to bumper level as opposed to the 150's lamps which stop short.

I think they did a decent job. Initially, I hated the 2017 SD. I've studied this truck ever since the photo was leaked on Jalopnik. I've come to appreciate the modernity of this design - still many similarities to the old truck when viewed head on, but different enough to "clearly" be the new model.

 

I think you might be seeing things! (Sarcasm)


The more things change......the more they stay the same!

 

I also hated the initial pictures I saw of the Super Duty, specifically the front-end shot of the White SD. Something about the combination of camera angle, truck color, front flares, and daytime running lights originally made it look like a somehow-uglier Silverado 3500. But as more pictures surfaced, it now looks much more natural and cooler.