USA - Drive the Future of Tough tour offers an opportunity to test the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever.

• Drive the Future of Tough tour offers an early opportunity to test drive the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever
• 29-city tour continues through Nov. 13, with each site offering vehicle drives, interactive displays and towing demonstrations; product experts are on hand to answer questions on all-new Super Duty’s 17 class-exclusive smart new features
• Consumers can enter for a chance to win an all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty

Ford, America’s truck leader, is offering consumers across the United States an opportunity to test drive the all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty – the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever.

Drive the Future of Tough, a 29-city cross-country tour that kicked off earlier this year, continues through Nov. 13. Consumers can schedule test drives at SuperDutyDrive.com, though walk-up participation also is encouraged.

The test route allows truck consumers to experience the all-new Super Duty’s best-in-class capability and its 17 class-exclusive smart new features, including adaptive steering, adaptive cruise control and Trailer Reverse Guidance. Product experts are along for the ride to explain the innovations and answer questions.

“The new Super Duty takes the heavy-duty truck segment to the next level,” says Doug Scott, Ford truck group marketing manager. “Truck customers can learn how it provides best-in-class towing and hauling, and they’ll get to experience Super Duty’s class-exclusive features from the best place possible – the driver’s seat.”

Participants can enter a sweepstakes to win an all-new 2017 F-Series Super Duty. Details are available at tour locations.

The tour includes a variety of well-equipped F-250, F-350 and F-450 models in Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum trim levels. The trucks feature a mix of the 6.2-liter V8 gasoline engine and 6.7-liter Power Stroke^®turbo diesel. F-250 models are equipped with the all-new TorqShift-G transmission.

The tour features interactive displays to help consumers understand how the all-new Super Duty is Built Ford Tough, starting with its high-strength steel frame construction and high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body and box panels.

Upcoming tour stops include:

• Aug. 16-20, Billings, Montana
• Aug. 19-21, San Antonio
• Aug. 20-28, Louisville, Kentucky
• Aug. 25-27, Dallas
• Sept. 2-5, Henderson, North Carolina
• Sept. 9-18, Puyallup, Washington
• Sept. 9-25, Reno, Nevada
• Sept. 13-15, Grand Island, Nebraska
• Sept. 15-18, Nashville, Tennessee
• Sept. 20-22, London, Ohio
• Sept. 21-Oct. 9, Anaheim, California
• Sept. 24-Oct. 1, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
• Sept. 30-Oct. 11, Dallas
• Oct. 6-8, Concord, North Carolina
• Oct. 13-16, Ormond Beach, Florida
• Oct. 18-20, Moultrie, Georgia
• Nov. 1-5, Las Vegas
• Nov. 8-13, Avondale, Arizona

Media will be invited to participate in select cities.

USA - America's work truck, re-invented - The All-New Super Duty from Ford is the toughest model yet.

• Toughest: All-new, high-strength steel frame; segment-first, high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body; stronger axles, springs and suspension create the only Built Ford Tough heavy-duty truck lineup that works as hard as Super Duty customers

• Smartest: 16 class-exclusive new features and up to seven cameras make Super Duty the ultimate tow vehicle; adaptive steering technology makes maneuvering easier

• Most capable: Ford-engineered, Ford-built gasoline and diesel engines and transmissions power all-new Super Duty lineup that tows and hauls more than ever
   

Ford, America’s truck leader, today introduces the all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty – the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty truck lineup ever.

“Ford Super Duty is the truck America’s hardest-working men and women trust and depend on,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, The Americas. “We are helping these customers build a better world by delivering a new generation of pickups that set new benchmarks in capability, performance and efficiency.”

Using advanced materials to reduce weight, 2017 F-Series Super Duty pickup truck and chassis cab feature all-new, segment-exclusive smart technology to help increase customer productivity, comfort and convenience.

“While Super Duty is America’s best-selling heavy-duty truck, we never take our leadership for granted,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development and chief technical officer. “Our team is using relentless innovation in materials, technology and Built Ford Tough engineering to deliver customers our best Super Duty yet.”

Toughest

The backbone is an all-new, fully boxed frame comprised of more than 95 percent high-strength steel that offers up to 24 times stiffer than the previous frame – enabling the most towing and hauling capability ever delivered by Super Duty. The new truck line features heavier-duty four-wheel-drive components, driveline, axles and towing hardware.

For the first time, the Super Duty body uses high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloy, which is more dent- and ding-resistant than the outgoing steel body and not subject to red rust corrosion.

Together, high-strength steel and high-strength aluminum alloy help reduce weight by up to 350 pounds while Ford is reinvesting additional weight savings everywhere it counts, to give customers more towing and hauling capability than ever before.

Super Duty chassis cab features an all-new, high-strength steel frame with an open-C-channel design behind the cab to enable easy aftermarket body upfit and modification.

Smartest

Towing is core to the Super Duty mission. All-new advanced coaching and camera technology makes conventional and gooseneck/fifth-wheel towing easier and more efficient than ever.

There are 16 segment-first new features – from LED lighting to adaptive cruise control – that assist Super Duty drivers to make driving and work situations easier and more comfortable.

As many as seven cameras help customers see more angles and monitor conditions surrounding the truck, and provide better trailering than ever before.

A center high-mounted stop lamp camera provides visibility into the cargo box, especially for easier hook-up of gooseneck/fifth-wheel trailers. A 360-degree camera system uses four digital, high-definition cameras to give the driver a bird’s-eye view surrounding Super Duty. Trailer reverse guidance provides visual cues and tips to help ease backing up a trailer. A first-ever, factory-available trailer camera can be attached to a trailer to improve visibility backing up.

Customers will benefit from a segment-first, in-cab trailer tire pressure monitoring system from the comfort of the cab while stopped or on the highway.

Adaptive steering provides for increased confidence to help make towing the heaviest of loads easier and brings greater ease to navigating job sites and parking lots – with or without a trailer. The technology reduces the amount of steering input needed to change direction at low speed, while reducing sensitivity to steering input at higher speeds.

The all-new F-Series Super Duty is available with numerous driver-assist technologies:

• SYNC^® 3 – Ford’s all-new communications and entertainment system features faster performance, conversational voice recognition and an easier-to-understand graphical interface, along with an intuitive smartphone-like 8-inch touch screen
• Blind Spot Information System with trailer tow is optimized for Super Duty to include the length of the trailer; BLIS^® uses radar sensors in the taillamps to monitor areas that may not be visible to the driver
• Lane departure warning provides a warning when a driver strays from a lane through a series of steering wheel vibrations that mimic rumble strips
• Adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support use sensors to detect slower vehicles moving in the same direction.  If another vehicle is too close, red lights flash on the windshield and a warning sound chimes. If the driver does not hit the brakes, the brake system is pre-charged to stop faster when the brake pedal is pressed

Advanced light-emitting diode technology sheds light all around the new Super Duty, including:

• New LED sideview mirror spotlights enable illumination surrounding the truck to light up a work site or camp site
• Class-exclusive quad-beam LED headlamps and taillamps
• New LED cargo box lighting

Most capable

Light-weighting and improved capability work hand-in-hand in the all-new Ford F-Series Super Duty.

“As we remove weight, we’re making Super Duty more productive by giving our customers better towing and payload capability,” said Craig Schmatz, Super Duty chief engineer. “We’re backing up improved capability with a stronger gasoline and diesel Super Duty engine lineup.”

The second-generation Ford-designed, Ford-built 6.7-liter Power Stroke^® V8 diesel engine is available for pickup trucks and chassis cabs providing the highest combination of horsepower and torque ever.

The 6.2-liter V8 gasoline engine comes equipped with the new TorqShift-G transmission for the F-250 pickup – allowing for improved capability.

The Super Duty chassis cab lineup offers a choice of 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 diesel, 6.8-liter V10 gasoline or 6.2-liter V8 gasoline engines.

“The bottom line is Super Duty customers will be able to tow and haul more than ever before,” said Schmatz.

Interior and cargo box

All three cabs – Regular Cab, SuperCab and Crew Cab – are longer and feature a new interior design, including dual compartment glove box, overhead console-mounted auxiliary switches to operate aftermarket equipment, and completely flat SuperCab and Crew Cab second-row floors that make loading large items in the cab easy. Vital controls are close at hand, with the integrated trailer brake controller switch located even closer to the driver.

Customer accessibility and ease of use extend outside the truck as well, with the cargo box offering customers these class-exclusive features:

• BoxLink^™: Ford-patented combination of metal brackets and custom cleats that can be used to secure a variety of accessories in the cargo box
• Remote tailgate lock and release: Tailgate can be locked/unlocked and opened with the key fob, eliminating manual locking and increasing convenience and security. The tailgate is damped – dropping gently down, hands-free, to a flat position when opened
  
  

There are five models in the Super Duty lineup – XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum.

The all-new Super Duty will be built at Kentucky Truck Plant, and goes on sale late next year.

USA - Ford to re-Introduce the Limited line to the F-150 Pick Up Truck range from the 2016 Model Year.

Ford Motor Co. is responding to surging demand for high-end pickups by introducing a Limited version of the F-150 that will start at about $60,000 and likely top $70,000 when loaded with options.

The F-150 Limited, which Ford is unveiling today in Los Angeles, will go on sale this winter as a 2016 model. Its features include 22-inch polished aluminum wheels, Mojave leather seats and interior accents made of aluminum and fiddleback eucalyptus. Each truck’s production number is laser-engraved in a VIN plate on the center console lid.

“The F-150 Limited sets a new bar for what discerning customers should expect in a high-end truck,” Raj Nair, Ford’s product development chief, said in a statement. “We’re adding segment-exclusive technology, and features that improve productivity, convenience and capability with distinctive style.”

Ford offered a Limited trim on the 2013 and 2014 F-150, at a starting price of about $53,000, but discontinued it when introducing the aluminum-bodied 2015 model.

In the first half of this year, Ford said 60 percent of F-series sales were so-called high-series trims: Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum. As a result, the truck’s average transaction price has jumped 9 percent to $44,100 from a year ago.

Though the Limited trim isn't expected to sell in large numbers, it gives Ford another way to maximize revenue from the hugely profitable F-series lineup. Its starting price is about $10,000 more than that of the Chevrolet Silverado High Country, $8,000 more than a Ram 1500 Limited and the same as a BMW X6.

Exact pricing will be announced later this summer.

“There’s a lot of people who buy trucks as both a work tool and a status symbol,” said Karl Brauer, senior director of insights for Kelley Blue Book. “You have a lot of wealthy businesspeople who have the money to buy an extremely capable and extremely luxurious truck. It’s not any financial stretch for these people to spend 50 or 70 grand.”

Ford sold about 190,000 F series for more than $50,000 last year, TrueCar estimated, outselling BMW’s 3, 5 and 7 series combined and the entire Audi brand.

The F-150 Limited will have a 3.5-liter, EcoBoost V-6 engine, which is a $400 option on the King Ranch and Platinum trims. It will have a unique grille, raised “Limited” lettering on the hood and a satin-chrome exterior accents. The interior contains massaging front seats, a Sony 10-speaker sound system and scuff plates with “ice blue” backlighting.

Nick Bunkley

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USA - And they're off, the new 2015 Ford F-150 Pick-up, aluminium constructed and more popular than ever.

• 2015 Ford F-150 starts production at historic Ford Rouge Center; facilities transformed with the latest in manufacturing technology to build the first mass-produced truck in its class featuring a high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body and bed
• All-new F-150 is completely redesigned - establishing a new standard for full-size pickups by bringing together improved capability and efficiency, along with cutting-edge smart vehicle technology
• New F-150 goes on sale in December in the United States and will be available in 90 markets in 2015; F-150 is part of the Ford F-Series lineup - America's best-selling truck for 37 consecutive years and best-selling vehicle for 32 consecutive years

Ford Motor Company again demonstrates manufacturing leadership and innovation as the first all-new F-150 rolls off the line today at historic Ford Rouge Center - marking production of the toughest, smartest, most capable and most efficient F-150 ever.

Interest in the new Ford F-150 has steadily grown since the truck was revealed in January at the 2014 North American International Auto Show. More than 225,000 truck enthusiasts have submitted their contact information for updates about the vehicle, and more than 250,000 customers have built and priced their own unique version of the all-new F-150 online - a record through 13 generations of America's favorite truck. The new model will be in showrooms next month.

"The all-new F-150 continues to advance my great-grandfather's vision of building vehicles we can be proud of and our customers can depend on," said Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company.

Both the historic Ford Rouge Center and the all-new Ford F-150 are hallmarks of innovation. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, Rouge has represented Henry Ford's vision for lean, flexible and sustainable manufacturing. The 2015 F-150 - the first mass-produced truck in its class featuring a high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body and bed - stands for the future of trucks, and brings the latest in smart technologies and state-of-the-art build processes.

"The all-new F-150 is a showcase of innovation and class-leading capability for truck customers," said Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO. "It underscores the product excellence and innovation we are delivering in every part of our business as we accelerate our pace of progress toward profitable growth."

F-150 is part of the Ford F-Series truck lineup. Now in its 66th year, F-Series has been the best-selling truck in America for 37 consecutive years and best-selling vehicle in America for 32 consecutive years.

Manufacturing innovations for a new generation of pickup

The all-new F-150 is the most innovative truck in Ford history, featuring breakthrough technologies and features that redefine the light-duty pickup for a new generation. The scope of innovation reaches beyond the truck's overall design with a new approach to how it is built, which Ford's "Building the Future of Tough" video illustrates.

With a deep understanding of customer needs for a dependable, more capable and more efficient pickup truck, the Ford team designed the advanced manufacturing process to include the latest in materials and in forming and joining technologies. This makes the 2015 model a dramatic advancement over anything the competition has to offer.

Ford's refurbished Dearborn Diversified, Stamping and Tool & Die facilities provide the latest equipment to give the truck its tough body. This includes new press lines to help stamp four different types of high-strength aluminum alloys that reduce cab and cargo box weight while improving durability. New hydroforming lines use pressurized oil to form metal tubes into strong support rails for structural soundness, a new chemical coating system prepares the aluminum for high-strength adhesives, and a new heat treat area bake hardens the alloys, resulting in more robust, durable materials.

Five hundred new robots in the all-new body shop conduct state-of-the-art joining technology that leads to a tougher truck. Smaller, more compact robots install the roof and doors, transfer the vehicle to final assembly, and scan the body to ensure the highest quality standards are met.

The Dearborn Truck Plant paint shop was updated with dirt detection technology and increased robotic paint automation for more durable paint application resulting in best-in-class exterior appearance for the all-new F-150. Other new processes support the addition of new truck features, such as installation of a class-exclusive 360-degree camera with split-view display.

To support the launch of the all-new F-150, Ford added 850 new workers across its Dearborn Truck, Diversified and Stamping facilities. These new workers join the more than 4,000 existing team members, who work to ensure the 2015 model is built with the highest level of craftsmanship.

"The all new Ford F-150 is the true definition of America-made and speaks to the commitment of the hardworking men and women of the UAW," said Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president and director, National Ford Department. "From the very beginning, our production workers in stamping and assembly, as well as our skilled trades, have been an integral part of this historic transformation."

All-new F-150 redefines tough, smart, capable, efficient

The all-new F-150 lineup delivers an impressive combination of power, capability and efficiency - from faster processors that enhance driving performance, to breakthrough cargo management and towing solutions, to advanced materials that improve durability, inhibit corrosion and result in an overall lighter truck.

The 2015 F-150 is the most efficient F-150 ever, due to dramatic improvements in weight savings and advanced engine technology. F-150 can tow up to 1,100 more pounds, haul up to 530 more pounds, and will have better fuel economy ratings than the current lineup. Fuel economy is projected to be at least 5 percent and up to 20 percent higher. (EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings will be announced later this month.)

The following underscore the new F-150's position as the future of pickup trucks:

• Toughest: All-new, high-strength steel frame; high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body; more than 10 million miles of torture testing; Baja 1000-proven 2.7-liter EcoBoost® engine
• Smartest: 11 new class-exclusive features, including 360-degree camera view; BoxLink™ cargo management system; 400-watt power outlets inside the cab; LED headlights, taillights and sideview mirror spotlights; remote tailgate release
• Most capable: Up to 700 pounds less weight, plus four engine choices for an impressive combination of power, capability and efficiency, including best-in-class towing of 12,200 pounds and best-in-class payload of 3,300 pounds
• Most efficient: Dramatic improvements in weight savings and advanced engine technology result in the most fuel-efficient F-150 ever. Regardless of model or engine choice, every truck customer benefits from this weight savings

In addition to Dearborn Truck Plant, the all-new F-150 will be manufactured at Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri, starting in the first quarter of 2015. Combined, the two plants will have capacity to produce more than 700,000 trucks per year for availability in 90 markets globally.

Visitors can plan to witness production of the all-new F-150 and its state-of-the-art building processes as part of the Ford Rouge Factory Tour in Dearborn, Michigan. The tour is undergoing renovation, with new films, exhibits and hands-on experiences scheduled to reopen to the public later this month.