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For so long, Ford's F-Series has been the most popular vehicle sold in America. All that changed this summer when gas prices spiked over four dollars nationally, giving Detroit--as well as other manufacturers--the answer to the question, "What will it take for Americans to truly change their vehicle purchase selections and driving habits?" We got our answer and even with the recent retreat of fuel prices, seismic changes have taken place.

Into this maelstrom comes Ford with its most important product launch since the Mustang in 1964: the next generation F-Series. While it bears more than a passing resemblance to the outgoing model and faces formidable competition, Ford invited us to the Michigan Proving Grounds in rural Romeo north of Detroit to see just how completely updated and upgraded the new F-Series is. Clearly, Ford is attempting to raise the bar. On all accounts, they have a winner on their hands.

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Where once fuel economy ranked number 10 in pickup buyer's top 10 reasons to buy a pickup, that criterion now ranks number three and here Ford has re-established its leadership position with class-leading fuel economy matched to the segment's best trailer-towing capabilities: up to 11,300 pounds. Ford's spokespeople continually reminded us that "AND" is the most important word in their lexicon; as in best fuel economy AND best trailer-towing capability.

If all that weren't enough, Ford has introduced a special fuel economy package: the new F-150 SFE (superior fuel economy) edition delivering up to 21-miles-per-gallon on the highway while still providing 7,500 pounds of towing capability--fuel economy that is unsurpassed in the full-size pickup segment. This package, built around a combination of the 4.6-liter, 3-valve V-8 engine, a newly developed 6-speed automatic transmission, 18-inch chrome-clad aluminum wheels, low rolling-resistance tires, and a 5.5-foot bed, will be offered in the F-150 SuperCrew XL and XLT 4X2 configurations.

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"Ford has committed to have the best or equal to the best fuel economy with every new product we introduce, and we are delivering with the new F-150," said Matt O'Leary, Ford F-150 chief engineer. "Fuel economy has moved from 10th to third place among pickup buyers' top purchase considerations--right behind durability and value. The new F-150 delivers on all three as the industry leader."

Across the rest of the range, average fuel economy has been increased eight percent, the benefit of the use of lightweight ultra-high-strength steel to lighten the truck up to 100 pounds versus the current model combined with aerodynamic refinements.

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The front bumper valence and spoiler have been redesigned to better manage airflow underneath the truck without compromising off-roading. While the new six-speed automatic transmission plays its part to improve fuel efficiency, it also contributes to improved drivability in all situations.

The F-150 also regulates gas consumption by using aggressive deceleration fuel shut-off. The fuel shut-off is automatic and requires no unusual actions from the driver.  When the driver releases the accelerator pedal, the system temporarily turns off the fuel. The flow of fuel seamlessly resumes when the truck reaches a low speed or the driver accelerates again. To prevent engine hesitation normally associated with fuel interruption, Ford's powertrain team developed proprietary software to integrate the technology with the F-150's powertrains.

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On the road there are two areas where the new F-Series shines: handling and rough road surfaces. To test handling, Ford set up an autocross course with both a slalom and an evasive, 35-mile-per-hour lane change maneuver.

In the slalom, taken at 30-miles-per-hour, the lack of body roll compared to the competitive vehicles from Chevrolet, Dodge, and Toyota, was especially evident. (Ford provided two sets of competitive vehicles, base versions as well as premium models with step-up wheel/tire combinations.) In the lane change maneuver, while it was suggested we use 35-miles-per-hour as our benchmark, which provided a soundtrack of squealing tires in the competitive vehicles, even the smaller-tired base model F-150 sailed through the chicane at 40-miles-per-hour with a complete lack of drama. More remarkably, the ride quality was equal to that of the rear-coil-sprung Ram 1500, a brand-new design clearly more biased towards a comfortable ride in its suspension calibration.

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Over the punishing Silver Creek Two and accelerated durability torture tests at Romeo, a teeth-chattering exercise so severe that Ford's test drivers are allowed to run just a maximum of eight times daily, the control at 30-miles-per-hour was remarkable, with much less head toss by the driver, indicating exceptional compliance combined with excellent control. To give you an idea of how punishing this test was, it induced such a level of cowl shake that the radio display in the center stack of the Tundra was unreadable.

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Inside the cabin, the new F-Series is a handsome design, marred only by a hard and shiny panel that reflected into the windshield annoyingly in bright sunlight. Although I thought that I'd never say it, the overall effect of interior quality on the new Ram now takes top honors in the full-size class, but only by a small margin as each truck has compelling features and details. Seat comfort on the F-150, with the adjustable pedals, made it easy to find a comfortable and commanding driving position, no matter what your stature.

The market for light-duty pickups is changing, and even with the recent retreat of gas prices a bit, is unlikely to regain its full momentum. The personal-use and image-market segments of buyers who bought highly-capable pickups even though they were actually ill-suited for their real needs has been dramatically reduced. But Ford, with 35 unique cab/box configurations spread over an unprecedented seven trim lines, is well positioned to retain--and probably even increase--its market share in the commercial, small-fleet segment as well as with those people who have a real need for towing capability. In that regard, we feel there's little chance that Ford will surrender its market-leading position in the all-important half-ton segment.

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