Ford, 10:00 AM
Heard some people talking about some of the reasons and racer reactions to the Dakar Off Road being cancelled recently. Some of the journalists in the audience waiting for the Ford event to start had just come straight from Portugal. Robbie Gordon was apparently the most upset, given that he spent his own money to ship his trucks and crew over from the U.S., then had a ship problem at sea and had to pay to get a helicopter come pick up a crew to go to England and get parts to bring back and make the repairs in the open ocean. Needless to say, cancelling the race made him a bit upset about all the money he had spent, much of which we're assuming was sponsor money that wouldn't get a chance to see any return on the investment…with there being no national or international television coverage.
Also heard the Mazda CX9 was named the 2008 North American Truck of the Year. Congrats to both Mazda and the voting journos who made that selection. I saw the Mazda as a huge dark horse, but there's no arguing the vehicle is plenty capable and worth every vote. However, as to whether it really qualifies as a “truck" may be a completely different issue. I'd argue it barely qualifies as something to be called an SUV—probably more appropriately a crossover. Of course, it's worth noting this group of N.A. journalists have only two categories to choose from—Car and Truck—so that does limit them. Still, it might make more sense lumping anything that could be interpreted as a crossover into the car category than being able to award a crossover the title of Truck of the Year. Can't tell you how disappointing it is to see the word “truck” get stretched in all the wrong ways. And I say that knowing that our own Sport/Utility of the Year and Truck of the Year awards have been suffering in similar ways for several years as well. Regardless, the CX9 is a good choice, even if it has a car-based platform.
Sitting in a huge Cobo Arena, typically home of Red Wing hockey games and Kid Rock concerts, about 3500 journalists and plant workers make the place buzz with anticipation. I see Don Ufford, project leader for the new F-150 that's to make its debut today, walking up and down the seating aisles like a father-of-the-bride at a wedding reception. He's shaking hands, talking to people, making his way from section to section. I go and say hello and congratulate him on completing the gargantuan task of heading up and leading the redesign of the probably the most important vehicle Ford has in its lineup. Clearly, if this new truck doesn't succeed, heads will roll and fortunes will be lost, not the least of which is Ford family money.
The lights go down, loud music starts, and a motivational video plays, specifically designed to psych up the audience for a full-blown Hollywood pyrotechnic bonanza. Bill Ford comes out and talks about Alan Mulally, what a great guy he is and what a great job he's doing. And that this show is all about updating icons and creating them. Mr. Mulally introduces the 2009 Ford F-150 and a half a dozen full-size half-ton trucks burst out of the walls with a flurry of fireworks and spraying sparklers. It's a little much; however, it does act as a pretty entrance for country singer Toby Keith, who comes out in a fully loaded 4x4 Lariat, but he has his eye on the new top-level Platinum, at least that's what he says when he and Mark Fields speak. I'm guessing Toby doesn't do very well with a script. What he does do very well is exude sincere, truck-guy values and for that reason, he's the right guy for Ford. The problem is when you put that type of authentic truck guy next to slick businessmen like Mark Fields and Alan Mulally.
By now, you should all know about the new F-150. From my view it's an amazingly thorough refinement evolution of the most important vehicle of the show. The truck team has gone over every inch of the truck and improved each metric with almost Toyota attention to detail. Its better in every single way you can measure, with the most significant attention to detail given to the interior and to those truck people who tow. A smarter transmission is offered with more speeds and smarter braking computers combined with an integrated brake controller. There are seven different trim packages, three different V-8 engines, several segment-first bed innovations, a longer CrewCab. We're told it will have the highest payload and towing capacities on the market, but they don't want to release the number until right before it goes on sale to keep the competition in suspense. Hmm, we're guessing 11,322 pounds towing (in fact, Ford has announced that the first journalist to guess the exact max towing number will get the first test drive). And judging by the reaction of all the plant workers invited to the press conference, more than just the automotive press are excited about this truck. Oh, yeah, Ford also is showing a concept Explorer America (maybe it's the next Explorer) and new Euro-looking car called the Verve. You can bet we'll have more on the new F-150 in our March/April 2008 issue that hits newsstands on January 30, with more driving impressions after that.