2023 Ford Tremendous Responsibility F-350 Restricted
Ford
DETROIT — Let’s set a scene: A pickup driver and their partner, the truck in reverse, trying to align the hitch ball on the pickup with a coupler on the trailer. “Slightly left. No, your left. No, YOUR left. OK, now somewhat proper. By no means thoughts. Let’s strive it once more.”
That acquainted headache, amongst others, is why Ford Motor is souping up applied sciences on its costliest pickups to make the automobiles extra manageable for newer homeowners and ease main ache factors for veteran truck drivers.
The Detroit automaker is including options to its 2023 Ford Super Duty lineup to spice up transaction costs of the vehicles and ease difficulties with a few of the automobiles’ most essential capabilities: towing and carrying/hauling.
“That is actually about making the truck safer for our prospects, for tools, for no matter you are towing. It is about productiveness. It is about ease. It is about saving marriages,” mentioned Tim Baughman, normal supervisor of Ford’s business enterprise. “With our new trailer-tow options, I am certain we’ll be saving a pair marriages based mostly on what it may now do.”
Many pickup homeowners, particularly newer ones, face complications akin to figuring out how a lot weight they’ll safely put of their automobiles or hitching trailers to their vehicles, based on Ford.
The latter problem, particularly, may cause relationship troubles, as it may take two individuals and several other tries to get positioning of the vehicles and trailers appropriate for towing — like in our all-too-common however fictionalized state of affairs above.
“Our staff is obsessive about our prospects,” Baughman mentioned. “That is about buyer understanding and buyer obsession. And every part on this truck is purpose-built.”
Ford says 96% of its prospects tow with its F-250 to F-450 Tremendous Responsibility pickups, that are bigger siblings to its well-known F-150 vehicles. A majority additionally use the automobiles to haul heavy hundreds within the beds of the automobiles, which begin from roughly $44,000 and may run greater than $103,000, relying on the mannequin.
To help with hitching and hauling, Ford is utilizing applied sciences akin to new digital camera options, automated help and good weight taillights.
Straightforward hitch setup
Ford’s new “Professional Trailer Hitch Help” takes the effort out of the method. The truck mechanically backs up and aligns the hitch ball to the trailer receiver. The characteristic is normal or obtainable on a number of fashions, beginning at $1,035.
“It is to assist take the ache away,” mentioned Aaron Bresky, Ford Tremendous Responsibility chief expertise officer. “Individuals must tow for recreation and work, and the extra we are able to take the ache out, it turns into extra pure.”
The 2023 F-Collection Tremendous Responsibility vehicles can tow between 14,000 and 40,000 kilos, relying on the truck.
Ford’s “Professional Trailer Hitch Help” mechanically backs the truck up and aligns the standard hitch ball to the receiver of the trailer.
Ford
Onboard mild scales
Past towing or trailering, Ford’s Tremendous Responsibility pickups can themselves haul loads, as much as 8,000 kilos, relying on the mannequin. That features all of the individuals, cargo and any objects that could be within the mattress of the pickup.
However having to guess or calculate how a lot you are hauling may be tough, particularly when you will have passengers within the car or you do not know how a lot your cargo weighs.
Ford’s reply to this drawback is one thing it calls “Onboard Scales with Sensible Hitch,” which debuted on the 2021 F-150. The system makes use of scales within the car to find out the overall payload/weight of the car.
Drivers can use the car’s infotainment display screen or app to find out the payload, however Ford’s additionally providing a extra distinctive approach of doing so. The car’s taillamps mild up in numerous ranges to let an proprietor understand how shut they’re to reaching the car’s whole payload restrict.
If the car is over its licensed payload, the highest bar will blink, alerting the proprietor that they might must rethink what they’re hauling or ditch a passenger or two.
The taillights additionally can be utilized to steadiness a trailer with the car, often known as a trailer tongue weight.
The Onboard Scales with Sensible Hitch is offered for $650 on Lariat fashions and normal on higher-end vehicles.
New obtainable “Onboard Scales” measure and show the approximate weight of the payload within the Ford vehicles. Load data is displayed within the heart contact display screen, on the FordPass app or within the truck’s good taillights.
Ford
Tailgate digital camera
The best new characteristic is a rearview digital camera mounted to the highest of the car’s tailgate. Whereas it faces towards the sky when the gate is up, it offers a transparent view of what is behind the car when the tailgate is lowered, providing an additional set of eyes when an proprietor is hauling one thing longer within the mattress of the car.
Whereas all new automobiles are required to have rearview cameras, Ford is the primary to implement such a digital camera that’s helpful for when the tailgate is down. Customary rearview cameras on American pickups face towards the bottom when the tailgate is lowered.
The choice additionally comes with built-in sensors that work with the digital camera to inform drivers when their lowered tailgate is approaching an object.
The brand new backup digital camera and sensors are normal on higher-end trims however not obtainable on entry-level and lower-priced vehicles.
Ford put a digital camera and sensors into the tailgate of its F-Collection Tremendous Responsibility pickups that can be utilized when the tailgate is down.
Ford
