Steel Midsize Beats out Aluminum F-150

Despite all the excitement surrounding the revolutionary aluminum body on the 2015 Ford F-150, Motor Trend is apparently not incredibly impressed. Expected by many enthusiasts as a shoe in as the 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year, it fell very shy of making the cut.
Even though the F-150 aluminum alloy body offers a combined greater strength and lighter weight, Motor Trend was more impressed with a more traditional design… midsize traditional design. That’s right; the newly designed full size Ford fell short of the he 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year award to the midsize Chevy Colorado.
Judged against six criteria, the Truck of the Year award was concluded based on design advancement, engineering excellence, efficiency, safety, value and how it performed its intended function. The newly designed Chevy Colorado excelled in these categories and was also considered a perfect size for the targeted market. This smaller size undoubtedly contributed to its positive marks for excellent handling and best-in-class fuel economy.
The Ford, despite its new aluminum body, reportedly didn’t reflect the benefits of the new advantages when the rubber met the road. The better fuel economy only showed an average of 2mpg better efficiency than the comparable Dodge Ram and Chevrolet Silverado. This being among the major marketing points in a world where rising fuel prices crippled the full-size pickup truck market, the F-150 definitely lost some marks.
The new F-150 didn’t even place second, as that spot was reserved for the Ford Transit commercial van, thanks in great part to its excellent handling. The new F-150 is very well designed and much more refined than previous model years. But as the old adage goes, always wait a couple years for a new design to grow into itself. Better luck next year, F-150.