BOLDER, TOUGHER DESIGN AND STATE-OF-THE-ART INTERIOR SET NEW STANDARDS FOR THE MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCK SEGMENT
The 2008 Super Duty’s bold, in-your-face design furthers the “Built Ford Tough” legacy, emphasizing Super Duty’s increased capability while providing a high level of craftsmanship. Inside and out, Super Duty’s design sets new standards, delivering a truck that makes a visual statement that it’s ready to work hard, yet conveys a refinement not expected of a vehicle in this class.
“We wanted to do the toughest looking truck ever, but we wanted to make sure it looked refined, in terms of the fit and finish,” said Ed Golden, Super Duty chief designer. “We attached the grille to the hood, which accentuated the refined look and drove all of the margins to the area above the bumper.”
The grille reinforces the functional/capable aspect of Super Duty’s design, providing increased cooling for improved towing power. Sitting four-inches higher than the previous model, the grille defines the powerdome hood and proudly wears the Super Duty name embossed across the leading edge, a tribute to Ford’s truck heritage, harking back to the embossed FORD letters on the nose of the original F-Series. Two prominent nostrils, a Ford truck design mainstay, flank the grille on either side.
Everything about Super Duty has been made stronger and more capable. A larger Ford oval badge is more precisely fixed to the grille, sitting in a strong frame. New, larger stacked headlamps sit four inches lower than the previous model providing improved functionality and compatibility with other vehicles.
A horizontal cut line running along the top of the semi-truck inspired bumper, serves to line up the bottom of the grille and headlamps, delivering a clean, tight and more refined presentation. The functional/capable design theme is evident in the integrated step pad on the front bumper, designed to support those who like to work on their trucks.
Super Duty retains its distinctive dropped beltline, a Ford truck design cue that improves visibility. Crisply defined fender flares wear air vents inspired by the F-350 TONKA concept truck. The vents serve to identify the engine that lies beneath the powerdome hood. Red signifies diesel while black is used for the Triton™ gasoline engines. Industry-first, power telescoping, power fold mirrors were expertly massaged to provide the best balance between functionality and design.
The pickup box wears a new tailgate with the Ford Blue oval moved to the center and the SUPER DUTY name embossed on the lower edge. The Lift-Assist System is now included on all tailgates. New taillamps grace the corners and the larger, wider rear bumper, housing the four-pin/seven pin trailer connector with shared hinge, was toughened up to improve capability and to help balance the overall design.
Customers wishing to add a sense of personal style to their trucks can choose from 10 new wheels for 2008. The F-250 and F-350 base 17-in. wheel comes in forged polished aluminum on FX4 and Lariat DRW and is available on the XLT DRW. Six new 18-in. wheels include exclusive premium chrome steel wheels on FX4 painted aluminum wheels on King Ranch. A 20-in. polished forged aluminum wheel is available on XLT, Sport, FX4 and Lariat and the King Ranch gets its own 20-inch Premium Painted Forged Aluminum. The F-450 pickup rides on the same 19.5-in. tires found on the chassis cabs for improved capability.
Super Duty has several established colors, such as red and white. Many of these colors launched with the first Super Duty and have become corporate colors for many fleet buyers. All of Super Duty’s exterior colors have been modified for 2008, delivering a brighter, cleaner appearance.
Three new colors, Dark Blue Pearl Clearcoat Metallic, Forest Green Clearcoat Metallic and Pueblo Gold Clearcoat Metallic, join the lineup for 2008. XLT, Lariat and FX4 offer six unique two-tone paint schemes including Dark Blue Pearl Clearcoat Metallic and Forest Green Clearcoat Metallic over Pueblo Gold Clearcoat Metallic and Pueblo Gold Clearcoat Metallic over Black Clearcoat (Lariat only). FX4 comes in Dark Blue Pearl Clearcoat Metallic, Red Clearcoat, Black Clearcoat, Oxford White Clearcoat and Silv er Clearcoat over Dar Shadow Grey Clearcoat Metallic.
King Ranch offers a choice of Dark Blue Pearl Clearcoat Metallic and Black Clearcoat over Pueblo Gold Clearcoat Metallic.
State-of-the-art interior provides improved comfort and ergonomics
The 2008 Super Duty once again sets new standards for interior comfort and capability. Designers combined quality craftsmanship and materials with a clean, modern execution that emphasizes Super Duty’s refinement and capability.
“The F-150 set the initial standard and the 2007 Expedition raised it again in its segment,” said Golden. “The 2008 Super Duty continues to raise the standard, but does it in a way that appeals to the customer who’s looking for tough and robust without compromising luxury.”
Designers focused on creating an interior that is an extension of the customer’s toolbox. The rugged, modular design is inspired by the high-end tools that customers use everyday and also enables the distinctive differentiation between trim levels.
The prominent center stack carries the “powerdome” theme inside the vehicle and houses most of the switches, integrating all functions into one, easy to access, central area. The auxiliary switches and Trailer Brake Controler switches are now better integrated into the center stack for easy access and a cleaner appearance. The center stack on XLT, FX4 and Lariat wears a foundry-metallic paint that carries over to the instrument panel straps. The King Ranch center stack is trimmed in a rich, deep, Ironwood that carries over onto the door trim and console.
Round air vents, new for Super Duty, have notched gear-like surrounds that are more angular and defined. The design cue is carried throughout the interior on the console cup holders and seat sides, to a gauge cluster that is more organized and easier to read.
All models (XLT and above) feature chrome on the air vent rings and trim around the gauges and the cupholders. Chrome accents highlight both the large and smaller gauges in the cluster as well as the info center in the middle of the cluster. Tasteful touches of chrome are carried on to the door bezels and the console cover.
“Chrome is an American thing and a truck thing,” said Golden. “It’s very visible on the outside and we wanted to bring it inside as well.”
All-new door trim features dual map pockets that are better integrated into the interior. The doors have 360-degree pulls that are easy to grab when wearing gloves or when arms are loaded with things. The center console has been designed to hold file folders and will stow many laptop computers out of site, an asset for those who use Super Duty as a work site office.
The adjustable accelerator and brake pedals and available power mirrors are now integrated into the memory system. One touch of a button sets the pedals and mirrors to the specific programmed spot.
Auxiliary power points have been added to the front floor console, available with captain’s chairs, one on Regular Cab trucks and two on Super Cab and Crew Cab.
Super Duty’s tough, capable design is carried throughout the vehicle. A special “rib” design sets a theme for the entire truck. The ribs, inspired by the indentions molded into a toolbox or the side of a dump truck, are prominently featured on the airbag cover, along the bottom of the map pockets, along the seat side supports and at the bottom center of the steering wheel. Embossed “ribs” are found on the storage bin on top of the instrument panel and on the doorsills. The theme migrates to the exterior of the truck, on the tops of front and rear bumpers, creating as cohesive design.
More comfortable seats feature a host of new materials and bold, modern patterns. XL models seats are covered with a more durable fabric and XLT models get a new technical pattern on the cloth seats. XLT Sport models offer a two-tone option with Stone or Camel inserts with black bolsters.
An FX4 trim package, available for the first time on Super Duty, features cloth seats with a dotted technical pattern and contrasting white stitching. FX4 leather seats contrast smooth-leather seating surfaces with rugged grain bolsters and contrasting white stitching. King Ranch interiors wear new, darker, richer dark Chaparral leather.
Super Duty’s quiet, comfortable cabin provides the perfect climate to enjoy any one of the available sight and sound features, many found only on high-end luxury vehicles. All radios with CD players are MP3 capable and an auxiliary input jack for MP3 players is standard on all models.
Customers may want to play their MP3 players through the available Panasonic Audiophile, nine-speaker sound system with 6-disc, CD changer or watch the latest videos on the available rear-seat DVD entertainment system that features a large, roof-mounted 8-in. screen and comes with two sets of wireless headphones and remote control.
A new available DVD-based navigation system features one-disc coverage of the entire United States including Alaska and Hawaii. The system features voice activation and uses text-to-speech technology to read turn-by-turn travel directions, including street names, aloud in English, French and Spanish and features a wide, 6.5-in. touch screen that is sharper and much brighter than competitors units.
Redesigned climate control system delivers improved comfort
The 2008 Super Duty has an all-new totally redesigned climate control system. The new system has an improved, more balanced airflow and refined, quieter operation, improving cabin comfort
A more reliable, more durable, higher capacity compressor, is just one of the many components that contribute to the better performance of the A/C system, greatly improving time to comfort, pumping air out of the registers that is eight to 10 degrees cooler than the previous generation. Dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control (EATC) has now been extended for 2008 and is available on all series, standard on Lariat and King Ranch.
Improved hoses and fittings reduce leaks and loss of refrigerant, making the system both more efficient and more environmentally friendly. Floor ducts on all Crew Cab and Super Cab models now run under the seats out of site of the rear-seat passengers and provide better rear-seat heat and A/C dispersion.
The defrost nozzles were repositioned and redesigned for better performance. The new system clears the windshield two to three minutes faster on gasoline models with an improved defrosting pattern.
“The system clears the entire bottom of the windshield and moves up in a steady pattern,” said Tom Bennet, supervisor, Super Duty Climate Control. “You no longer get the widow’s peak that other systems create.”
The new system has also greatly improved side window defrosting. Providing more airflow to the side windows reduces the amount of fogging that often occurs in large vehicles. The 2008 Super Duty now adds this function on the heat setting as well.
Rapid Heat supplemental electric heater speeds interior comfort
Ford is now offering the Rapid Heat supplemental heating system for all diesel truck customers. The system augments the diesel trucks heater providing faster warm-up on cold mornings.
“Diesel truck owners will love this,” said Bennet. “They’ve come to expect a certain level of performance from their trucks. This system will surprise them.”
Offered for the first time in North America, the self-regulating heater integrates into the HVAC case, improving the temperature of the heater up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit at discharge.
Down Under Design
No part of the visible vehicle escaped the aesthetic treatment. For example, Super Duty now features an aluminized 409 stainless steel exhaust system to provide increased corrosion protection.
“We made sure that the customer will be treated to an exhaust system that will maintain its aesthetic quality for the lifetime of the vehicle,” said John Roberts. “When you’re paying 50,000 for a truck the last thing you want to see is bits of corrosion.”
Safety
Super Duty features standard driver and front passenger airbags with an airbag deactivation switch for the passenger side (not included on the Crew Cab. New door-mounted safety belts fit more comfortably and feature new retractors with smoother, faster operation.
A center three-point belt is added to the center position on Regular Cab and to the center of the rear seat on Super Cab. Super Duty also features child seat tethers for front passengers on Regular Cab and all rear seat positions on Super Cab and Crew Cab. BeltMinder™ delivers an audible beep reminding drivers to buckle up, while the available SecuriLock system which prohibits the starting of the vehicle without the key.