Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Trucks/Pickups, Ford
Spy Shots: 2009 Ford F-150 grille
by John Neff on Jan 7th 2008 at 12:02PM 
click above for more spy shots of the 2009 Ford F-150
We've already seen some revealing spy shots of the 2009 Ford F-150 that's scheduled to debut next week at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but the angle was such that we couldn't see the pickup's new face very clearly. Enter KGP Photography, which has just snapped a couple pics of the new grille head on. There's a clearly a lot of influence from the Super Duty line of truck's in the F-150's new design. You can also see the shape of the headlight clusters are very close to those on vehicles like the Edge and Taurus X, with a main headlamp sitting on top of smaller front turn signals. As there are practically a billion configurations for the F-150 that range from stripper work trucks to pampering pickups, don't expect this to be the F-150's only grille. Judging by the fact that there are a pair of foglamps on the front of this prototype, though, we suspect it's an up-level version of the truck.
UPDATE: Check out the F-150's new badge on the truck at Pickuptruck.com.
[Photos: KGP Photography]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mercury Fan Forever 12:08PM (1/07/2008)
Why is Ford ruining everything they produce by putting this grille on it?
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sk 12:19PM (1/07/2008)
Because its a Ford
cowboy bob 12:20PM (1/07/2008)
Really no problem. As I see it, you could take one out and use it for the front of a rabbit hutch. I looks like it should be part of a box of something.
Randy 12:40PM (1/07/2008)
Didn't it kinda already have that grille on it? In a way?
Pat 12:19PM (1/07/2008)
Never mind the grille ... have you seen how many buttons are on that console!
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Joe 12:42PM (1/07/2008)
I'm actually rather surprised about the fact that the F-series isn't going to get Sync, specifically to remedy that issue. Sync is extremely elegantly designed when it's got the touch screen rather than that stupid system that the Focus got. This would eliminate a whole TON of those controls, or at least make them look nicer.
I do like the grille, though. I'm not a HUGE fan of the 3-bar car grille, though I do think it looks much better than much of what else is out there, and I do really like the Super Duty grille, so it's nice that the F-150 will be getting something uber-masculine, rather than soft and stupid, like the Tundra and Silverado have.
Austin 1:02PM (1/07/2008)
F-150 is getting sync along with super duty
MikeW 12:24PM (1/07/2008)
Please don't put dual beam headlights in any more vehicles ford.
If you pay over 15 large, you want something better than dual beams.
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That One Person 4:32PM (1/07/2008)
First off...I like the grille.
Second...I like the badge. Someone mentioned in an earlier thread that it would be hard to clean around it. Big deal. No problem. I can't tell you how many F-150s I have seen with the letters and numbers peeling off.
Third...WTF is wrong with dual beams? Sure, quadbeams look better from a design standpoint. But seeing as I have driven numerous Ford vehicles with dualbeams and countless other vehicles with quadbeams, I personally cannot tell the difference between the two (when it comes to lighting). They light the road the same. And if something out of this world happens and you need to buy all knew bulbs, it's cheaper to replace them on dualbeams. Unless the lights are xenons, there really is no reason for dualbeams. Heck, the 08 Mustang has xenons and they look great...along with the Flex.
MikeW 7:26PM (1/07/2008)
Can't tell the difference? Well maybe a good Euro H4 against an SAE quad beam.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/2005_winter_road_dipped_beam.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/2005_winter_road_full_beam.jpg
HB1/9004 sucked, even twenty years ago.
HB5/9007 still sucky, glare went up markedly over HB1, which themselves were far more glaring than European H4 dual beams.
even H13, they have cut down on the low beam glare somewhat, relative to 9007/HB5, but are outperformed by real headlights, even old obsolete HB3/HB4
and these guys are usually nice, but they really don't like H13s
http://www.rallylights.com/hella/H13.asp
GM & Toyota & Nissan no longer use dual beams.
It is time for Ford to get with the program. Unless they are going quad H13s...
C.W. 12:25PM (1/07/2008)
apparently all of you with negative comments are in the minority here as ford goes into 32nd year it will be the best selling truck on the road. tuners shouldnt comment on trucks as when you do some real research you will see that no other truck in the market comes close to ford in performance, construction and just a solid package.
love it or hate it, it's a B.A. line of trucks.
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sk 12:48PM (1/07/2008)
Hmm... Chevy/GMC is the best selling truck by a long shot. Sales numbers for Ford F-Series = 690,589
And for Silverado/Sierra = 826,500
Pete 1:02PM (1/07/2008)
Yes, but that is combined sales. Ford wins that title through a technicality. The rights to advertise that best selling marque go to Ford because neither GMC nor Chevy can exclusively say they have the best selling truck in the US.
Unless GM did some sort of corporate advertising, but I doubt they will.
Seminole 2:25PM (1/07/2008)
SK:
Just because the GMC Sierra and the Silverado are pretty much the same vehicle doesn't mean anything. GM created what in their mind is two different trucks, one is "professional grade" after all. They are marketed as separate trucks, they are tested as separate trucks, and they are sold at separate dealers. You can't walk into a GMC dealer and say, "Oh I'd like a GMC Silverado since it's the same as a Sierra." You need to go to Chevy to get the Silverado.
The F-150 gets the title for best selling TRUCK, see that, truck is singular. The title isn't for best selling trucks. If you want to say the Sierra/Silverado are the best selling FAMILY of trucks, then go ahead, but I'm tired of hearing people say the GM twins are the best selling truck when it's not.
/end rant
Steve_S 12:28PM (1/07/2008)
Spy shots and Ford F150 for some reason just don't get the blood flowing like Spy shots and well almost anything else.
While it's hugely important to Ford it's like spyshots of a dishwasher IMO.
Nothing against the truck, would buy a F150 over any other truck if I needed one
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Jason H 12:40PM (1/07/2008)
The grilles in the two different sets of spy shots are obviously different from each other. The new pics are derivative of the heavy-duty model design, while the older one is more car-like. This is obvious and you would think autoblog.com would look at these things before they post them. The middle bar is different in each, and the side portions of the grille are not evident in the earlier photo. I suspect the earlier truck is one of the more premium trims, while the new one is a more work-based trim level, fog lamps or not.
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3cubed minus 3squared plus1 12:41PM (1/07/2008)
Forget about the grill. This one is all about the diesel and that, to me, is the biggest improvement.
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Austin 1:06PM (1/07/2008)
u idiot u cant put silverado and sierra sales together.
why dont u include g6, Aura, Malibu, 9-3 together than, get real. u make as much since as toyota cheating putting scion sales in toyota sales. get a life.
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Benfolio 1:57PM (1/07/2008)
u idiot lern to punkuate and speel werds rite.
Up until recently you COULD have lumped Chevy and GMC truck sales. The only thing that separated them was the grilles, some badging, and the cloth used on the seats.
But if they DID count them as one truck, Ford would have to also and count Blackwood and Mark LT sales and add them to the F Series to get close to GM's....... oh. Right. Whoops.
Austin 3:17PM (1/07/2008)
ok your an ahole... oh excuse me i didnt spell that correctly either.