Autoblog

Come January, about 1,000 laid-off Ford workers will get their jobs back. That's because Ford, despite industry trends, is predicting that sales of its re-designed F-150 will surpass its current reduced manufacturing capacity. To prepare for this, Ford will restore a third shift at its Dearborn Truck Plant in January and invite back 1,000 workers who were previously laid off. When the wayward workers arrive back on the job, the plant's payroll will swell back up to 3,300 workers. The announcement came yesterday during a celebration at the plant to kick off production of the 2009 F-150, which was attended by Ford CEO Alan Mulally, President of the Americas Mark Fields and Ford family scion Bill Ford Jr.

Ford says the need to restore third-shift workers is in part due to the company's success selling highly-incentivized, left-over 2008 models. We certainly liked the new F-150, and so does Texas, apparently. Then again, it doesn't hurt that the 2009 model already has a $2,000 rebate on it shood.

The AP also reports that Ford has no plans to scale back its overall product development or the F-150's marketing budget. The first of the new F-150's TV ads are set to run this Sunday on "NFL on FOX".

Gallery: First Drive: 2009 Ford F-150

[Source: The Associated Press via fseriestrucks.com, Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty]

It's an unconfirmed rumor that Ford's going to make its Super Duty pickups shiftless, but the mere whiff of a reduction in choices is likely set enthusiasts afire with rage. The merits of standard versus automatic transmissions in trucks that routinely tow and generally work hard is a debate for another time, but the real crux of the biscuit comes down to cost. As it stands now, you can get a Power Stroke diesel with a manual for $1500 less than a self-shifter. If Ford removes the standard transmission from its Power Stroke offerings, does that mean that it will pass some of the savings on to consumers by reducing the price of the automatic? Not bloody likely. A more probable scenario would see the price of the Power Stroke option rising.

[Source: Four Wheeler]

If you roll in a Ford truck, you'd best be aware of the rules. If you violate 'em, the BFT patrol will be all over your case like stink on a monkey. And if you've been to the zoo, you know how monkeys stink. It's not good. BFT, as you might have surmised, stands for Built Ford Tough, and the rules detail activities and things that don't jibe with the image the F-Series projects. They include No Puny Dogs; No Scooters; No Manicures; No Cutesy Cell Phone Rings; No Fancy Coffee; and No Liquid Wrench, among others. Ford has helpfully provided a website that details individual violations captured on video by camera crews traveling with BFT cops. Case #073, above, documents a fancy coffee violator, while Case #235 (embedded after the jump) is an action-filled segment featuring a manicure infraction. We expect to see additional case videos added over time.

If you're driving, say, an F-250 4x4 with a pair of Vespas in the bed, a caramel macchiato in the cupholder, a Yorkshire Terrier in the passenger seat, and a BK Veggie in a take-out bag, we'd expect to see you get chased down, tased, "softened up" a bit, and probably locked up for 20 years without parole. If your Hannah Montana ringtone goes off at any point during all this, we fear that BFT would then be forced to get medieval on you. Consider yourselves warned.

[Source: BFT]

Apparently tough and muscular are favored by truck and SUV buyers. Who knew? In a Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch poll, active car shoppers picked the look of Ford's trucks and non-luxury SUVs over the competition.

Though the poll was done in April, current sales numbers seem to prove it, with some of Ford's pickups seeing more than 50% sales increases over last year despite rising gas prices. Ford recently increased its sales predictions of the Edge, and says its new Expedition had its eighth consecutive month of higher sales in April. Ford's May sales overall were down 10.4%, a drop the company blamed on a cutback in fleet purchases.

The KBB report is good news for Ford, of course, but KBB says it should be very interesting to other carmakers.

"As vehicle reliability reaches near-parity in the market, we predict that exterior styling will play an even bigger role in building new-vehicle sales and brand equity," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst, Kelley Blue Book. "The results of the Brand Watch study demonstrate that the industry is, and should be, placing great emphasis on what their vehicles look like."

The second best looking trucks, according to those polled, are built by GMC, with Chevy third, Dodge fourth and Toyota fifth. Honda brought up the rear in eleventh place. Among SUVs, Ford was first, Toyota second and GMC third. The luxury SUV segment is dominated by imports, with BMW, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz taking the top three spots.

Read the KBB press release here, and Ford's press release after the jump.

Football, racing, and country music are the baskets into which Ford is putting their advertising eggs for the new F-series pickups, which has been Ford's bread and butter for the last 30 years.

The campaign blends Ford's new "Bold Moves" campaign and the older (but more entrenched) "Built Ford Tough" concept. Among the messages conveyed by the ads and promotional efforts will be bold design, outstanding capability, unmatched durability and exceptional customer loyalty. The fact that more Ford trucks have reached 250,000 miles than any other brand will be a hot topic.

Begin looking for the ads September 7 at the start of the NFL season, then September 17 with the start of NASCAR's Nextel Cup "Chase for the Cup." Promotion of the truck from a country music angle will start even earlier on August 11 with the kickoff of country music star Toby Keith's "Hookin Up and Hangin' Out" concert tour, during which the F-series Super Duty will be featured prominently on-stage during the concerts. The truck will also get some "face" time in the new movie starring Keith and Kelly Preston, Broken Bridges, opening September 8. A website promoting Toby Keith's relationship with the F-series has been launched at http://www.fordvehicles.com/hangwithtoby/, where visitors can enter a sweepstakes to win a 2007 F-150.

Check out the full release after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

In Lakeland, FL, the never-ending dispute over the superiority of Ford and Chevy trucks resulted in the death of one teenager and the jailing of a second on murder charges. An angry phone conversation resulted in a parking lot confrontation, which led to Brandon Prince and David Ormsbee exchanging additional words before Prince drove his 1980 GMC towards Ormsbee, who had recently purchased a 2006 Ford Ranger. Ormsbee jumped up on the hood and fell off when Prince made a sharp turn, which resulted in Ormsbee's death. As far as we can tell, this doesn't prove anything except that it's a terrible idea to goof off around moving vehicles.

While we've certainly observed some fierce flame wars here at Autoblog, we'd like to point out that no one has yet died from any arguments in the Comments.

[Source: The Ledger; a hat tip goes out to GMInsidenews.com]

As noted by Inside Line, Ford decided not to go with the locomotive-inspired theme of the Super Chief concept for its refreshened Super Duty pickups due out this summer. Too bad, as the Super Chief was super cool. Regardless, the new Super Dutes will get bigger and bolder in the front and back, with larger, one-piece headlights that extend down to a one-piece bumper, bigger vents in the grille, quarter panel vents behind the front wheels and the words “Super Duty” branded everywhere it will fit.

The bigger news for the new Super Dutes will be the arrival of an all new Powerstroke diesel to replace the current one that’s been plagued with problems from the get-go. The new oil burner will displace 6.4 liters and employ a pair of sequential turbos to help produce 350 hp and 650 ft-lbs of torque. Those numbers would put the Super Duty ahead of both Dodge’s 5.9L Cummins turbo diesel (325 hp/610 ft-lbs.) and GM’s 6.6L Duramax diesel (310 hp/605 ft-lbs.), in which case it’s time for another race.

[Source: Inside Line]