XL 4x2 Super Cab Styleside 8 ft. box 163 in. WB
2009 Ford F-150

2009 Ford F-150 Platinum 4x4 – Click above for high-res image gallery The Blue Oval delayed the introduction of its all-important 2009 Ford F-150 by two months late last summer. The company claimed it could save some cash by postponing the pickup's launch, but in the interim, the cost to fill up the F-150's biggie-sized tank was slashed in half. The delay couldn't have been better timed. Marketing North America's best-selling vehicle is an expensive endeavor to begin with, but add in the trepidation of $4-per gallon gasoline and an economy spiraling towards the floor, and there's no doubt that the F150's intended audience would've had a hard time plunking down the coin for a brand new pickup. No doubt, Ford is relieved that gas prices dropped, but the sketchy fluctuations in the commodities market have changed the way this 106-year-old company looks at the truck business. One consequence of high gas prices has been the sharp drop in truck buying for recreational purposes, so Ford has marketed the new F-150 as the ultimate work truck. Labor-friendly features like an integrated trailer brake controller and pop-out side steps are winning buyers over, but will they be enough to pass muster in the Autoblog Garage? Hit the jump to find out. %Gallery-43671% Photos Copyright ©2009 Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc. For 2009, there are seven different variations of the F-150, and that doesn't include the off-roading SVT Raptor that will be available later this year. Ford has made a truck for practically every person on the job site, and we had the opportunity to test the pickup that only the foreman would buy, the all-new Platinum model. Our F-150 Platinum came completely loaded and carried a sticker of $48,730. All the luxuries the big boss requires are accounted for, along with optional features including a massive 8.5-inch navigation screen, moon roof and a step that stows in the rear lift gate. The Platinum comes standard with leather seating, stowable side steps for easier access to the pickup bed and retracting running boards for easy ingress and egress. When Ford set out to reshape the new F-150, designers were challenged to improve the popular pickup's masculine lines. On the outside, they stuck with an evolutionary theme that keeps the same basic shape as the outgoing model, with tweaks to the front and rear fascias. Up front, Ford offers as many different grille options as F-150 variants, with the Platinum edition straying farthest away from the big, bold look of its Super Duty sibling. The grille has a very thick outside frame that encloses Ford's trio of trademark bars. The center piece holds up the massive Blue Oval, while the outside slats are given the cheese grater treatment. The new F-150 gets a larger, more expressive hood. The intricate bonnet is raised almost three inches at the grille, with two lines leading towards the windsheild and a concave powerdome nestled in between. Ford says it was able to pull off …
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