Ford's F-150 pickup truck is both hugely popular and just plain huge: It's hard to see the road, see cars coming up beside you, or back up in the parking lot, from its lofty cab. On Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford unveiled a heavily revamped model for the 2015 model year. The new F-150 will have several features to make it safer and smarter, taking cues from the passenger-car segment.
In a first for pickups, the F-150 will have a new 360-degree, bird's-eye camera view. Common in Infiniti cars already, the cameras are mounted in the front grille, the rear bumper, and the side mirrors, and their images are stitched together for a continuous view all around the truck.
Image: Ford Motor Company
The 360-degree camera view in the 2015 Ford F-150 is a major improvement in visibility. Cameras in the grille, tailgate, and side mirrors provide the data.
The new F-150 also uses the touchscreen features of the higher-end Ford sedans. The new 8-inch touchscreen will show climate controls, radio, and navigation settings. The analog instrument cluster, which has started looking a bit dated, will be all-digital.
Image: Ford Motor Company
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