Just three months into its launch, the all-new, 2017 Ford Super Duty line of trucks is already selling fast, with total sales up 24 percent in November versus the same month in 2015, and retail (individual consumer) sales up 33 percent.
Ford says that a majority of the sales – 71 percent – are of Ford Super Duty trucks with high-spec Lariat, King Ranch, or Platinum trim. These trim levels incorporate many of the truck’s new active driver assist technologies. The five most popular such technologies, exclusive to the class and never before offered on the Ford Super Duty, are:
- Adaptive Steering – A small electric motor located within the steering wheel hub provides variable-speed power assistance to steering. During low-speed maneuvers, less steering angle is required than when the truck is at speed, reducing the amount of effort required by up to a third.
- Trailer Reverse Guidance – External cameras provide real-time video of the trailer which, along with graphical overlays on the 8-inch Ford SYNC screen, enables drivers to back their trailers up more easily.
- Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Mitigation – Using a front-mounted RADAR sensor, the Ford Super Duty can automatically set a cruise speed and keep a safe following distance from the vehicle in front, using engine braking to slow the truck down when needed, even if it’s being used to tow a heavy trailer.
- Blind Spot Information System with Cross-Traffic Alert and Trailer Tow – Sensors help the truck to issue a warning to the driver when he or she is in danger of colliding with an object in their blind spot, whether the object would impact the truck itself or, if it’s being used to tow, the trailer being pulled.
- Lane-Keeping Alert – A camera mounted on the dashboard helps to detect whether the Ford Super Duty is perhaps unintentionally drifting out of its lane on the road, issuing a warning to the driver.
The 2017 Ford Super Duty is faring especially well in Texas, which contains the truck’s two hottest sales regions: Dallas, and Houston. Sales jumped 45 percent in the former city, and 38 percent in the latter, with 4×4 and crew cab configurations ahead of the rest of the country by 97 percent.
“The technology features in the new F-Series trucks, in particular the all-new 2017 Super Duty, are generating even greater interest,” says Chaz Gilmore, Managing Partner at Grapevine Ford Lincoln near Dallas. “This truck is bringing a lot of new buyers out of competitive brands and into the Ford family. Ford really knocked it out of the park with this truck’s performance, options and technology offerings.”
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