Click the F-150 for a high res gallery

Ford unleashed the latest generation of their top-selling F-150 pickup truck today at the Detroit Auto Show and the truck got a thorough revamp as we head toward the second decade of this century. The new full-size haulers start off with a platform made of high-strength steel that contributes to a 100lb weight reduction even as more equipment is added to the trucks. At launch time later this year, the F-150 will only be available with one of three V-8 engines, two different 4.6L variants and 5.4L model. In spite of loosing the old V-6 engine, the fleet average mileage for 2009 goes up by 1mpg.

Next year, the number should increase even more, as a 4.4L diesel V-8 gets added to the lineup. This will be the first diesel available in Ford's light-duty big trucks. Aside from being fifty-state legal and derived from the diesel V-8s Ford uses in the European market Range Rovers, no other details are available yet. Also being added to the lineup in 2010 are one of the new EcoBoost turbocharged direct injected V-6 engines. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a while to see how much impact these engines have on the F-150s mileage.

[Source: Ford]