-- Ford is celebrating the production of the 2009 Ford F-150, the most capable full-size pickup on the market with unsurpassed fuel economy.
-- The new F-150 is the best value with a starting price of $21,320 for Ford's workhorse, the XL Regular Cab.
-- Ford invested $110 million in Kansas City Assembly Plant to build the new F-150 with tooling and equipment upgrades.
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ford Motor Company
(NYSE: F) employees at Kansas City Assembly Plant today celebrated the
production of the new 2009 Ford F-150, which offers the most capability in the
full-size pickup market with unsurpassed fuel economy.
'Ford is the truck leader and core F-150 truck buyers expect and demand
the best truck on the market,' said Ford Motor Company Group Vice President of
Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs Joe Hinrichs, who thanked plant
employees for a successful launch of the new F-150. 'Ford's quality is on par
with the best in the industry and the team at Kansas City Assembly Plant is
delivering a truck that is 'Built Ford Tough' with an unrelenting focus on
quality and craftsmanship.'
On sale later this month, the new F-150 offers fuel economy that has
improved an average of 8 percent across the entire lineup as a result of a
wide-range of engineering enhancements. The fuel economy gains reach as high
as 12 percent versus the prior model year on F-150 models equipped with the
high-volume 3-valve, 5.4-liter V-8 engine. At the same time, the new F-150
delivers class-leading towing capability of 11,300 pounds and hauling capacity
of 3,030 pounds -- a combination no other competitor can match.
The new F-150, part Ford's F-Series lineup that remains the best selling
vehicle on the market, also offers more standard safety equipment than any
other half-ton pickup on the market, with comparable or better pricing at all
three cab configurations versus the competition. The F-150 Lariat SuperCrew,
for example, starts at $35,820*, more than $5,000 less than a comparably
equipped 2009 Dodge Ram.
Ford invested $110 million in Kansas City Assembly Plant for new tooling
and equipment to build the new F-150, which offers consumers the most cab
styles, box options and trim levels.
Upgrades include the addition of 24 new clearcoat robots for flexible
automation in the paint shop. In final assembly, the box line was extended to
support installation of the F-150 cargo management system and the tailgate
step. The plant also added 65 new error-proofing devices to ensure quality is
built into every new F-150.
In the body shop, state-of-the-art, precision lasers were installed to
mate the roof and body-side panels to the truck's new roof structure, which
features the industry's first use of super high-strength, dual-phase steel.
The stiffer, tighter structure contributes to improved safety and delivers a
quieter more refined ride.
These measures, along with other design changes are key to delivering
Ford's most capable F-150 ever. Even before production of the 2009 F-150
began, prototypes of the new truck endured 4.5 million miles of real-world and
laboratory testing and quality checks where genuine truck customers use their
pickups.
And while the truck was undergoing tough testing, Kansas City employees
were focused on ways to build in quality into each new F-150.
'The team at Kansas City Assembly Plant understands the importance of the
F-150 to Ford,' said Ken Ward, plant manager, Kansas City Assembly Plant.
'They are proud to build Ford's most capable F-150 ever.'
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn,
Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With
about 229,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's core and
affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda.
The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company.
For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.
SOURCE Ford Motor Company
