Ford joins Tesla (2014, 2016) as the only two-time winner of the Tech of the Year award, which dates back to 2013. Previous winners include Kia Technologies, Cadillac, Tesla, BMW, Chevy, Chrysler, and Audi.
The 2022 Autoblog Technology of the Year award went to Ford for the Onboard and Smart Hitch Traction Scales found in the F-150 lineup. This new technology, as tested in the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, is a boon for pickup truck owners. Not only will it make monitoring your truck's maximum loads easier and more intuitive, but it will also ensure that you are towing and hauling in the safest manner possible.
We started the process with a long list of features to test and whittle down. Technologies like Mercedes' new electric turbocharger, GM's Super Cruise with extra towing capacity and many others passed through the thought process, but we ultimately narrowed the field down to just three contenders. They are: the GMC Hummer EV with flashy CrabWalk all-wheel drive technology, the Genesis GV60 with facial recognition/fingerprint start technology, and of course Ford's trucking gear.
As is customary for the Technology of the Year award, three main questions are asked, and the editors assign point values based on how well the technologies perform on the test. What is the importance of this technique? How well does it work? And what's new this year: Consider the wow factor.
With the scores scored, Ford Tech had 123 points, leading the Hummer (117 points) and GV60 (108). This is the second consecutive win for Ford, which won the 2021 TOY Award with its Pro Power Onboard charging feature.
While towing and cargo systems may not seem like the latest or most advanced technology, they're still essential and Ford uses things like the infotainment system, taillights, and Ford mobile app to create a forward-looking experience that Henry Ford can achieve. I never dreamed when the first model would be equipped. Model Ts with a family to work on farms and war in 1917. Even 10 years ago, incorporating technology in this way would have seemed futuristic, but Ford pulled it off.
Autoblog Editor-in-Chief Greg Miliora said, "Ford's Smart Towing and towing features win our awards this year because they're easy to use, easy to understand and make your life as a truck owner better " "It was a competitive field this year, with the Hummer Crabwalk and Genesis driving biometric features. But Ford came out on top with smart technologies that are well implemented and should stand the test of time."
Push and pull can be a challenge. If you don't pull or pull heavy loads a lot, there's a lot to learn and a lot of ways you can mess it up. With the F-150's onboard scales and Intelligent Link System, Ford removes a significant portion of the guesswork from these jobs with smart technology.
The ship's scales are the easiest to understand. Each truck has a maximum payload capacity rating. Ratings for your specific truck vary based on configuration and what it's equipped with — exact amounts also vary based on options, as some can add enough weight to the truck to reduce payload capacity. are Manufacturers always like to quote the highest capacity in the lineup when they reveal new vehicles, so it's up to you what your particular truck can carry. Instead of doing the math with GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) and the vehicle's curb weight, the onboard scales menu in the F-150's infotainment system tells you what your maximum payload rating is. In addition, the system will take into account the truck's weight — such as extra passengers and gear — when calculating how much it can carry.
The trickiest part of moving objects, though, can be determining the weight of what you're moving. Say you want to load up a few thousand pounds of landscaping rocks to bring home, but you're not sure if many of them weigh 2,000 or 2,500 pounds. Your truck may be classified for the former, but not the latter. Instead of guessing, just start loading the cargo on the bed, and watch your ship's scales go to work. On the inside, you can see an easy-to-read scale that tells you how much weight is in the truck at any given time. From the outside, the taillights will indicate approximate weight through illuminated bars. You will notice that the light moves upwards as you increase the weight. The lights will flash as a warning if you're over the limit — note that the Lightning doesn't have external light bars, so you need to look at the dash or the phone app to estimate the weight of Ford's electric pickup. Is. will be done. will be done. And yes, if you want to check the weight on your phone, Ford's app will notify you, as will the infotainment system.
In our testing, we used Autoblog staff members to see how the truck would react. For each additional person who jumps into the truck bed - using the bed's convenient step - the scale inside will react and read a new weight rating.
In our tests, we used Autoblog staff members to see how the truck would react. For each additional person that jumps into the truck bed, using the convenient bed step, the scale inside will react and read a new weight rating.
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