“Who’s your favorite for Truck of the Year?”
The conversation plays out across the office in the weeks leading up to all the Of The Year competitions. The question comes from all angles: from video producers, art directors, fellow judges, non-participating editors, photographers—even the honchos in corporate. We have been thinking about this topic ever since we saw the official invite list of vehicles, sometimes since the launch of a particularly impressive vehicle earlier in the year. We all have our favorites, but it’s our thorough regimen of testing that determines the winner. Nowhere are those numbers more important than for Truck of the Year.
An Of The Year contest plays out one of three ways: There’s no clear winner right up to the end; there are two to three potential winners and a nail-biting vote; or there’s a clear winner early on and the rest becomes a coronation. In this year’s Truck of the Year competition, we knew by the halfway point which truck would win.
Sometimes, one vehicle so clearly satisfies or exceeds our criteria that we spend more time looking for faults than attributes, just to be sure we haven’t gotten ahead of ourselves. In this year’s field, the Ford Super Duty trucks emerged as the intuitive choice, one that had to be scrutinized, analyzed, and picked apart in subsequent days of testing. Some competitors rose in standing in the course of our evaluations, but none so much that the Super Duties needed to sweat. Indeed, the Fords’ ability to remain cool under our extreme pressure, regardless of the circumstances, made it all the more clear they deserved this award.
REASONS OF THE AWARD
Advancement in Design
Design is inherently subjective, but there are many ways to objectively judge it. Is it cohesive? Do all the individual elements serve a purpose, and do they advance the design as a whole? Does the design separate the vehicle from the competition, and does it speak to its intended market? The Ford Super Duties answer all these questions in the affirmative.
By their utilitarian nature, trucks can be inherently hard to differentiate. Get too creative, and you risk impinging on the vehicle’s ability to get the job done—and for the working professional, that’s what matters at the end of the day. Clunky but proficient wins over gorgeous and inefficient. The Ford Super Duties strike this balance expertly, looking like no other truck on the road while keeping the customer mission front of mind. They are clearly and distinctly Ford Super Duties seen from afar, and the design doesn’t break down the closer you look.
Although the design is busy in places, an obvious vision has been executed. Every panel relates to the adjacent one, even around corners, and every line serves a purpose. Critically, the design as a whole advances the direction of the previous generation without losing or abandoning its signature. From every angle, there is no mistaking this truck for anything but a Ford.
Design is inherently subjective, but there are many ways to objectively judge it. Is it cohesive? Do all the individual elements serve a purpose, and do they advance the design as a whole? Does the design separate the vehicle from the competition, and does it speak to its intended market? The Ford Super Duties answer all these questions in the affirmative.
By their utilitarian nature, trucks can be inherently hard to differentiate. Get too creative, and you risk impinging on the vehicle’s ability to get the job done—and for the working professional, that’s what matters at the end of the day. Clunky but proficient wins over gorgeous and inefficient. The Ford Super Duties strike this balance expertly, looking like no other truck on the road while keeping the customer mission front of mind. They are clearly and distinctly Ford Super Duties seen from afar, and the design doesn’t break down the closer you look.
Although the design is busy in places, an obvious vision has been executed. Every panel relates to the adjacent one, even around corners, and every line serves a purpose. Critically, the design as a whole advances the direction of the previous generation without losing or abandoning its signature. From every angle, there is no mistaking this truck for anything but a Ford.
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