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From workhorses to tech-filled toys, here is a century’s worth of Ford trucks

A 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty isn’t just a truck, it’s a living room on wheels. The latest version of Ford’s heavy-duty pickup can be equipped with massaging leather seats and a panoramic moonroof. It can sync with your smartphone and tow up to 31,500 pounds.

Boy, have pickup trucks come a long way.

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This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first Ford pickup truck and the genesis of the best-selling vehicle line in America. On July 27, 1917, Ford launched the Model TT, a truck based on the ubiquitous Model T. It used a Model T four-cylinder engine, could carry about one ton of cargo, and cost $600. Ford sold 209 Model TT trucks in 1917. In 2016, it sold more than 800,000 F-Series trucks.

The transition from a handful of basic work vehicles to hordes of feature-laden haulers took decades. Following the launch of the Model TT, Ford continued to upgrade its trucks alongside its passenger cars, until the onset of World War II brought a halt to the production of civilian vehicles.

When civilian production resumed in 1947, Ford brought out the first-generation F-Series. These trucks were available in different configurations, designated F-1 through F-8, based on payload and towing capacity, setting the template the company continues to use to this day. The current F-Series range stretches from the half-ton F-150 to the massive F-750 commercial truck.

In the 1970s, Ford trucks started to more closely resemble their modern counterparts. The ad tagline “Built Ford Tough” debuted in 1975 and remains in use today. In 1978, Ford began adding car-like creature comforts to its trucks, which had previously been equipped only with the bare necessities. The F-Series Lariat model was available with features that would soon become common on trucks, like air conditioning and leather seats.

Trucks were still primarily viewed as work vehicles but that began to change in the 1990s. Bored with regular sedans and looking to project the image of an active lifestyle, car buyers began using trucks as their daily drivers. Ford responded in 1997 with an F-150 that featured more car-like styling. It also split the F-150 off from the heavy-duty trucks, which were still more likely to be used as work vehicles. Those trucks got Super Duty branding beginning in 1998.

Liberating trucks from work duty also meant Ford could focus more on performance. In 1993, it brought out the F-150 SVT Lightning, which was basically a muscle car with a truck body. In 2010, Ford switched to off-roading with the F-150 SVT Raptor, a truck built for crossing rugged terrain at high speeds. The current-generation Raptor has a 450-horsepower twin-turbocharged V6 engine and has already proven its mettle in Mexico’s Baja 1000 off-road race.

By the turn of the century, trucks were more popular than ever, but the company faced a new problem in the form of stricter fuel-efficiency standards. So in 2015, it launched a new F-150 with a lighter aluminum body and now emphasizes smaller turbocharged EcoBoost V6 engines instead of the traditional V8s. There is even an F-150 hybrid on the way. These decisions have proven controversial with traditional truck buyers, but they are likely necessary to ensure the long line of trucks sticks around for another 100 years.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
The week in EV tech: From sky-high dreams to ground-level drama
tesla robotaxi feud alef in transition flight

Welcome to Digital Trends’ weekly recap of the revolutionary technology powering, connecting, and now driving next-gen electric vehicles. 
Buckle up, folks — this week we’re taking off with a look at the futuristic dream of flying electric cars possibly gliding above U.S. roads sooner than you think. But before we get carried away, let’s bring it back down to the bumpy road of present-day realities.
Even if you’re mostly interested about the tech powering the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, it’s become increasingly hard to avoid the politics around it: You guessed it, we’re talking about this week’s public feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump.
What does this have to do with EV tech? Well, quite a lot actually. For starters, the technology behind Tesla’s Autopilot and Full-Self Driving (FSD) modes may return in the crosshairs of regulators: Despite the names, these are still driver-assist features that require active driver supervision, and until Trump’s election, they had been under heavy scrutiny by safety regulators for several years.
Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  (NHTSA) launched an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD. Big questions remain about the driver-assist system's performance under adverse, yet naturally-occurring conditions such as fog, sun glare, rain, and snow.
When Musk, who spent about $275 million to help elect Trump, was appointed to head a newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), it raised more than a few eyebrows about his power and influence over the regulators who are supposed to oversee traffic safety, and therefore Tesla.
It didn’t help that the Trump administration followed Musk’s recommendations and relaxed crash-reporting requirements put in place since 2021, while also relaxing rules to accelerate the deployment of fully-automated robotaxis.
The Trump/Musk clash takes place just as Tesla is due to launch its robotaxi pilot progam in Texas later this month. While Trump is now threatening to pull billions of dollars in government subsidies and contracts from Musk’s companies, it’s unclear whether he might pressure the Department of Transportation to again tighten the regulatory screws on Tesla. What is clear is that Trump has never been a fan of electric vehicles and is already trying to end federal subsidies on EV purchases and leases. And while he had made a big deal about buying a bright red Tesla Model S back in March, Trump now says he wants to sell it.
Back to the tech
Meanwhile, Tesla is still required to respond to information and data requests from NHTSA regarding the safety of its robotaxis by July 1. And ultimately, it should come down to the performance of the technology.
For Autopilot and FSD, Tesla has opted for less expensive navigational tech relying on multiple onboard cameras that feed AI machine-learning models. But especially for so-called adverse driving conditions, it’s the more expensive technology relying on a blend of pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar) which has received the nod of regulators.
Waymo, the sole robotaxi service currently operating in the U.S., and Zoox, Amazon’s upcoming robotaxi service, both use that blend of navigational tech.
For its robotaxis, Tesla is said to have upped its game in terms of autonomous driving with its Hardware 4 (HW4) technology, which does include radar sensors and promises enhanced environmental perception.
Will that be enough for Tesla to convince regulators, catch up with Waymo, or compete effectively with Zoox?
We’ll have to wait and see.
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In a recent edition, we noted that while consumer confidence about robotaxi technology is on the rise, most people also want more data before they hop into a self-driving vehicle.
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But while the buzz around flying electric vehicles has mostly focused on air taxis— like Archer Aviation’s Midnight, expected to fly athletes around the 2028 LA Olympics, or Joby’s slick air taxi, backed by Toyota — one California startup is shooting for something a little more... driveable.
Meet Alef Aeronautics, a Bay Area company that wants to put the “car” back in “flying car.” This week, Alef announced it has received over 3,400 pre-orders for its electric flying vehicle, the Model A — and get this: it’s not a futuristic prototype gathering dust in a lab. Alef says production could begin by the end of 2025, or early next year.
On the ground, the Model A operates like a low-speed electric car, complete with hub motors in the wheels and—wait for it—a real steering wheel. You can legally drive it at up to 25 mph on public roads, parking it in a normal garage like any other EV. It’s refreshingly manual in an increasingly hands-free world.
But when it's time for lift off, the steering wheel takes a backseat. For vertical takeoff and flight, the Model A transforms into a drone-like aircraft. Its cabin rotates sideways to create lift, and eight electric rotors—controlled by a flight system and joysticks—take over. No pedals, no yoke, just a bit of joystick magic (or autopilot, if you prefer).
The Model A has already received the nod from regulators for test flights.
While the $300,000 price tag won’t fit everyone’s budget, the company is clearly betting on a future where you don’t have to choose between a car and a flying machine—you can have both.

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iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 shown on devices.

The WWDC 2025 keynote ran for just over an hour and a half. For those of you who don't fancy sitting through the whole presentation, we've pulled out the key things you need to know from the latest Apple event.

1. Welcome to the 26 club

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Tesla’s robotaxi service is almost here, but it’s not the car you want to see
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Tesla chief Elon Musk has said that the automaker is aiming to launch its robotaxi service on June 22, in Austin, Texas.

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