No Early 2015 Ford F150 Test Drives for Detroit

A new Ford F150 is always a big deal considering that it is the bestselling vehicle in America, but the 2015 F150 is a particularly big deal with the heavy use of aluminum throughout the body. There are more than a few people who are skeptical that the aluminum body will hold up to the abuse of truckin’ life so while the 2015 F150 will be the most efficient, the most powerful and the most capable ever, there are people who aren’t sure that this new F150 will be as good as the last one.

Well, Ford wants to make sure that everyone knows just how good the 2015 F150 really is so to expose as many prospective consumers as possible to the newest half ton pickup, Ford will travel around the country, holding public test drive sessions for folks all over the USA.

The 2015 Ford F150 Drive Tour
The city of Kansas City didn’t get to celebrate a World Series victory this year, but residents of that area will get to test drive the new 2015 Ford F150 next week as part of Ford’s public test drive program. Right now, interested drivers in the areas around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Sacramento and St Louis are getting their chance to drive the new F150 and next week, folks in Columbus, San Francisco, Washington DC and Indianapolis will join Royals fans in driving the aluminum bodied F150. After that group next week, Ford will hit 20 more locations around the country between now and the end of 2014 as they bring the 2015 F150 driving experience to consumers like never before.

2015 Ford F150 Galleries:
A closer look at the trimlines of the 2015 Ford F150
The 2015 Ford F150 at the 2014 NAIAS

This program is a great idea, as rarely do everyday drivers get a chance to drive a brand new vehicle like the 2015 F150 without dealing with the high pressure headache of the dealership experience. However, while pretty much every major metropolitan area in the US is part of this program, prospective buyers in Michigan will have to do some driving to get in on the action, as Ford has not scheduled a single stop in the Great Lakes State.

The map above shows all of the stops on the 2015 Ford F150 Drive Tour and while some areas are devoid of a star that signifies a stop on the tour make sense, it comes as an odd surprise that Ford wont stop in Michigan. The F150 is built in Michigan, Ford is headquartered in Michigan and Michigan is one of the strongest markets for the Ford lineup. Even with all of that in mind, Michiganders will join folks from North and South Dakota, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada and a few other states in being left without a chance to drive the 2015 F150.

Why No Detroit Drive?
As a resident of Metro Detroit, I know people who are upset by the fact that they are unable to participate in this 2015 Ford F150 Drive Tour without driving to Cleveland or Columbus, but in putting aside my personal disappointment – I can understand why Ford didn’t bother bringing the drive tour to the Motor City. To put it bluntly, the Ford F150 and all other American cars sell like hot cakes in Michigan. If you are in or around Detroit sitting in traffic or in a crowded parking lot, the odds are good that at least 90% of the cars that you can see at any given time are from American brands. In my neighborhood in Milford (near the GM Proving Grounds), I can only think of two people in a nice sized area who drive imports.

I think that Ford didn’t bother bringing the 2015 F150 to the Detroit area because, well, people who live around here know that the F150 will be great. Ford is taking the new truck around America to show people how great it is, but people in Metro Detroit already know that the next generation F150 will continue the crazy sales success that it has had over the past 30+ years.

The good news is that dealerships will soon begin getting their first examples of the 2015 Ford F150 and you can most certainly expect that every dealership in the Detroit area will have at least one F150 to check out and test drive. The only downside is dealing with the dealership pressure, but I would expect that Detroit dealers will have the 2015 F150 before many other regions around the country.