2021 Ford F-150 Named North American Truck Of The Year

2021 is already off to a much better start for Ford Motor Company. As we know, 2021 will be a foundational year for the Blue Oval with an all-new Ford F-150, the brand-new Mustang Mach-E, and three variations of the Bronco.

None of this is breaking news as we’ve covered it a lot here at Torque News. What is breaking news is that the 2021 Ford F-150 has been named the North American Truck of the Year.
It was one of three finalists named late last year, with the other two nominees being the Ram TRX and the Jeep Gladiator Mojave.

In my story, I predicted correctly that the F-150 would win this and listed plenty of good reasons why. I’m convinced that the PowerBoost hybrid technology played a big role in the jury’s final decisions.

The members of the jury who select the winners like innovation and Ford launching a hybrid in their top-selling vehicle is a risk. And clearly the jury rewarded such a risk. That makes sense.

Also, the other top contender, the Ram TRX, is a media darling, but is also just a niche truck. It won’t be a big seller while the F-150 is the best-selling truck in North America for 44 years now.

So success drives success as well. It’s hard to argue with the 14th-generation F-150 winning the NATOY award. But with another one of Ford’s vehicles being a finalist in the utility of the year list, I wasn’t sure if that might work against Ford. It’s quite rare for an auto manufacturer to win car of the year and truck of the year.

With the 2021 Mustang Mach-E a finalist in the relatively new Utility of the Year category, I wasn’t sure if that would benefit Ford, or hurt the Mach-E, as I felt the F-150 was a shoo-in to win.

Also announced today, however was a two-fer for Ford, as the Mustang Mach-E won Utility of the Year, over the Genesis GV80 and the Land Rover Defender. Here’s the full details of the Mach-E’s win and what it could mean for the all-electric crossover.

“This recognition for Mustang Mach-E and F-150 is validation not only for our brand, but also for our Ford team, which continues to innovate and deliver on its commitment to creating must-have products and services,” said Kumar Galhotra, president, Ford Americas and IMG. “The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards are among the most prestigious in the industry and such an honor serves as a capstone achievement for years of hard work for the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 teams.”

It is the first time since 2014 that the same brand has won multiple North American vehicle of the year awards in the same year.

More Awards For The 2021 Ford F-150
With a vehicle like the F-150, that is so popular and is such a recognized name it’s easy for it to win many awards, especially when a new generation is launched. So it’s not shocking that the 2021 F-150 has already received several other accolades on top of the recent NATOY.

Here’s a list of what titles the 2021 Ford F-150 has received so far:
• Detroit Free Press Truck of the Year - Detroit Free Press
• Green Truck of the Year - Green Car Journal
• Best Buy Award - Kelley Blue Book
• Edmunds Top Rated Truck - Edmunds.com
Highlights of the 2021 F-150
There are so many new features for the 14th generation F-150. Some represent the first time Ford has offered such technology in their pickup truck, like the aforementioned PowerBoost hybrid engine.

According to Ford, “the all-new F-150 is purpose-built to be the toughest, most productive F-150 ever, targeting the most towing and payload of any light-duty full-size pickup and introducing all-new features to increase customer productivity. F-150 has new connected vehicle innovations such as over-the-air updates that help keep it at the forefront of purposeful technology as well as an available all-new 3.5-liter PowerBoost hybrid powertrain with Pro Power Onboard – an integrated power generator.”

It's pretty obvious and not the least bit shocking that the F-150 won North American Truck of the Year. I was more shocked at the Mustang Mach-E’s win. But it was a quite a good day for Ford with two major wins for their stalwart pickup truck and their up-and-coming all-electric crossover.

Deliveries of the 2021 Ford F-150 continue as production ramps up and more trucks arrive on dealership lots. Despite some delays and a rocky 2020 (for obvious reasons), the future continues to shine bright for the F-150.

Leave me your comments below. Do you give any credibility to awards like this? Does it sway you at all as a consumer?

Jimmy Dinsmore has been an automotive journalist for more than a decade and been a writer since the high school. His Driver’s Side column features new car reviews and runs in several newspapers throughout the country. He is also co-author of the book “Mustang by Design” and “Ford Trucks: A Unique Look at the Technical History of America’s Most Popular Truck”. Also, Jimmy works in the social media marketing world for a Canadian automotive training aid manufacturing company. Follow Jimmy on Facebook, Twitter, at his special Ford F-150 coverage on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can read the most of Jimmy's stories by searching Torque News Ford for daily Ford vehicle report.