Traditionally, focus groups have been an important part of initial vehicle design. Concepts and designs are shown to select groups of people both inside and outside the company in order to get some feedback on their likes and dislikes. In addition, automakers receive feedback about concept vehicles from the public at car shows. However, for the new 2009 F-150, Ford took a slightly different approach.

First, the design group asked many groups of F-150 owners to bring their trucks to a location where the designers and engineers could see them. Then they had the truck owners show the group how they used their trucks - what they loaded in the bed and how they did it- what they towed, what they had added to the trucks, and how they used the interior space. From this several key items were identified. For example, many owners found the deep sides of the box made it difficult to reach items inside the box. The designers suggested a lower box side, but the owners didn't want to give up cargo space. To solve this problem, Ford designed a folding side step that fits under the box in front of the rear wheels. Touch the button in the centre with your toe and the spring-loaded step folds out from beneath the box. Load or unload your gear and then push the step back in again with your foot. The step has a 500-pound load capacity and would be a great addition to any truck!

Some owners found getting in and out of the box to be a challenge and used a box or a milk crate as a step. Ford made a simple change, adding the rear tailgate step and handle already offered on the SuperDuty trucks to the F-150 option list. Owners liked the tailgate extenders that fold out when the tailgate is down to hold longer loads but disliked having to remove and install it all the time. The solution was to design a two-part extender that folds flat against the inside of the box when not in use but connects together quickly for carrying bigger loads.

Some owner demands were more challenging. O'Leary described the innovative trailer braking system with trailer sway control as being a leader in towing technology. Roll and sway sensors in the truck detect trailer sway perhaps even before the driver does and corrects for it by applying truck and trailer brakes selectively while also controlling engine power output. Driving a vehicle with a trailer swinging back and forth behind it is a scary event and this feature brings a large amount of safety technology to the many F-150 owners that tow.

Credit: http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/080326.htm