PR bots were spewing a lot about "revolutionary" truck features at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. Some were cool, others looked slapped together with parts from a $20 AutoZone trip. Now we wanna know what you think of these features and what you want on your next truck.
Workspace lighting in the bed 2015 Ford F-150 is decidedly less dramatic than the blue neon from the Atlas concept. The two little LED banks look so simple I couldn't believe nobody had put them in a pickup before, yet I couldn't remember seeing them on anything else.
Ford, GM, Ram, and Toyota are all big on cargo management... they all have cargo securing points like what you see just to the left of the LED in the F-150's bed.
Good ol' fashioned folding-grates are still popular. In other cargo technology, GM is very proud of the multi-point movable strap shackles on the Canyon and Colorado. The Tacoma was the only pickup I saw with a 110v outlet in the bed.
GM, Ford, and Ram all have their own execution of bed-dividers, but the Ram's are far and away the most robust looking.
I was quite taken with the "Ram Boxes" on that truck: lockable waterproof storage bins about four feet long and eighteen inches deep. They'd be perfect for tools or camping gear.
Just about every truck and SUV at Detroit had USB ports and multiple 12v cig lighter-style charging points in the cab, even AC outlets are starting to show up in Toyota, Ram, Chevrolet, and Ford trucks.
The new F-150 has a pretty stylish rear window opening, but Toyota is the only automaker that has full roll-down rear windows. It's a feature they've had for a long time, and was being showcased on the 4Runner and Tundra.
The Ford Raptor and most Land Rovers have neat digital interfaces that can show off-road information like wheel position and lean angle, but only the FJ Cruiser is still rocking a fixed pitch-n-roll gauge front and center. Maybe it's a little goofy, but this is Truck Yeah!, and we like in-your-face off-roady shit no matter how cheesy it is. Well, for the most part.
Regardless, I'm sure this will die this year with the FJ Cruiser.
Ram and Ford have steps that are removed and retracted manually, Ford's are just behind the cab and Ram's is on the left of the tailgate. GM has integrated a step into the bumper of their new mid-sized trucks a la the Silverado and Sierra.
The F-150 has a large rear step that I found annoying to operate, though I'm sure it will help less limber people access the truck's bed.
Jeep's SRT launch button is ridiculous, but so is the truck.
A three-pedal transmission is the opposite of a "new" feature, but the Jeep Wrangler deserves to be celebrated for still having one. Even if it has goofy shift knobs that look like golf balls made of ice. This is a Jalopnik site, after all.