ford atlas pickup truck concept at 2013 NAIAS

‘ford atlas pickup truck’ concept at 2013 NAIASimage courtesy ford motor company

featuring a next-generation ecoboost powertrain, ford has introduced ‘atlas pick-up concept’ at the 2013 NAIAS,which incorporates enhanced auto start-stop engine shutoff technology. by shutting off the engine when stopped in traffic to save fuel – the truck smartly suspends the feature when the vehicle knows it is towing. also complete with a 360 degree point-of-view camera, the system gives a bird’s-eye view of the pick-up to help position the concept in tight places or when there are obstacles near the truck – such as on a busy job site or grocery store parking lot –both being a company first.

the ecoboost uses gasoline direct injection and turbocharging to deliver fuel-economy gains of up to 20 percent and reduction of CO2 emissions of up to 15 percent, compared with larger displacement engines. features such as ‘active grille and wheel shutters’ ,’drop-down air dams’, and ‘power running boards’ help improve aerodynamics at highway and low speeds. self-charging batteries use energy from the wheels’ motion to power the seperate functions. the cargo cradle doubles as a support for longer materials when strapped across the vehicle’s roof.

update:

we have updated the original article from january 15, 2013 – below, see additional information of the ford atlas concept alongside exclusive designboom coverage with interviews of the president and chief executive officer of ford, the vice president of design and group vice president of global product development, and the press conference launchingthe ford atlas concept for the first time.

front view with redesigned grille detailimage courtesy ford motor company

 video © designboom

interview: j mays – group vice president, design, and chief creative officer, ford motor company

j mays is responsible for shaping the global design direction of ford motor company’s ford and lincoln brands. during his career at ford, mays has managed and developed the design language of multiple vehicle brands, successfully leading the effort to develop the single, global ford design language that now applies to most vehicles the company produces around the world. 

he has led the development of significant concept vehicles including the ford interceptor, fairlane, shelby GR-1 and 427, jaguar F-type as well as the recent lincoln MKZ concept. in addition, he has been instrumental in creating key new production models, including the all-new 2013 global ford fusion, the 2012 ford focus, the 2011 fiesta and the 2010 ford taurus and taurus SHO for north america. other notable production vehicles include the 2004 and present ford F-150, the 2005 and 2010 ford mustang, 2005 ford GT and the 2008 jaguar XF.

rear 3/4 passenger side viewimage courtesy ford motor company

  group vice president of design, j mays assists in the international debut of his latest creation –  the ford atlas concept at the 2013 NAIAS press conference video © designboom

top 3/4 passenger side viewimage courtesy ford motor company

video © designboom

interview: raj nair – group vice president, global product development

nair has overall responsibility for all aspects of ford motor company’s product development system. in his previous role as ford motor company’s vice president of engineering for global product development, nair oversaw all engineering for car, truck, SUV and crossover vehicles for the ford and lincoln brands, and was responsible for delivering on ford’s commitment to offer more new products faster than ever before by leveraging greater sharing and reuse of platforms and components globally. he also helped lead the development and implementation of the ford brand DNA.

 prior to this role, nair served for two years as vice president, operations, of ford motor company’s asia pacific and africa region. in this position, he was responsible for product development, manufacturing, purchasing, quality and information technology within the asia pacific and africa region.

tail light detailimage courtesy ford motor company

extended cargo cradleimage courtesy ford motor company

ambient LED detail during nightimage courtesy ford motor company

interior cockpit detailimage courtesy ford motor company

ford atlas pickup front end grille at NAIASimage © designboom

ford atlas pickup tailgate at NAIASimage © designboom

ford atlas pickup cockpit interior view at NAIASimage © designboom

ford atlas pickup rear passenger view at NAIASimage © designboom

 (left) birgit lohmann, chief executive officer of designboom together with (right) alan mulally, president and chief exceutive officer of ford motor companyimages © designboom

alan mulally: president and chief executive officer, ford motor company

prior to joining ford in september 2006, mulally served as executive vice president of the boeing company, and president and chief executive officer of boeing commercial airplanes. in that role, he was responsible for all of the company’s commercial airplane programs and related services. mulally also was a member of the boeing executive council and served as the company’s senior executive in the pacific northwest. he was named boeing’s president of commercial airplanes in september 1998, where the responsibility of chief executive officer for the business unit was added in march 2001.

he joined boeing in 1969 and progressed through a number of significant engineering and program-management assignments, including contributions on the 727, 737, 747, 757 and 767 airplanes.