It would appear that the Americans have not yet received the memo about cars causing global warming or an impending oil crisis. While manufacturers around the world are falling over themselves to develop the latest hyper-efficient cars to appease consumers that want even more mileage for less money, over in the good oul' U S of A Ford has revealed the 2013 edition of its bestselling F-150 pick-up truck complete with new front-end design, a new range of grilles, HID projector headlights and redesigned 18- and 20-inch wheels.

Ford does make a nod in the general direction of environmental concerns with 'downsized' engines but this is from the country that gave us supersized meals so the downsized engines are not exactly small: the range kicks off with a 3.7-litre turbocharged V6 that produces 302hp and 377Nm of torque. The baby of the F-150 range boasts 'best in class' fuel economy of 20mpg.

The mid-range 5.0-litre V8 delivers 360hp and can return a commendable 17.4mpg while the Big Daddy 411hp, 588Nm, 6.2-litre V8 manages just shy of 15mpg. In its defence the two-valve single-overhead-cam behemoth does boast a towing capacity of 11,300kg, which is enough to move a house, but still...

Inside, owners of the new F-150 will benefit from Ford's advanced Sync voice-activated communications and entertainment system that will drown out the cries from environmentalists at ease.

Paul Healy - 5 Jun 2012