Every now and then we come upon a small but significant innovation that deserves special recognition. A week spent in the 2008 Ford F-150 King Ranch brings to our attention the company's new and particularly smart rear-view camera system. A $450 option on our F-150, and also available on the F-series Super Duty and Lincoln Mark LT pickups, as well as the Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and Mazda CX-9 sport-utilities, the system is notable not for its camera (back-up monitors are nothing new) but for its display. Instead of projecting its closed-circuit view out back onto an in-dash navigation screen, the Ford setup presents a small, clear image from within the rearview mirror itself. It puts your eyes directly where they should be, and allows the driver to use both the mirror and the camera images simultaneously, along with the audible tones from the bumper-mounted backup sensors. It seems like a small touch, but (unlike other backup cameras, which force us to look down at the screen as we back up) the Ford camera system proved consistently useful during our time with the truck.
To get a sense of the camera system in action, the video after the break is worth a thousand words.
Photos courtesy of the Ford Motor Company.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dby8lTnCOmo
