Trucks wearing the blue oval badge of Ford represent the best-selling models in every size segment. The line's leader full-size F-150 for the past 21 consecutive years has led all other nameplates - car and truck - to rank as the best-selling vehicle in America, and for 26 years it has scored the best-selling truck title.

But for 2004, Ford reinvents the F-150. With more and more consumers selecting a pickup truck rather than a conventional car for primary transportation, Ford's designers had to get this one right: Bring innovation and new features for performance, pack aboard the comforts and conveniences of a car to make F-150 more friendly to passengers, yet also carry forward truck-tough traits of the previous version to keep from alienating it's core market who use a truck as a workhorse.

New designs for F-150, coming to market with two V8 engine options, plus three cab styles and several lengths for the box in back, provide more powerful engines with class-topping towing ability, and there are larger passenger compartments dressed for five trims. Actually, there are so many different configurations for cab and box lengths, powertrain and trim, that you need a chart to sort it out.

Full-size F-Series trucks divide into light-duty and heavy-duty models. Ford also makes an extensive assortment of super-size F-Series Super Duty work trucks, which have a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 8500 lbs, and the Power Stroke diesel also applies.

Ranger has held the title of best-selling compact truck in America for 16 straight years. For 2004, itshows a raised power dome hood, with suspension tweaking and sporty new interior trimwork added. The Tremor continues in Ranger's line with a 510-watt audio kit to blow the doors off.

Ford's full-size and light-duty (half-ton) trucks in the new designs for 2004 look strong and muscular. Posed in tall stance and projecting a bold face, F-150 reveals curvy bulges on the sides around wheelwells and large squarish headlamp clusters on front corners flanking a big grille in the shape of an inverted trapezoid.

A few styling cues lifted from Ford's Super Duty trucks are evident, such as along the top of side doors where forward sections swoop low so the driver can get a better view of the oversized rearview mirrors. Overall, it's an eye-catching design of crisp angles and complex curves blending together to forge a unique statement for a powerful pickup.

Cab designs consist of a Regular Cab, SuperCab and the SuperCrew. Two-door Regular Cab is a conventional scheme offered with bench or bucket seats and a cargo box extending in length for 78.8 or 97.5 inches. The SuperCab gets two front-hinged doors trailed by two narrow ones with rear hinges. There's a front seat with buckets or bench and a small rear bench with flip-up seat design and a canted seatback for added comfort. Cargo boxes for SuperCab include the two lengths listed for Regular Cab plus an abbreviated box of 67 inches.

Spacious SuperCrew comes with four front-hinged doors and two rows of seats for a capacity of five or six. Only cargo box here is the brief one at 67 inches. Two-wheel-drive (2WD) orientation with a front-mounted engine sending torque to the rear wheels is standard but four-wheel-drive (4WD) traction is available across the board with manual or electronic switching.

The steering mechanism changes to a responsive rack and pinion system and brakes for all versions put a disc on every wheel plus anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic brake force distribution (EBD). For passive safety, F-150 trucks stock dual stage frontal air bags and side-impact air bags tied to computer-controlled equipment minding the tension of seatbelts and deployment of air bags.

Two different Triton V8 engines link to a four-speed electronic automatic transmission. Standard is a reworked version of Ford's overhead-cam 4.6-liter V8, which achieves 231 hp. Optional is a new 5.4-liter Triton V8 that runs up to 300 hp. Trim tiers rise from base XL and STX to a well-equipped XLT, the off-road FX4 edition and deluxe Lariat.

All have interiors that look more like a comfortable car than a working-class truck. Most use cloth fabric on seats, although leather comes with Lariat, and variations include satin-metal finish or bright chrome for vent rings, door handles and optional consoles. Top-of-the-line Lariat with the leather buckets shows a floor-mounted shifter stick projecting from the console like a sporty car. (CONTINUED...)

Read our Review: Ford F-150