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2017 Ford F-350 Super Duty King Ranch reports for work (pictures)

Ford's heavy-duty trucks are reborn for 2017 featuring new aluminum skins and an unexpected bounty of high-tech safety and convenience features.

Chris Paukert
Following stints in TV news production and as a record company publicist, Chris spent most of his career in automotive publishing. Mentored by Automobile Magazine founder David E. Davis Jr., Paukert succeeded Davis as editor-in-chief of Winding Road, a pioneering e-mag, before serving as Autoblog's executive editor from 2008 to 2015. Chris is a Webby and Telly award-winning video producer and has served on the jury of the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. He joined the CNET team in 2015, bringing a small cache of odd, underappreciated cars with him.
Chris Paukert
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Ford's reborn Super Duty trucks will be hitting the market in late 2016 (F-350 in the foreground, F-450 in the background, twice).

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This Ford F-350 is a SuperCab 4x4 in King Ranch spec.

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The Super Duty trucks will be available in five chassis lengths and three cab configurations.

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There will be no mistaking this massive two-bar chrome grille in your rearview mirror.

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Ford says the F-350's aluminum panels should be more dent- and ding-resistant than the steel bodywork of its predecessors.

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Ford will continue to offer an integrated tailgate step, useful when the beds on full-size 4x4s are so high these days.

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Fender emblems proudly call out this model's King Ranch spec.

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Every cab in the Super Duty lineup is longer, to yield more room.

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A large color TFT display sits in between an analog tachometer and speedometer in the instrument cluster.

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This uplevel King Ranch model features Western-themed leather upholstery.

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The logo of Texas' King Ranch can be found in numerous places inside and outside of the Super Duty, including on the seats and center armrest.

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There's plenty of room in the second row for workmen and their boots and hats.

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The rear seats can be flipped up to find a deployable cargo management system, useful for keeping mundane smaller items like grocery bags in place.

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Ford's backup camera system has improved and now includes backup trailer guidance.

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Ford will offer a "customer-placed" trailer camera that can be mounted atop a trailer to make backing up easier. The image shows up on in the center stack display.

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You're looking at the Super Duty's lightweight new aluminum skin.

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Ford says there is six times as much high-strength steel in this new Super Duty frame. Note how the cab is fully boxed for strength and the rear portion is open to enable easier mounting of third-party beds and boxes.

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