Ford Super Duty lineup gets punched-up MyFord Touch

It took the rough touch of a construction worker's gloved hand, but Ford got the message. In the 2013 Ford F-Series Super Duty pickups, MyFord Touch gets some redundant controls for audio and climate systems.

Ford's big story for the big trucks was the addition of Platinum trim to the F-Series Super Duty lineup for 2013. The trucks go on sale this fall. The range-topping Platinum trim is expected to appeal to just 5 percent to 10 percent of Super Duty buyers, said Brian Rathsburg, Super Duty marketing manager.

"This is sort of your Dallas truck, and the King Ranch is Houston," Rathsburg said.

But the bigger news might be the changes to MyFord Touch, a touch-screen and voice interface that some have complained makes simple systems too hard to manage. The extra panel of knobs and buttons is positioned beneath a larger eight-inch (versus the current six-inch) MyFord Touch screen on the center stack of Lariat, King Ranch and the new-for-Super Duty Platinum trim heavy-duty trucks.

Ford adds a Platinum trim level to the Super Duty lineup for the 2013 model year.

The controls have oversized knobs intended to allow easy access to things such as temperature and fan speed and audio volume. The controls are in addition to the MyFord Touch nested touch-screen buttons, voice commands and steering-wheel controls.

No word from Ford on whether similar redundant controls will be rolled out on other MyFord Touch-equipped models.

By Bob Gritzinger