2015 Ford F-150’s LED headlamps are a first for pickups, last 5 times longer

Updated Mar 27, 2014

Not only is the 2015 F-150 lighter, more powerful, equipped with better seats and rust-proof, Ford says it’s the first light duty pickup with LED headlamps.

Designed by a team of lighting experts led by John Teodecki, the F-150’s LED headlamps use 63 percent less energy and they’re more durable, lasting five times longer than conventional halogen headlamps.

Ford lighting designer John TeodeckiFord lighting designer John Teodecki

“We fire stones at this headlamp, expose it to extreme sun, soak it in saltwater, shoot rocks, rock salt and ice—this thing is very tough to crack,” Teodecki says.

Teodecki and his design team partnered with lighting developers OSRAM and Flex-N-Gate to develop a new headlamp technology entirely for the F-150. The result was a much smaller headlamp that packs quite a punch.

These new LED headlamps are so powerful that only one is required per side. The headlamps incorporate a unique lens that uses 16 optical surfaces and 80 facets to magnify and spread light evenly.

The design was completed with an LED tube that acts as an identifier for the F-150 even at great distances.

“Remember the craze in the 1980s with truck light bars?” Teodecki asked. “I’m telling you, this LED light tube is going to be the next big thing. Our new F-150 owners will be longing for dusk every day, just to show off their trucks in dramatic lighting.”