It’s not just a groundbreaking vehicle. It’s not just a leader in design and innovation. The Ford F-150 is more than that; in fact, it’s the North American Truck Of The Year. Selected by a large panel of North American-based auto writers, the F-150 started off the year with plenty of questions but is enjoying sales and accolades along with its new aluminum frame. From USA Today:

Ford Motor’s aluminum-body 2015 F-150 pickup won the North American Truck of the Year award by topping the votes of the independent, 57-member jury of U.S. and Canadian auto writers and editors.

The Ford is first standard-duty pickup to use an aluminum body, which cuts weight for better mileage and greater towing and hauling capabilities. It also drives more nimbly than most pickups.It went on sale in November.

It was the eighth time Ford has won the truck trophy in the award’s 22-year history, and the fourth time for F-150.

Tangential to this, Ford has announced that it will focus its aluminum efforts on its truck line rather than both cars and trucks. Ford believes there are other ways to maximize fuel efficiency without an aluminum body; however, we’ll see how closely they stick to this as other auto manufacturers have done quite well with an aluminum body on their cars (hello, Tesla).