The Burj Khalifa stands tall dominating the Dubai skyline. At 2,716 feet, it’s the tallest building in the world. The second, third, and fourth tallest are, respectively, the Shanghai Tower (2,073 feet), Makkah Royal Clock Tower (1,972 feet), and Ping An Finance Center (1,965 feet). Together, they amount to 8,726 feet of skyscraper.
Add that amount to the total height of of rest of the top nine tallest buildings in the world and you still fall short of where you need to be to measure how many feet of paper Ford will be saving by converting the owners manual of the 2021 Ford F-150 to an all-digital format. That’s not end-to-end, that’s stacked one page on top of the next.
Ford’s advanced technology allows for over-the-air updates making owner’s manual supplements unnecessary as well.
Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company
Ford’s version of the supplemental guide was destined to account for 290 tons of paper used each year. That’s the equivalent to the weight of 122 F-150s, saving around 3,100 trees per year from the slaughter. The Lorax would be proud.
What will owners use as a reference tool now? The owner’s manual isn’t going away completely. Ford will house a digital version of it inside the F-150’s infotainment touch screen.
The new feature allows users to search the manual using keywords, find out the traditional information that they’d need to look up in a paper manual, and stream videos for help. Additionally, the standard Wi-Fi connection and ability to receive over-the-air updates in the F-150 will allow Ford to update the manual rather than send out mailed supplements that would traditionally be squeezed into the glove box alongside a paper manual between some extra napkins and up against a tire pressure gauge.
By now, most automakers have set goals for how to become more sustainable companies. In June, Ford made news by committing to become a carbon neutral company. Along with committing to using renewable energy, the company is adhering to the conditions laid out in the Paris Climate Accord, and working to upcycle materials into vehicles.
