Ford Shows Off The Patented Max Recline Seats For The New F-150

Ford knows when truck buyers work out of their trucks, they need room for working, and at times for resting while on the go. The automaker is showing off it's all-new Max Recline Seats that are available on the all-new F-150 pickup. Max Recline Seats are class-exclusive and available on the F-150 truck and bring the ability to fold flat to nearly 180 degrees.

The feature raises the seat bottom for lower back support while the upper seatback can be rotated for neck comfort. Ford has been granted five patents on the Max Recline Seats, which will be offered on King Ranch, Platinum, and Limited F-150 trucks starting in the 2021 model year. Ford seat design and release engineer Ben Kulhawik says that the seats were inspired by adjustable beds you see on TV.

Ford's goal was to make customers more comfortable when they are resting in the cab of the truck. Kulhawik says that since F-150 customers are constantly on the road or at a job site, being able to grab a few minutes of rest during the day is a boost to productivity. Ford's fancy new seats were the idea of the comfort team who went into the field with customers to see how to use the pickups in everyday daily living.

That team produced hundreds of hours of video and thousands of photos while observing people and noting their product pain points. The seats provide customers a place to nap between jobs or a comfortable place to sleep at a campsite. The seat mechanism lifts the back half of the seat bottom 3.5 inches to make a flat surface to support the lower back.

The upper seatback can be moved forward for neck support. The seats have no additional motors. Rather they use a simple mechanism relying on the customer moving the seatback via the power recline function.