The Ford F-150 pickup truck is the best-selling vehicle in the US, and the newest version gets revealed tonight

• Ford will reveal the all-new, 2021 F-150 pickup truck on Thursday evening.
• We'll be on hand to report everything about the all-important new truck.
• The F-150 has been the bestselling vehicle in the US for 43 straight years.
• But the F-150 has come under intense competitive pressure as Chevy and RAM have launched redesigned full-size pickups.
• Pickup-truck sales have held up even as the coronavirus pandemic has devastated auto sales. Ford also depends on the F-150 to bring in massive profits — critical cashflow as the company undertakes an $11-billion restructuring.

Ferraris are nice. Porsches are swell. Teslas are groovy.

But nothing compares to the Ford F-150 pickup truck, America's best-selling vehicle every single year since 1981. That's best-selling vehicle, mind you. Not pickup, which the F-150 is also the annual bestselling example of. This mighty truck outsells every sedan, SUV, and sports car in the market.

The numbers tell the tale. Ford sold almost 900,000 F-Series pickups in 2019 (of which the F-150 is the full-size contender). That total was actually down from more than 900,000 in 2018, and an indication that Ford's franchise was being pressure by brand-new trucks from Chevy and RAM. The 13th generation of the F-150 launched in 2014 and entailed considerable risk, as Ford engineered more lightweight aluminum into the construction.

The risk paid off, but the F-150, despite a 2016 refresh, was getting long in the tooth.

That why all eyes will be on Detroit this Thursday night when Ford pulls the cover off the 14th generation F-150.

"The F-Series launch is a pivotal moment for Ford," Jessica Caldwell, Executive Director of Insights at consumer auto site Edmunds, said in an email.

"This truck has been Ford's cash cow for years and a bright spot during this pandemic, but it has also been in need of a fresh redesign as the truck wars have grown more heated. Ford may have more exciting launches with the Mustang Mach-E and Bronco on the horizon, but since the F-Series is what pays the bills, Ford needs it to succeed the most to get through this economic crisis and beyond."

The F-Series indeed pays the bills. It pulls the entire Ford train, with its considerable profits in the US making up for weakness in Europe and China. The Mustang might be iconic, but the F-150 represent so much of Ford's business that Wall Street periodically suggests spinning it off as a separate company.

We'll be keeping a close eye on the reveal, scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time, so check back for photos and details on the all-new 2021 F-150 pickup truck.