Ford F-150 Atlas

Ford Motor Co., trying to fend off new pickups from competitors aimed at its top-selling F-Series, showed an F-150 prototype with features that boost fuel economy and foreshadow its future for the segment.

The Ford Atlas concept truck has active grille and wheel shutters and a front spoiler that drops down at highway speeds to improve aerodynamics, Raj Nair, group vice president of global product development, said today at a press conference at Joe Louis Arena, near the site of this week's Detroit auto show. Those new technologies boost fuel economy by 2 miles (3 kilometers) per gallon.