Zeck Ford

To earn a 2011 TOP SAFETY PICK designation from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), the large Ford F-150 pickup truck had to earn the highest possible ratings in the Institute's perennial front-, side-, and rear-crash evaluations. It also had to be equipped with standard electronic stability control.

While this is all very impressive, there is one area in which the Ford F-150 really stands out from the crowd. That is the IIHS…

According to Ford, 50 percent of F-Series truck owners regularly tow trailers. Between boaters', contractors', landscapers' and adventure enthusiasts', 50 percent sounds about right. And Ford just made all of their lives a little bit easier.

The auto maker recently announced the first-ever towing and off-roading app for pickup trucks. The app, which is exclusive to the Ford F-Series lineup... at least for now, is not the conventional app you're probably thinking of. It…