Ford to try their hand at a diesel 1/2 ton?

[crazyal]

It only makes sense that ford would do a little real world testing to see if it makes sense to sell a 1/2 ton diesel. It doesn't mean that they will though. I'm not sure if it will happening as the extra cost of the engine has to return enough of a tangible benefit or people aren't going to buy it. You can talk about the Dodge all you want but that's a moot point. What a diesel F150 will have to compare to is an eco boost F150. After all when you walk onto the dealer's lot the two will be side by side. Now if Ford can prove the diesel by using it's strong points, highway mileage and towing, over the eco-boost then they could find a market, say the RV crowd then we could see it.

 

[buickanddeere]

It only makes sense that ford would do a little real world testing to see if it makes sense to sell a 1/2 ton diesel. It doesn't mean that they will though. I'm not sure if it will happening as the extra cost of the engine has to return enough of a tangible benefit or people aren't going to buy it. You can talk about the Dodge all you want but that's a moot point. What a diesel F150 will have to compare to is an eco boost F150. After all when you walk onto the dealer's lot the two will be side by side. Now if Ford can prove the diesel by using it's strong points, highway mileage and towing, over the eco-boost then they could find a market, say the RV crowd then we could see it.

I haven't checked Ford world wide but odds are that Ford is already selling a very similar 1/2 ton truck in other countries where diesel is cheap and emissions are less stringent. Ford would not be tooling up the North American diesel 1/2 ton from scratch. Selling a few 1/2 ton diesels at a premium will make Ford some $$$.

 

[GManBart]

It only makes sense that ford would do a little real world testing to see if it makes sense to sell a 1/2 ton diesel. It doesn't mean that they will though. I'm not sure if it will happening as the extra cost of the engine has to return enough of a tangible benefit or people aren't going to buy it. You can talk about the Dodge all you want but that's a moot point. What a diesel F150 will have to compare to is an eco boost F150. After all when you walk onto the dealer's lot the two will be side by side. Now if Ford can prove the diesel by using it's strong points, highway mileage and towing, over the eco-boost then they could find a market, say the RV crowd then we could see it.

I've worked a lot with the Big-3 for the past 7 years, and know a lot of folks that work for them. I've seen the models they're testing, and they're the kind that are far beyond experimental testing. When they do true experimental work they mask them to the point you can't tell what they are. The closer they get to public release the more they remove the camo and masking. These had a small amount of camo on parts of the bed, and that's it. Also, the kind of testing they appear to have been doing wasn't the kind you'd do until you're trying to nail down your EPA numbers, etc....not what you'd do if it's not nearly a lock that they'll offer them for sale.

The reason the RAM is a very good comparison is that they're selling at twice the expected demand. People go to the dealer and have a choice....and twice as many are picking the diesel as they anticipated. If it's true for RAM, it's a good bet the demand will be at least acceptable at Ford.

 

[GManBart]

I haven't checked Ford world wide but odds are that Ford is already selling a very similar 1/2 ton truck in other countries where diesel is cheap and emissions are less stringent. Ford would not be tooling up the North American diesel 1/2 ton from scratch. Selling a few 1/2 ton diesels at a premium will make Ford some $$$.

1/2 ton trucks are almost exclusively sold in the U.S. All of Europe has emissions rules as stringent, or more stringent, than in the U.S., so that eliminates all but Africa, Asia, Central and South America, but all those places get smaller trucks than 1/2 tons.

 

[KennyG]

1/2 ton trucks are almost exclusively sold in the U.S. All of Europe has emissions rules as stringent, or more stringent, than in the U.S., so that eliminates all but Africa, Asia, Central and South America, but all those places get smaller trucks than 1/2 tons.

It's getting a little hard now to determine what a "1/2 ton" truck is. The Ranger that Ford sells almost everywhere but the US is larger than the old US Ranger, more like a Dakota in size. Some people might say a Dakota isn't a 1/2 ton truck but if mine, with a 1500 lb payload and 5000 lb towing capacity, isn't a half ton I'm not sure where the line is. On a recent trip to Europe I say quite a few Rangers. I didn't care for the styling but they looked very capable. They have a 2.2L 4 cylinder diesel and a 3.2L 5 cylinder diesel.

 

[GManBart]

It's getting a little hard now to determine what a "1/2 ton" truck is. The Ranger that Ford sells almost everywhere but the US is larger than the old US Ranger, more like a Dakota in size. Some people might say a Dakota isn't a 1/2 ton truck but if mine, with a 1500 lb payload and 5000 lb towing capacity, isn't a half ton I'm not sure where the line is. On a recent trip to Europe I say quite a few Rangers. I didn't care for the styling but they looked very capable. They have a 2.2L 4 cylinder diesel and a 3.2L 5 cylinder diesel.

The fact that current 1/2 ton trucks are actually capable of much more than 1/2 ton loads makes things a little more complicated, but any way we look at it, the rest of the world doesn't get what we call a 1/2 ton truck. We call the F150, Ram 1500, Sierra/Silverado 1500 and Toyota Tundra 1/2 ton trucks. Generally speaking, they aren't sold anywhere else.

 

[Renze]

The fact that current 1/2 ton trucks are actually capable of much more than 1/2 ton loads makes things a little more complicated, but any way we look at it, the rest of the world doesn't get what we call a 1/2 ton truck. We call the F150, Ram 1500, Sierra/Silverado 1500 and Toyota Tundra 1/2 ton trucks. Generally speaking, they aren't sold anywhere else.

The 3.5 ton Sprinter has a load capacity of a ton, but gets dressed up with smaller rims with taller rubber and is sold as a 3/4 ton in the US. The 5 ton Sprinter with its 2.4 ton load rating gets the same treatment (195/65r16 tires in Europe, 205/70r15 in the USA) and is sold as a one ton truck.

Then again, the 1975 VW Golf was lighter and smaller than the current supermini, the VW UP! . Inbetween the Golf and UP! you also have the Polo, introduced in the late 80s to fill the void that the ever growing Golf left.

....the current Golf in its turn, is bigger and packs a bigger engine displacement than the 1973 Passat

 

[crazyal]

I've worked a lot with the Big-3 for the past 7 years, and know a lot of folks that work for them. I've seen the models they're testing, and they're the kind that are far beyond experimental testing. When they do true experimental work they mask them to the point you can't tell what they are. The closer they get to public release the more they remove the camo and masking. These had a small amount of camo on parts of the bed, and that's it. Also, the kind of testing they appear to have been doing wasn't the kind you'd do until you're trying to nail down your EPA numbers, etc....not what you'd do if it's not nearly a lock that they'll offer them for sale.

The reason the RAM is a very good comparison is that they're selling at twice the expected demand. People go to the dealer and have a choice....and twice as many are picking the diesel as they anticipated. If it's true for RAM, it's a good bet the demand will be at least acceptable at Ford.

I have no idea what the demand is today but last year demand was actually dropping off. Dodge was expecting 20% of Ram sales to be diesels but were only at 12%. Again this year could be different.

My point was if you are the type of person who doesn't have one brand you will only buy you are going to go from dealer to dealer. When you get to a lot you are going to pick out a model or two that best fits your needs/ wants of the brand they sell and add it to your list. Then you will take your model list from all the brands and compare them. When most people look at a diesel F150 and an eco boost and see the $3k premium they are going to look at the mpg difference. They could take both on a test ride but without hooking up to a trailer they are just going to go off of the published numbers and the seat of their pants while driving an empty truck. They might read up reviews between the two as well but plenty will wait until they have their finalist list and just read up on those. In the end the diesel will need to stand out otherwise most people will not include it in their list. To most they are going to want to see it financially make sense (MPG and resale value).

I'm not saying Ford hasn't made the decision and this fall we could see a diesel F150. But I can remember all the reports of a diesel Tundra going to be made. First it was using an engine from their Hino line (actually had them on display) and then the Cummins (more rumors). With new diesels in the US I count on nothing until it's actually on a dealer's lot.

 

[Creamer]

I can tell you that my company has a contract for fuel tank straps for an F150 diesel. Not sure yet of the launch timing. It is definitely in the plan for production. I am not sure what engine but talk is that it is a Ford Europe Diesel.

 

[Renze]

talk is that it is a Ford Europe Diesel.

Ford AJD-V6/PSA DT17 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Possible candidates are 3.0 V6, or 3.6 and 4.4 V8.

The 3.2 inline 5 of the transit wont cut it with just 200hp.