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

[GManBart]

I'm carrying over a thousand pounds of tools to all my jobs (many times closer to 2000 between tools and materials) and many times wear a suit...

I have an ARE DCU aluminum cap on my work truck, carry many hundreds of pounds of tools, and sometimes as much in equipment, and I sometimes wear a suit, but that doesn't mean what I do, or what you do, is the typical use of a pickup.

Anybody can drive around and look at the pickups we see around us....the overwhelming majority aren't towing, and there's nothing in the bed.

 

[fordmantpw]

Hmm the 4.4 V8 was only a rumor, of increasing the displacement of the production 3.6 V8 in the Jag.

Anyways, the 3.6 V8 would outclass the Ecodiesel in hp (235 vs 270hp) and getting the fuel economy, together with the V8 rumble which might be a winning combo

Ford produces the 4.4L V8 for Land Rover currently. It was originally supposed to go in the F150, but Ford backed out.

 

[Sysop]

I have an ARE DCU aluminum cap on my work truck, carry many hundreds of pounds of tools, and sometimes as much in equipment, and I sometimes wear a suit, but that doesn't mean what I do, or what you do, is the typical use of a pickup.

Anybody can drive around and look at the pickups we see around us....the overwhelming majority aren't towing, and there's nothing in the bed.

I'm just making the point that just because a truck doesn't "appear" to be performing truck duties doesn't mean that it isn't. Anyone can assume anything they want, but it's never more than an assumption. Looking at the used truck market, at least in my area, I don't see many past a year or two old that look like they've been free of any work. Ones older than a year or two that don't have evidence of performing truck duties, generally have evidence of being rebuilt/restored/repaired.

 

[Garandman]

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[Sysop]

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Towing could easily be divided between the people hauling stuff for work, and the people pulling toys for "image". :laughing:

 

[GManBart]

I'm just making the point that just because a truck doesn't "appear" to be performing truck duties doesn't mean that it isn't. Anyone can assume anything they want, but it's never more than an assumption. Looking at the used truck market, at least in my area, I don't see many past a year or two old that look like they've been free of any work. Ones older than a year or two that don't have evidence of performing truck duties, generally have evidence of being rebuilt/restored/repaired.

If I drive by and the bed is empty, and there's no trailer, it's not doing "truck work." I just drove 40 miles and counted 1/2 ton pickups where I was able to see the markings and see in the bed reasonably well. There were 73 in total. 13 had a cap or tonneau cover so there's no telling what they were doing. One had a push mower in the bed, one had a pressure washer in the bed, one was a marked commercial work truck, two were pulling small boats, and one was pulling a small camper.

That works out to 54 of the 73 just puttering along with no load....and the 13 with caps and tonneau covers may have been as well.

Industry studies have shown that most half ton pickups are normally driven without a trailer, or any sort of load....they're primarily used to commute, and see occasional duty hauling or towing.
The rest were almost certainly normal commuters driving home with nothing in the bed, and nothing being towed.

 

[GManBart]

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That doesn't mean the majority of the time the vehicle is used for that purpose. Many people can't afford to have a vehicle to commute with, and a vehicle to tow their small boat/trailer with, so they buy a pickup truck to do it all. The majority of the time it's not towing or hauling, but it has the capability so it serves both purposes.

The point being is that for a very large percentage of the truck buying public, a vehicle that can still tow a reasonable load, but gets significantly better mileage will likely sell. They can save money during their normal M-F commute with no trailer or load, and still pull their boat to the lake on the weekends. That's the market for half ton diesels.

Some folks won't spend the extra to buy one, some folks don't like diesels, or aren't comfortable buying something with a diesel because they've always had gasoline engined vehicles, and they think of diesels as noisy and smelly, but some folks will look at the MPG sticker, look at the tow rating and decide it's a viable option.

 

[Renze]

Ford produces the 4.4L V8 for Land Rover currently. It was originally supposed to go in the F150, but Ford backed out.

330hp and 516 ft lbs is plenty to pull a 10 ton load. 30 years ago 330hp was all they got, to pull a 44 ton gcvw over the Alps to Italy, before the tunnels were even made. I dont know about the USA but most 12 ton box trucks used for distribution still dont have more than 240hp here. The Cummins ISB 4.5 at 220hp is still the most popular engine in this segment.

 

[Creamer]

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So 50% more people "worK" with trucks than did 20-30 years ago? Otherwise, using your logic, truck sales would not have gone through the roof.

The other trend of more passenger space and less bed indicates more work as well.

 

[Creamer]

Most people I know that drive trucks worry more about their bed getting scratched than how much it will haul and I definitely live in a rural area. Kind of like 25 years ago a higher percentage 4WD was sold in Southern California than anywhere else int he country - why because people liked to sit up and see in traffic. Most never saw a dirt road let alone trail or fields.