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

[Renze]

Maybe they cannot be used for cargo but they could haul supplies home from a store. 3500 kg = 7700 lbs which is a high GVW for an F150.

To haul supplies from a store, a VW Caddy or Peugeot Partner are the weapon of choice. No chance of loss or theft or rain damage in the enclosed body, easier loading height, 800kg load capacity and 2 ton loaded weight. With the 2 liter 140hp TDI a Caddy will run circles around an F150 gasser of twice the weight and similar torque figures. And run 5 to 6 liter per 100km depending on cargo load.

The concept of a pickup wont catch here, especially now it's the law that you need to cover all open cargo with a net.

 

[Renze]

...and dont forget that the road tax for the added 1000kg of dead weight over a Caddy or Partner is costing a 1000 euro annually, and fuel to haul that weight around also adds up. I pay 1.15 euro per liter for Diesel. Gas is 1.50 or so.

 

[Garandman]

//With the 2 liter 140hp TDI a Caddy will run circles around an F150 gasser of twice the weight and similar torque figures. //

Or, not. O-60 in over 10 seconds? :laughing:

VW is 15th among US brands in sales and because of the diesel debacle, sales are down 10-20% compared to last year.

The Mercedes Metris van is new to the US market, but VW has no vehicles here but cars and a couple of wagons.

 

[Agvg]

The concept of a pickup wont catch here, especially now it's the law that you need to cover all open cargo with a net.

Well, here in scandinavia pickups are quite common, many people needs 4WD and low range gearbox and very few vans has a low range gear box.

 

[buickanddeere]

At least the Mercedes Metris is a real vehicle with RWD or Four Wheel Drive instead of a Front Wheel Drive weenie wagon econo mini van made to haul groceries .

 

[Garandman]

Ford has a Metris-size van sold in Mexico and Europe but not here. When we looked at the Sprinter it was more expensive and less useful than the Ford Transit, which is now outselling it by 5X or more. The Fiat Ducato AKA Ram Promaster has modest sales as well.

Transit 64,000.
Express & GMC 37,000
Econoline 22,000
Transit Connect 17,000
Ram 14,000
Sprinter 10,000
Metris 2,200

So put together Ford sold 103,000 of the 155,000 market. Two of three.

In pickups Ford 324,000 GM 312,000, RAM 193,000 ytd.

Top 11 Best-Selling Pickup Trucks In America - May 216 YTD - GOOD CAR BAD CAR

 

[Diamondpilot]

Ford has a Metris-size van sold in Mexico and Europe but not here. When we looked at the Sprinter it was more expensive and less useful than the Ford Transit, which is now outselling it by 5X or more. The Fiat Ducato AKA Ram Promaster has modest sales as well. Transit 64,000. Express & GMC 37,000 Econoline 22,000 Transit Connect 17,000 Ram 14,000 Sprinter 10,000 Metris 2,200 So put together Ford sold 103,000 of the 155,000 market. Two of three. In pickups Ford 324,000 GM 312,000, RAM 193,000 ytd. Top 11 Best-Selling Pickup Trucks In America - May 216 YTD - GOOD CAR BAD CAR

I can't believe how much market share Ram has. I remember just 10 years ago they were only doing 75,000 a year.

Chris

 

[RollingsFarms]

I can't believe how much market share Ram has. I remember just 10 years ago they were only doing 75,000 a year. Chris

The problem is their quality hasn't improved all that much, in the 1/2 tons anyways. It's gotten better compared to when they used to be Dodge but they are still not on par with GM, Ford and Toyota. FIAT doesn't exactly have the best reputation when it comes to quality either.

 

[Renze]

Or, not. O-60 in over 10 seconds? :laughing:

Its a truck, not a mustang ! Who cares about 280hp at 6200rpm, and 253 ft-lbs at 4250rpm (of the basic 3.5 V6) in a work truck, when you can have 236 ft-lb at 1600rpm ?
When both driven economically (at half their max rpm, 3000 for the F150 and 2000 for the Caddy) the Caddy will be as quick, if not quicker, than the F150. Aside of that, it will do so with half the fuel consumption. The only thing the F150 does better than a Caddy, is to compensate manhood.

The Mercedes Metris van is new to the US market, but VW has no vehicles here but cars and a couple of wagons.

Mercedes-Benz Vito - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Metris is known as Vito here, after its production site in Vittorio, Spain. Mercedes bought this Van plant in 1981, which produced a licensed mother of all minivans (DKW schnellaster) with a Benz engine, and sold this as their MB 100 along their very popular Bremer Transporter Mercedes-Benz TN - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In 1996 the plant in Bremen (which by the way was aquired out of the bankruptcy of Hanomag: Mercedes got their hands on an LCV) quit the LCVs and focused on the C-class passenger car, and the Vittorio plant was to become the only location for production of the new Vito van.

The first generation and its facelifted version were front wheel drives, prone to bust CV joints. The 2nd generation was a clean sheet design with rear wheel drive as we know it today. As with all Southern European factories, the rust protection is still a bit poor (compared to a German built Sprinter, or a VW Transporter) but you guys are already used to that from the US built Sprinters.

Too bad you guys dont get the 2.2 liter diesels, they are great engines, redline at 4200rpm but i drive the sprinter at work between 1500-2000rpm in usual traffic flow (though its a heavier vehicle). It really feels like a bigger engine, like the old IDI 2.7 inline 5 of the 1st gen Sprinter. The only drawback of the huge torque in a little 4 banger is the vibration below 1500rpm.

 

[Renze]

Well, here in scandinavia pickups are quite common, many people needs 4WD and low range gearbox and very few vans has a low range gear box.

You Nordic folks are an exception to mainland Europe... But most pickup trucks i've seen during trips to Norway, Sweden and Finland, were Toyota HiLux, Isuzu Dmax and Mitsubishi L200, or Ford Ranger sized pickups. F-150 sized pickups are as scarce in the Nordic countries as here on the mainland, i think... ?

Our highway maintenance department also uses L200's as inspection vehicles. they use the open bed mostly to pickup lost cargo or blown tires from the road, and they have 4wd to get a little along the roadsides.. And owners of beach bars use them to drive to work in the dunes.