Ford Promotes V-6 engine in F-150s

Ford Motor Company is promoting a new high-tech, 6-cylinder engine in its best-selling
F-Series pickups. This fall, Ford is slated to introduce a 300-hp V-6 and a new six-speed
transmission in its F-150 pickups, the No. 1 seller in a market in which eight cylinders
still rule, The Wall Street Journal reports. And for the first time, Ford will
offer a V-6 in its popular Crew Cab model, which accounts for 60 percent of all F-150
sales. While Ford in the past has offered V-6 engines only in basic, two-door F-150’s, the
auto maker plans to start marketing F-150s with a 3.5-liter “Ecoboost” V-6 – powerful
enough to tow an 11,300-pound trailer – that gets up to 20 percent better fuel economy than
a V-8 with comparable power, F-150 Marketing Manager Mark Grueber told The Journal. Behind
the move is an attempt by Ford to hedge the risk that its highly profitable vehicle line
could get battered by another run-up in gasoline prices, and the fact that the manufacturer
also must meet federal fuel-economy rules that will steadily ratchet up the minimum mileage
required by all vehicles. In 2009, Ford sold more than 500,000 F-Series trucks – the
best-selling U.S. model line for 28 years – and sales were up nearly 35 percent through the
end of July. Story courtesy of RV
Business.