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.
