For 33 consecutive years, the Ford F-150 has been America’s best selling vehicle-car, truck, SUV, basically anything with a motor that movies. Moving more than 500,000 units in an average year, the F-150 is just a sales beast, and it is only getting better.
A report by PickupTrucks.com is saying that the F-150 will be getting the new Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) 3.7 liter V6 in the near future. This is the same engine that delivers 305 horsepower and 30 MPG in the 2011 Mustang.
2009 was the first year in quite some time that you couldn’t buy an F-150 with a 6-cylinder engine. I fondly remember my father’s old F-150 with the 4.9 liter inline-6 engine. It was bullet proof and more than met my father’s contracting needs. Ford is going to offer its EcoBoost twin-turbo V6 in the F-150 as well, though this engine will likely come at a premium price. In the SHO the EcoBoost makes 365 horsepower, though it might get a nice power bump when it ends up in the F-150.
Now we shouldn’t go and expect 30 mpg from either V6 F-150. The Mustang weights about a half-ton less than the F-150 for one, and the base V6 also has a very low 2.73 rear-end gear ratio. Still, it could very well get 23 or 24 mpg if done right, which would make it quite popular among business owners who purchase it for fleet use. The 3.7 liter should show up before 2012, and Ford plans to introduce nine other new or redesigned engines this year.
Source: PickupTrucks.com | Image: Ford
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About Christopher DeMorro
Meh, ponies are ponies… how much TORQUE are we getting?
Meh, ponies are ponies… how much TORQUE are we getting?
280 ft-lbs. Not bad methinks.
280 ft-lbs. Not bad methinks.
A 3.7 liter engine is still pretty big compared to other offerings.
A 3.7 liter engine is still pretty big compared to other offerings.
My guess is that Ford will emphasize low-end torque over horsepower. Emphasizing torque will also emphasize fuel economy. It will be interesting to see
how high the truck makers can get with a full-size half-ton pick up. As of 2010 here’s how they stack
up so far (taking the best fuel economy 2WD version for each manf. from fueleconomy.gov)
Chevy/GMC: 15/22 (5.3L V8) or 21/22 (6.0L V8 hybrid)
Ford: 15/21 (4.6L V8)
Toyota: 15/20 (4.6L V8)
Dodge: 14/20 (5.7L V8 and 3.7L V6 have same ratings)
Nissan: 13/18 (5.6L V8)
Here’s where they were 10 years ago (using numbers corrected by the EPA for the their new-in-2008 calculating methods):
Chevy/GMC: 15/21 (4.3L V6 w/manual trans)
Ford: 15/19 (4.2L V6 w/manual trans)
Dodge: 14/19 (3.9L V6 auto)
Toyota: 15/18 (3.4L V6 auto or manual)
Nissan: N/A
Not a whole lot of gain in fuel economy, but they all improved while gaining torque, HP and moving to all auto transmissions.
My guess is that Ford will emphasize low-end torque over horsepower. Emphasizing torque will also emphasize fuel economy. It will be interesting to see
how high the truck makers can get with a full-size half-ton pick up. As of 2010 here’s how they stack
up so far (taking the best fuel economy 2WD version for each manf. from fueleconomy.gov)
Chevy/GMC: 15/22 (5.3L V8) or 21/22 (6.0L V8 hybrid)
Ford: 15/21 (4.6L V8)
Toyota: 15/20 (4.6L V8)
Dodge: 14/20 (5.7L V8 and 3.7L V6 have same ratings)
Nissan: 13/18 (5.6L V8)
Here’s where they were 10 years ago (using numbers corrected by the EPA for the their new-in-2008 calculating methods):
Chevy/GMC: 15/21 (4.3L V6 w/manual trans)
Ford: 15/19 (4.2L V6 w/manual trans)
Dodge: 14/19 (3.9L V6 auto)
Toyota: 15/18 (3.4L V6 auto or manual)
Nissan: N/A
Not a whole lot of gain in fuel economy, but they all improved while gaining torque, HP and moving to all auto transmissions.
The first manufacturer to get off of the ultra-powerful truck bandwagon and make a truly efficient pickup will reap great rewards. Very few people need the power they’re selling, Its mostly about people trying to feel big driving their truck.
The first manufacturer to get off of the ultra-powerful truck bandwagon and make a truly efficient pickup will reap great rewards. Very few people need the power they’re selling, Its mostly about people trying to feel big driving their truck.
If Ford really gave a damn about it they wouldn’t be dropping the ranger from their line up and only offering the F-150 as entry-level. They could squeeze the 3.7L in the ranger which has been long over due for a make over. compared to the current 4.0L they offer, the 3.7L adds nearly 90-100 hp while getting much improved mpg. Ranger has close to the same curb weight as the mustang and would hopefully see similar mpg numbers. If the Ranger suddenly came with 305hp while getting ~28mpg… no other manufacture could hold a candle to their compact truck.