Aren't you going to be loosing all of the extra MPG in diesel fuel which is now over $5 a gallon where I live??? If my '06 F150 were a diesel it would cost $135 to fill up right now, and lets face it...its not getting cheaper. From what I'm hearing with all of the emissions stuff on the new diesels, it's killing thier MPG! I really don't see where you're gonna be saving that much money from gas to diesel....but I haven't done all of the math. Should be interesting though....hope they sell good!

 

I'm going to have to agree on this one. After all the extra $$$ you would have to shell out just to buy it, and the extra $1.00 per gallon that I see right now, and the extra maintainance costs. I really can't see the Diesel being more cost effective than the gas counterpart.

IMO if a person needs more than ability to tow than a gasser "1/2" can tow they should step up to a "3/4" ton. You get better brakes, rear ends,frame etc
.

 

thats just cause you guys are gas guys, diesels will still sell. if ford had a f150 with a diesel in it when i bought my truck thats what i would have bought instead of my f350, i was just looking at diesels and thats the best one that came up in the time frame i had to buy a truck, luckily its turned out to be a great buy!

 

It has nothing to do with being a "gas guy" or not, I used to own a 7.3, I loved it...wish I still had it at times....I love diesels! I just can't afford one now! It all comes down to money, being a whole lot more up front, more maintence $, and more to fill up the tank. Granted it will out tow any 5.4 out there, and have higher resale down the road.

 

IMO now is a wrong time to release diesel 1/2 tons. In my area diesel is $5.00 a gal and gas is $3.90 a gallon. At least a smart consumer will look at that before buying a diesel 1/2 ton. 2000-2002 would have been a better time to release a 1/2 ton diesel.

 

Theres more to a drivetrain than just the engine and transmission, you guys and your D/A. What good is a POSSIBLE 25% increase in milegae when you pay over $1.00 more per gallon of fuel, have expensive filters, oil changes and etc. It is still safer towing a larger trailer with a beefier 3/4+ ton truck than a 1/2 ton. The f-150 is already pretty close to the F-250SD in tow ratings, you keep making the 1/2 tons bigger and there won't be much of a difference anymore.

 

well 2 throw a tidbit in
the ford dealers and REPS chased me away last year when they wouldn’t deal with my 03 F350 all they wanted to do was trade it in fer the new one and at $10,000.00 more the Chevy my warranty was running out so i jumped!!
now with my 07 Chevy k2500 Silverado i cant complain about the power the tow and go is as good as the F350 "though the looks are lacking"
my thoughts are that Chevy GMC etc needs to spend their monies on a front axle that can handle a day of off roading!!!

 

I tend to agree... the worldwide trend (well at least outside the US) to move to diesel vehicles has kept the price of diesel high, as has the inelasticity of the diesel market.
I think if you give it another year-18months for the transport industry to be hit HARD by the cost of diesel, and for them to become more efficient (and for the transport industry to be used less), that the price of diesel with become more inline with the price of gas.

I don't think it will ever hit parity again though…


It is one of the unfortunate facts in the auto industry, with a ~5 year lead time between product conception and reality, that a lot of outside influences can change why you originally chose a product.
Often the success can be more related to good luck than management. I know Toyota and Honda won't be complaining a whole lot about the current price issue in the US though...

 

Right now if I was Ford I would be putting effort and money into the Ranger pick-ups due to the high fuel prices. Ford needs to come out with a more fuel efficient ranger. Maybe shove an inline 4cyl. diesel in it similar to the Volkswagen TDI or something, but still have decent power. They should shoot for 30+mpg around town. If a solid, reliable and efficient small pickup is out there both personal and business consumers should eat it up, because having a truck bed comes in handy for a lot of things. Ford is making the F-150 its cash cow and depending on it to bring in money, but I predict people downsizing if they can to save money at the pump. The most fuel efficient ranger sized truck I've seen is the Tacoma 2.7l 4cyl and it still puts out better power than the current 3.0l V6 in the ranger. I like trucks don't really want to have to buy a car for mileage.

 

No I'm pretty sure that's all there is to a drivetrain.

If it's usch a bad idea - why is Ford doing it? A 25% increase in mpg puts a 1/2 ton pickup in the the mid to high 20mpg. With the higher hp/tq - why not? Of course price of that option might be a killer.

The F150 is not close to the new SD. Kinda suprised non of the SD guys jumped in on that. I mean come on.

 

Agreed - mine is finially starting to wear on me in reagards to looks. SFA would be a nice option if it was out there.

 

A 25% gain in fuel efficiency from the 13-17 ratings on the 5.4 will ony be 17.5 and 21.25 MPG.

That's not going to be good enough to warrant payback on just the Diesel Engine alone.
Throw in the fact that diesel is 25% more than gas to begin with and the huge cost of diesel service and this new diesel is a loser before it even hits the market.

The added cost of the diesel engine in the 1/2 ton is going to price it near a SD.
Cafe standards have ruined the diesel engine. it's time for smaller gassers or dual hybrid technology and a slightly smaller truck 1/2 ton F150.

 

Dodge aint bumping the size.. cummins are

 

Guys with Chevy 1/2 tons already get that mileage. I did not reailze the 5.4 did so pooly on mpg

 

Fords doing it because everyone else is, bad idea or not. A diesel in a 1/2 ton should have been brought out ten years ago, not now. Did you notice that truck sales have drastically declined in past months? Did you notice that Diesel is $1.00 more per gal than Diesel in many places?

The F-150s and F-250SD are pretty close in size physically. Towing ratings between the two are getting closer and closer as the model years progress, there is still a gap in ratings but...... There is a gap in payload but again it keeps getting closer as it progresses. I just don't see the point in having an F-150 that is that close to a SD. An F-150 is also super close in price to the F-250SD, about $750 difference gasser to gasser. Convential towing between a similar equipped F-150 and F-250SD is about 3500lbs, not too far off.

Engine, transmission, transfer case, front/rear axles and etc, all part of a drivetrain where I come from.