Since only about 10% of Super Duties roll out of Louisville with a gas engine I think it's unlikely Ford is going to offer a smaller displacement standard gas engine, even if it is an EcoBoost.

What I do see as a *possibility* is a Hybrid. Think about it, electric motors make their most torque at 0 RPM, so getting really heavy loads rolling would be easy, then throw in an Atkinson cycle V8 engine for high end horsepower and you've got a package. There's more than enough room underneath for batteries.

I have a 2011 Fusion Hybrid. Since the day I first drove that car I've thought that a scaled up drivetrain in a Super Duty would be perfect for most users, understanding that most Super Duties are sold as daily drivers with Crew Cab bodies. Yeah, it might infuriate the old-school my-truck-is-bigger-than-your-truck crowd, but face it, the federal government is forcing gas mileage standards on the auto makers and a hybrid in a Super Duty is a realistic way of meeting those standards.

Flame away, boys...

-Joe

 

Joe, can you source that?

 

Lies my salesman told me, I suppose. No official source other than what I was told by the "fleet manager" at the dealer I ordered my truck from. During our conversation where he spouted this statistic I asked if that was true only in his experience ordering trucks for a suburban dealership or was that true for the entire Super Duty line? He insisted that that was what they were told in some sort of sales meeting/launch/kickoff of something a few weeks prior to when I ordered, which was in September.

If he's wrong then *please* correct me. Not that I want to rub it in his face, but he was wrong on the build date of my truck so his credibility might not be 100%.

-Joe

 

I'd like to see a source for that as well.

Also I recall some Ford Execs stating that they were going to integrate some form of EB into every vehicle line they manufacture at some point. There were a lot of skeptics when Ford announced the addition of the EB to the F-150 lineup and we all see how well it has done.

The mentality that a truck has to have a monstrosity of an engine to be able to work is just antiquated thinking.

No flaming here and I'm not saying it wouldn't work but considering the cost difference and the abysmal take rate GM experienced when they tried it in their full-size trucks, I'd be surprised if they go to it in the near future. Of course, you may work for Ford and have some kind of inside track.

Hybrid cars have been a hit....slowly. It's going to take a lot to get the Heavy-Duty truck owners to warm up to it. Fleet owners may be volume customers for the hybrids but I don't think the majority of the Super Duty buyers out there will warm up to the idea too quickly.

 

I think that GM's abysmal take rate had more to do with pricing than anything else. They put their hybrid powertrains at the very top of their line, and many who buy top of the line trucks are less concerned with fuel economy as they are power and comfort.

I suspect that if they priced their hybrids like Ford did their EcoBoost engines things may be different.

 

The problem with that is if you look at the hybrids in virtually any lineup, you'll see they're priced significantly higher than their petroleum burning counterparts. I suspect component pricing has a lot to do with it as does market research when asking buyers what features they want the most.

The tax incentives for buying hybrids are alluring but the up front cost still has to be eaten by the purchaser. Add to that the fact that unless you trade or sell it, you'll eventually be faced with expensive battery replacement. Hopefully they'll continue to develop the technology and at some point they'll become more reasonable from a cost standpoint.

I imagine though that the take rate on a hybrid SD would be lower than that of the gas engines, not including fleet sales. And considering most fleets are now going with gas engines as opposed to diesels, I'd say the take rate on gas is a little higher than 10%.

The other issue is that GM's hybrids were only achieving an average of 1 or 2 MPG better than the full-on gas versions. It takes a lot of miles to make that payoff.

Just some info I found looking around at hybrid GMs:

Are Hybrid Pickups the Way to Go? - PickupTrucks.com News

2013 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid - HybridCars.com

Official: GM Quietly Drops Hybrid Pickups; Are SUVs Next?

GM ending hybrid pickup truck production next year | Fox News

 

I would imagine that those who are buying top of the line trucks may be interested in the "status" that goes with having a hybrid luxury pickup truck.

 

No flaming from me either. I think a hybrid would be a good option as well assuming the system can add performance and fuel economy without being overly expensive which would be the problem. I still think a 5.0 EB would be a cheaper, easier route.

 

The days of 'Hybrid' technology is already starting to fade. Some European manufacturers have already stopped using the term 'engine' and replaced it with "Power Unit". By definition, "hybrid" implies two packages merged together that were not originally designed to be used in that fashion. The "Power Unit" is completely different. Initial generations are made up of at least one ICU (Internal Combustion Unit) and several Motor Generator Units (MGU). The Motor Generator Units have a dash suffix to denote the type such as H for heat, K for Kenetic, S for solar etc. Then, there are even several versions of each of those..

For instance,
Formula 1 race cars for 2014 will have MGU-H and MGU-K units as well as a 1.6 liter V6 turbo charged engine. Together they make up a "Power Unit". Total harvesting capability is 4 megajoules per lap which equates to about 160 HP for those cars for a duration of up to 33 seconds per lap. Harvesting kenetic energy is getting more and more common these days but harvesting heat energy (from the turbo) is something relatively new. How interesting would it be to have a tow vehicle that is able to harvest K and H energy and then use it to to climb a long steep grade? I can see how an additional 50-80 hp for 190-300 seconds can sure help a heavy truck make it to the top of a hill without generating any more heat energy from the engine.

Something interesting to think about...

That makes sense. Sooner or later every gasoline engine will be direct injected...it's just a far better system IMO....

 

I'd like to see a Eco boost SD, 550/600 ft tq. Probably be one in my driveway if ford would make that.

 

I'll be in line for an EB SD (5.0/6.2/etc) if/when they come out.

Then we'll flog it, FTE style, at the Ohio meet....

 

That tiny little 3.5L will whip my truck around like a wet dishrag with 3.31 axles. A boosted gas V-8 in the SD would be a breath of fresh air not only for the SD line-up but also for the former diesel guys who abandoned their oil burner for something with gas like maintenance costs.

Ford has given up numerous SD sales to the F-150's just because an EB F-150 can pull it's tail off, just ask Tom.

This would literally be a truck that the competition could not battle against with their current gas V-8's.

 

I would've been skeptical had I not been in the truck during his pull. Impressive for sure.

 

I think ford will stick with the 6.2 for a while. The average motor lasts about 10 years so I think it will hang out for a while. There may be major upgrades but not a complete change.

I also wonder how tow numbers will be affected once they actually decide to comply with Tue new SAE standards.

 

I don't think Ford is going to do away with the 6.2. Instead, I think they're going to add another gas engine to the lineup to supplement what's already there. Look at the F-150 with four engines available. They could easily slot a 5.0 EB engine in there with higher HP and TQ ratings than the 6.2 and call it their "premium" offering as they did with the 3.5 EB in the F-150. Diversity is a good thing and would undoubtedly boost sales while not necessarily cutting too heavily into 6.7 PSD sales.

At this point, nothing would surprise me. If they're interested in staying on top, they'll have to do something though. Right now, with the 6.4 Hemi in the Ram and the newly revised 6.2 from GM, Ford is behind in the HP/TQ race among HD gas engines.