I find this hard to understand. We use our truck very easily. I don't NEED a bigger V8 to pull a boat or trailer I don't have.
Actually, we trailered our 65 Pontiac GTO from my brother's house to mine and was effortless.
I just like the simplicity of the V6 platform. Maybe I am the weird one here...

 

Gotta agree...Just recently traded my trusty 97(4.2) for an 07(4.2). I did some research and figure Ford dropped the 6 banger in 08.Mine is an XL,LWB with an automatic tranny,and it aint no powerhouse,but the old 97 did things that I would have never expected it could handle.IF the 07 follows suit,Itll be in my family for a LONG time...Guess there wasnt a big demand for the V-6...

 

in my opinion, the v-6 was axed due to the inprovement of efficiency of the 2v 4.6 v8, more plausible is the fact that the 4.2 is "old engine technology and the only technical item that was added was the IMRC, while the block and internals remained the same, back in 97 the 4.2 was an efficient improvement over the 300 L6 and the faithful mourned the loss of that engine. but I agree Ford should keep a v6 option for those who dont need the power. Hey Ford! how about that ecoboost engine in an xlt sport with a M5OD2 and 3.55 LSD.

 

It seems to me the V8 was rated as high of mpg as the V6 was for several years. This is also true with chevy - thier 5.3 actually had same/better numbers than the smaller 8 or 6. There just isnt a need for a smaller motor if the bigger one can get the same mpg and have the power there if you need it I guess.

I agree the 4.2L was a good little motor, and the truck could get around just fine. But it couldnt tow much at all this I know. For some thats not a big deal. I didnt plan on pulling anything myself, but now after about 10 years with my 4.2 I want to get a 26-30' camper and possibly a boat in that size too. The 4.2L is still going strong though, and I'll probably continue to drive the 150 this winter and keep the salt of the new rig for its first year.

 

The 4.2 was not an overhead cam engine, and Ford adopted a policy to move to overhead cams on everything. (I don't agree that OHC is needed on a gutsy truck motor myself.) And, the 3.8, which was the basis of the 4.2, was introduced in 1982--so it's old tech.

They killed the Freestar, which was the last vehicle using the 4.2 (and 3.9) aside from the F150. (They also used to use the 4.2 in the Econoline but killed that circa 2003.) So, they took this opportunity to close the Essex, Ontario plant that made the 3.8/3.9/4.2... The V8's would not have fit into the Freestar easily, but the pickups are not a problem.

We'll see how the smaller OHC V6 motors, with Ecoboost, work in the F150.

George