Just out of plain curiosity. What do you think the future holds for us? For example will you even be able to get a V8 powered F-150 in 2020? Will V6's ultimately replace V8's? And will I4's Replace V6's? Or do you think that V8's will continue to live on as a high tech fuel efficient new generation of V8, even after the CAFE regulations kick in? Personally I'm hoping for the latter. I know Ford wants the Ecoboost to be successful and Unless the engine just completely bombs I'm pretty sure it will be. But I'm a V8 person myself I just don't want a V6 Thats just the way I was raised...Sorry but that's just a fact for me. But I'm not so much so that even If I couldn't get a V8 I would go to another brand. Hell no. Its Ford for me. I know one' things for sure I'm going to buy a 2011 F-150 FX4 with a 5.0L around June of 2011 And I intend to keep it for 15 or 20 years. And if at that time down the road Ford does not offer a 1/2ton V8 I will be looking at 3/4 ton's of the time. The only thing that would make me consider a V6 is if there were absolutely no V8's offered what so ever and my only other option was an I4. Personally I think it would be unwise of Ford or any other automaker to take a V8 completely out of the equation because I know alot of people feel the same way I do. But its really to hard to say for sure what the future holds at this point, But if you got an opinion share it!

 

I share alot of your sentiments. For me a big truck either got to have an i6 or a v8. But we have to take care of the world we live in.. I can see 2020 having more electric powered vehicles even trucks to... Also diesel v6 trucks are showing up like the Euro Frontier with plenty of power and massive tq and great milage.
One thing i do think is that big halftonners could (should?) merge with say 3/4 tonners. Doesnt make sense to have a massive truck with a big V8 that strugfgles with 900lbs like some 4x4 double cabs seem to do even if they can tow 10k lbs... Just my 2c...

 

I see America's future moving more towards that of modern day Europe. Here in the States, trucks rule the earth. In Europe they are built for work and not nearly as stylish.

Eventually the EPA will cut the automakers throats and cafe standards will be absolutely rediculous and unobtainable. And or, gas will be so fricken high that a truck will out live it's usefulness and we'll all be driving little Mahindra style trucks.

 

Rangers for everyone!

I'm hoping that if the Mahindra diesels do well then the big 3 will be willing to add diesels to their sub-3/4 trucks.

 

In terms of engines for under 8500 GVWR trucks, you are subject to CAFE and air quality standards.

Which means V8's will eventually go the way of the dodo, if all the upper crust bred, snickering Ivy League know-it-alls currently ruling the country will have their way.

These people have never gotten their hands dirty, and never had to tow 15k lbs during a rainstorm, therefore the cannot possibly understand why anybody would want to tow that much.

But, boy, they sure do enjoy their BMW and Benz V8 and V12's with gobs of horsepower. The thing is, that BMW and Benz just pay the fine for their fuel economy violations. They don't care.

Buy it now while you can, and nurse it along for 20 years. Forget the EcoToot. Get the V8, in either the F150 or SuperDuty.

The US Tier 2 standards are actually more stringent then Europes

See this for the US standards.

And this for the European standards.

Enjoy your EcoToot.

 

There will be plenty of warning before any of this actually takes place, IMHO. It will be opportunity to drive sales for a year or two.

 

That settles it..............I'm going out and buying 500 light bulbs right now!

 

Without a major break through in engine tech, it will be very hard to have 1/2 ton trucks like we currently have. Even with hybrid tech (which I am very much for in trucks), it will be almost impossible to meet the 47-62MPG proposed requirement. Heck, the mother in law's Prius "only" gets 40s consistantly.

As to the near future, I say bring on the turbo 6s. I could not care less how the cylinders are arranged as long as it gets the job done. I'm very excited about the Ecoboost engines. It makes nearly the same amount of torque as the 6.2 at about 2000RPM less. I've seen some stuff that states max torque from 1700-5000RPM. That's on 87 octane. Throw in the 93 and a tuner and who knows what will happen. Turbocharging the gas engine is long overdue and we're approaching diesel power with sub 4 liter engines.

However I'm sure that some will not like the Ecoboost engines simply because Eco is in the name.

Mike

 

I agree with you, Its people that don't really USE a V8 that are trying to make it go down with the dinosaurs. But I'm not completely convinced that that V8's are on a non stop crash course towards extinction. For example...And as much as I hate to admit this, I think GM has the right Idea. They are currently working on their GEN V Vortec V8 engines which will be offered in the new Silverado's and even some sedan's in their lineup. The truth is modern V8's really don't get all that bad of fuel economy. I've seen 5.4L and 5.3L (Not towing of course) get 21-23mpg on the highway and that's about the same numbers Ford is projecting for the 3.5L EB highway mileage. And another thing that should be mentioned is that now that a Few web sites have done media drive's of the 2011 F-150's and posted their thoughts and notes on the trucks. I've noticed that the Ecoboost gets considerably less MPG when towing vs the 6.2L or 5.0L, While towing around 6,000lbs one site reported the Ecoboost getting an average of 8.9mpg And the 6.2L towing the same load was getting just above 10mpg. The Ecoboost is slightly faster than the 6.2L in 0-60mph sprints and gets a few MPG better with unloaded highway miles. But that's about it.

2011 F-150 FX2 Crew Cab Ecoboost
0-60 = 6.8 seconds

2011 F-150 Harley Davidson 6.2L
0-60 = 7.1 seconds.

I also think part of the problem is that Trucks have gotten so heavy in the past 10 years. I use to have a 1990 F-150 ext cab lariat with a 5.0L V8 and that truck at its heaviest could not have weighed more than 4500lbs. Today a Regular cab F-150 2WD with a 4.6L weighs closer to 5,000lbs than my old Extended cab 1990 did.

But here's what I think might be the saving grace for the V8 engine. In the next 3 to 5 years GM will be putting out their GEN V V8's which from what I understand have a state of the art fuel injection system that's supposed to keep emissons low and fuel economy as well as power realtivly high and are all made of light weight aluminum.

And Ford is also has another trick up its sleeves that alot of people have not heard of yet. But from what I understand Ford is working on a new chassis for next gen F-150 slated to be released around 2014 or so. This new chassis is said to greatly reduce the weight of the F-150 while still allowing it to keep its high towing and hauling capacity.

So just imagine, If advanced Fuel Injection and Light Weight chassis came in to play. If a modern day truck weighing 5500lbs or more with a common day V8 can get at least 20mpg, Imagine the possibility's if they had new advanced V8's and 1,000 less pounds or more to shuffle around.

 

I have always wonder what would happen mileage wise if you replaced all the body panels and dash with carbon fiber (Price would hit 6 figures probably ) and I don't know if the frame could be made out of carbon fiber and still tow as much if not more then the current frames.

 

The very little bit of information I got on the new chassis is that they are talking about using high grade aluminum for it. And as far the Body panels and interior parts go, I don't think we'll be seeing Carbon fiber anytime soon. Your right It would raise the price of the truck to ridiculous levels.

 

My first thoughts were them going to unibody. Dunno how good an aluminum frame would work, i will just have to wait and see.

 

With Ford terminating the Ranger and no replacement is sight, the F-150 will have to be able to wear two or more different hats in order for Ford to prove that they made the right decision.

The truck will have to be as economical as the ranger, as agile and competitively priced. If they can pull that off, then I say they have truly built a truck for everyone.

 

This is an interesting discussion…………I’m primarily a diesel guy with a 2001 7.3L, however I do own a “gasp” 2001 tundra as well as a hunting rig (don’t laugh it’s paid for, runs great and hasn’t totally rusted out yet…….yet)……..I would love to eventually swap that for a Ranger with a stick and a 4 banger and 4WD, problem is, it doesn’t really exist on the new market and it doesn’t look like it will in the future.

I’m actually pretty excited by the small *** normally aspirated V-6 being offered in the 2011 F-150. I don’t need to tow with a ½ ton as that is what the diesel is for, but I do need to carry gear, dogs, people etc. for hunting trips and I like the idea of getting 21+ mpg in a full sized truck. The V-6 EcoBoost, while a cool idea I guess seems like it is more up the tuners’ ally than most Ford truck buyers. I don’t care what Ford says about maintenance, you can’t convince me that two turbos and all the hoses, wiring, sensors, and crap that comes along with them will not need more maintenance than a tried and true NA V-8………I’ll believe it in 2017 when we know what the first 200K miles looks like on these trucks.

 

No it will be early 2012 to mid 2012 when we start hearing about the first 200K miles.
I have seen more then a few guys who travel for work rack up miles at rates that Big Rigs have to respect.