I dont know how old you are, but it wasnt that long ago that trucks didnt have, or NEED to have 300+ horsepower.

Look at basically the beginning of time through the late 90's. You did not find a truck (half ton, 3/4 ton, 1 ton) with an engine with much more than 220 HP. Even the 460 big block maxxed out at 220 hp. And under 300 ft/lb of torque.

The non-turbo 6.9 and 7.3 IDI diesel had under 200 hp...

And most of these were coupled with 3 speed auto's.

How on earth did we get by? Fact is, we did... and did just fine. You dont need 300, 400 hp in a truck... if you do, you are doing something wrong. Especially something like a bronco

 

Maybe OJ would have gotten away if he had 400hp in his white bronco

 

just keeping it real

Ford has the premier offroad truck and they sell everyone one on the lot. people buy the raptor for: status, the name, the offroad performance,

the new raptor should be 500 lighter than the current. a 5.0 in the new raptor should be on par or out perform the current raptor.
my vote is that it will get an ecoboost 3.5 with maybe an exhaust upgrade or higher octane requirement to give it a premium type engine.

ford has gone thru great efforts to lighten the f150 to get better mpg, why would they invest in a turbo ecoboost v-8? make no sense.
the f250/350 do not have regulated mpg like the f150, most fleet f250/350 owner do not consider mpg an issue, it is the cost of doing business. they want a reliable, tuff, bullet proof motor that the employees can abuse and it comesback for more....the 6.2

detroit is not into turbo, v-8, gas engines. gt500, ford gt, corvette zr1, new corvette z06, ford lightning, 03 cobras, aftermarket roush mustangs, saleen mustangs, callaway, see a partern?

 

For now. It's coming soon.

 

Oh, how far from the truth that is! Fleet buyers look at total cost of ownership, which includes MPG as well as many other factors.

And fuel economy regulations ARE coming to F250 and up. I'm not sure of the details at the moment, but they are coming.

 

The 1996 F350 with the 7.5L (460) was rated at 245 hp at 4,000 rpm's and 395 ft lbs at 2,400 rpm's. And, I am pretty sure it was a little underrated. My parents had a 4 door dually that would smoke the tires and out tow any diesel on the road for several years.

 

if mpg sold 3/4 and 1 ton truck the 5.0 would be an option.
i have a hard time believing that a 5.0 ecoboost would get much better mpg than a standard 6.2, more power yes, but not needed. dont confuse the superduty customer with the typical consumer. I have both, the superduty is a capable , good work truck, the ride will beat you to death.

the current 3.5 ecoboost would be more than capable in the 3/4 to 1 ton platform. i wonder why it is not an options? remember that the 5.4 was standard for a long time and the ecoboost destroys it in all catagorys, except possibly long term maintence and up front cost.

 

MPG don't sell 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, but it can make a difference. And MANY SD sales go to non-fleet customers. Think of all the travel trailer/boat/horse/cattle owners out there that drive 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.

I have a SD as well, and while the ride isn't F150 smooth, it won't beat you to death at all. Sure, it's a bit rougher, but that's what you get with a bigger, more capable truck.

I think the reason the 3.5 isn't available in the SD is because the fuel mileage wouldn't be that great in a truck that heavy since it would be under boost too much.

Personally, I'd love to have a 5.0 EB in my next F250. I could have the towing ability of the diesel (as least matching my current 6.4L) without the upfront cost of the diesel nor the maintenance (or the DEF). I want a bit more than the 6.2L offers for towing my fifth wheel, but I don't need 860 ft-lbs of torque either.

 

so if a buyer is looking at 3/4 ton trucks, which one gets a significant better mpg than the ford 6.2?

gm 6.0,
hemi 5.7 or the 6.4.

they all get similar mpg and from the looks of things dodge and gm have nothing in the works.

the manufacturer would be total idiots to start making changes on regulations that may or may not come and the rules have not been defined. That is not how it works.

the 1/2 ton market is all over the place, ford going small engine turbo. gm staying v-8, dodge offering a diesel, nissian offer a larger diesel. they are all fighting for shares of the lucrative 1/2 ton consumer market. the fleet, business, Travel trailer, 3/4 ton , 1 ton market is a different animal.
the travel trailer guys go diesel, the fleet guys go gas.

the next raptor will have a v-6 eco boost and sales will continue to be strong. a 5.0 eco boost would offer more power but mpg would be in the 6.2 range, (not going to get 3.5 eco mpg, not going to get regular 5.0 mpg which only leaves 5.0 to 6.2 mpg range) which does not help ford in the mpg game.

 

STS turbo the 6.2L. It would come out a bit cheaper than the diesel option.

 

I completely agree, and know all of that. Not sure what I said that made you say that, but barely being able to do 55 doesn't cut it. And is was more of an issue with that particular Bronco than with all Broncos.

Fleet buyers definitely care about gas mileage, and you can bet your *** regulations are coming for the 3/4 and 1 tons. If medium duty and up trucks have them, it's only a matter of time.

 

I said I didn't know what the regs are, not that Ford does not. The regs are coming, I'm sure Ford knows what they are going to be, and they are going to have to change the game to meet them.

I think there is a happy medium between today's 6.2L and 6.7L in the SD. A smaller V8 given the EB treatment (5.0L, 4.7L scaled up from the 3.5??) would be a perfect fit. Better fuel economy than the 6.2L, with 50% more torque than the 6.2L without the drawbacks of the diesel. Count me in!

 

i dont want to speculate on what the government will and will not do.

it "looks" like they will have regulations annouced in 2016 sometime and we should see changes in 2018 for the 3/4 - 1 ton market.

if it is like any other regulations the parties involved and the lobbiest are going back and fourth about what it will be. i highly doubt that ford, gm or dodge know what the rules are. You could say just work on getting better mpg, but there might be incentives for hybrid, tax breaks for new tech, and a grace period and a millions thing we cant think of.