Ford has really F'd up here. Their sales lead is not going to survive two more years of having the worst performing v-8 gasoline engines on the market. There are a lot of people driving high mileage F150s right now who have been waiting on something new from Ford for a long time, and now Ford promises a 1 mpg improvement from the same old engines for their "all new" truck. K&N does the same thing for a lot less. Ford had better do something fast, because every day that goes by there will be more and more who jump ship. No one on this forum logged in this morning hoping to find a tailgate step, pimped up radio, or fancy taillights, and other than those three things, this truck really doesn't have a whole lot to offer over the current model. The only innovation I see that I am concerned with is the transmission, and that isn't going to get it done on its own. Everything else is just a gadget; something else that can break and that does nothing but add weight to an already underpowered truck. It just so happens that I am going to be in the market for a new truck around the end of this year, and if something doesn't change, it looks like it's going to be a Dodge.

 

I'm so glad you told us that! I will certainly sleep better tonight . At least get a good truck you wont need a lifetime warranty on if you're not getting a ford, get a chevy.


-JB

 

Maybe you'd like to go back to this version?

 

Thats when Ford TRucks were real trucks, they stayed the same from 66 all the way to 1979, and any one can work on them.

AS for performance, a 302, 351 360, 390 400 460 is not any slower than a 4.6 or 5.4 and the older engines can get roughly the same milage, no one ever had to worry abought throwing plugs out the block, cam phasers, dual timming chains.

What ever issues ford had with rear main seals, power stearing pumps, ect are nothing compared to now.

Kinda makes you wonder how great the f-150 was, and how times have changed, any how 1977 to 2009 is 32 years of change and inovation, some good, some bad

 

I hear you... Ford's gotta do some revamping of their powertrain and drivetrain dept. If they think they are going to just stick a 6 speed in from no where... they better do some serious Q.C. on it. From what I've read, the Exploder 6 speed and the 500/Taurus 6 speed is a complete hodge-podge job. People complaining 10k into owning the vehicle it shudders, doesn't shift right, and a whole bunch of other nonsense. Heck, people stink about the 4 speed on here... I could only imagine what they would do with the 6 speed when it blows out on them after 10k because they towed a load that even the 4 speed could handle.

I dunno... Ford is going backwards in my opinion.

Personally... if Ford really thinks they are going to cut it with a facelift again, they are in for a rude awakening.

What Ford needs to offer is better powertrain and drivetrain options. Personally, the design of the 04-08 is a good design in it's own. Just spend the freakin' money on offering the customer with more drivetrain and power train options, and Ford would be a winner. No lie.

The problem is people want style over power. They want something that looks nice and then put power and longetivity second. Personally, instead of Ford spending the money on the stupid redesign... maybe they should have done a facelift of the engines and transmissions. By building better transmissions and engines. Not to mention, it might have saved them some serious cash.

But no... they would rather spend money in the body work dept. Not the powertrain dept.

I dunno if you guys know this... but it costs a LOT more to design a new body, than it is to make an engine or trainsmission. That's the problem with these auto manufacturers. They focus on making something look good rather than lasting a long time.

Seriously, with what Ford has for technology, they could make an F150 last beyond the 1 million mile mark. But they won't... and it hurts the customers that keep their truck. But... if Ford want's to be a "greener" company... by making cars and trucks that last a long time cuts down on a lot of earth-hurting factors. Even though in the long run, Ford's income would be less than what it is now... but it would be consistant because people would go to Ford because of how robust their vehicles are.

It's like the whole moral of life: "What comes around, goes around." But if Ford keeps playing around with fire like this... I'd expect Ford to be punished sooner or later down the road. It's like Ford has been walking the tight-rope for the past few years now.

 

I'm just saying, everyone that I know who owns or who is considering a current generation F150 only has one complaint, and that is that the F150 has a lot less power and still gets worse fuel mileage than all of its competition. So, instead of addressing that obvious shortcoming, Ford ignores it and then sets out to fix a bunch of things that weren't broken in the first place. You can just look at the Platinum Edition with it's four hundred extra features, all of which add weight, and know that thing is going to be a real dog with the 5.4.

 

Just like how Ford doesn't listen to the minority... the stick shift drivers of America...

I mean come on Ford... bend the rules a little bit.. it's America... offer a stick shift!

 

I don't disagree that the new F150 being offered with the same engine lineup is a pretty big disappointment. However, you have to consider that the next engine change is going to be fairly significant technological change with the new TDGI motors. I'd much rather welcome the same 5.4l motor back than to see Ford ruin the reputation of its new flagship technology by launching the motor too soon.

Also - everyone carries on like the 5.4l is a horrible motor. I would gladly trade the second 5.3l from my 2005 Chevy (the 1st blew up at 49,000 miles) for a 5.4l Ford any day. The 5.4l motor runs great and it has plenty of power for 90% of consumers who buy 1/2-ton trucks. It may be one of the least efficient motors in the 1/2-ton market, but its still only a couple mpg behind the leader which really isn't enough to discourage most people from buying it.

Bottom line: There is a big sales reward for the 1st automaker to bring a 1/2-ton diesel or TDGI motor to the market. But whoever brings the new technology forward had better get it right the first time and Ford doesn't have a great track record right now.

 

Those TDGI motors will have been around at least five years before I consider buying one. Either that, or the price of gas will have to really explode. In all honesty, my next truck will likely be an F150. But it will be a regular cab flairside and I will pick the options carefully to keep the weight down.

 

wow, who in the body department has been smoking some pretty nasty stuff? i might have to run out and buy one of the remaining models before they disappear.

 

That's the way I see it as well. Ford is trying to dazzle the consumer with all these "features" they say we've been asking for. All the while ignoring the two things people have wanted from their Fords the most, performance and economy. I'll bet the "reworked" 5.4 will still suffer from the same broken spark plug problem even though this was the perfect time to fix it.

 

They are getting rid of stick shifts because of emissions. Thanks green peace *******.

 

I don't think you are going to get a lot of people to join you on the stick-shift crusade. They were only available on the "city worker" models anyway, and most "people" don't buy V6 XL models.

 

Turbo Direct Injection (TDI) has been used for years in Europe on the diesels. The new Ford engines are not some new breakthrough technology. This is more like adapting diesel tech to a gas motor. I doubt that there will be any major issues with the new motors.

 

I believe that the GTDIs are going to be V6s anyway, and I'm just not interested in a truck. Can you imagine how stupid a turbo V6 is going to sound in an F150. On the other hand, it's always easy to crank up the boost on a turbo.