Something that did not make sense. The new engine will be cast in Brazil, finished in England, the shiped back around the world to america to be installed. Mabe I am missing something here but couldn't alot of time and money be saved cutting england out of the loop?

 

some dip **** management type got a big bonus for proving with a power point presentation and an excel spread sheet that the above scenario was the cheapest route to go. no none will ever be required to do an actual cost analysis and find out how much money was not saved.

the funny thing about outsourcing is that the real cost analyses are never made once something has been outsourced. reasons : the sr. executive got his mega bonus and has probaly taken the money and ran. if he is still around he will not do the analyes for obvious reasons. the money to be made on outsourcing is up front and short lived. announce a major outsourcing and up goes the stock price and the sr. guys cash in the options.

the spelling of bonus should be changed to Bone Us- the consumer gets the bone in inferior goods, the outsourced workers get the bone. I can guarantee you the financial allowcations for the US support of outsourced materials are grossly understated. from first hand experience there is a lot of hand holding, rework and warrantee costs that never make it to the right bottom line. not to mention the ineffeciencies in the service sectors where a 2 minute conversation takes 5 minutes or more because you are talking to India and need to repeat every other word and spell simple words twice like Ohio, Maine etc. " Ohhh dank u berry much so glud do elp u."

 

nope 4.6 has a balance of HP and torque.. 5.4 has alot of torque but marginal hp for his displacement
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Umm... how about the 5.4 is ment for TOWING... this is a truck after all. Do you complain about the diesel low hp to torque ratio? I didn't think so. the 5.4 is better at towing than the 6.0 cheby and the 5.7 dudge. period. So they have more hp... so what? they have marginally better torque at a higher rpm with more displacement. When I tow I don't want to sound like a nasccar racer reving to the max to drive down the road. It just kills me when people complain the F150 is slow.... it is a truck!! Tie 5000 lbs to it and the compatition and race.... sit back and smoke a stogie in comfort in the ford.

 

the spelling of bonus should be changed to Bone Us- the consumer gets the bone in inferior goods, the outsourced workers get the bone. I can guarantee you the financial allowcations for the US support of outsourced materials are grossly understated. from first hand experience there is a lot of hand holding, rework and warrantee costs that never make it to the right bottom line. not to mention the ineffeciencies in the service sectors where a 2 minute conversation takes 5 minutes or more because you are talking to India and need to repeat every other word and spell simple words twice like Ohio, Maine etc. " Ohhh dank u berry much so glud do elp u."
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thank the greed of the unions for that one. With the crazy high wages and benifits that the American auto manufacturers have to pay, it is no wonder they have to outsource. That is the only way they can be competitive. The unions would rather demand these silly wage/benifit package than look at the long term goals of keeping jobs and having steady employment for more people. They shot themselfs in the foot and made there paying employers go bankrupt. Not that the auto companies are faultless.. they have made there blunders thanks to the bean counters, instead of making products that people want...but the big circle of errors come down heavy on the unions in my opinion.

 

Yhea I have to agree about the unions. You can pay someone in another country a 1/3 of the wage for the same job and most likely not offer any benefits.

 

[QUOTE=chris1450]nope 4.6 has a balance of HP and torque.. 5.4 has alot of torque but marginal hp for his displacement

Not to start an argument here or stray from the original topic of diesels making there way into a F150, but I have to really, strongly disagree with your statement. I find the 4.6 gutless which is why I stepped up to the 5.4. I currently own a 00 F150 Harley Davidson with the 5.4 and the 4.6 is nothing compared to it. I think the 4.6 is reliable, but doesn't stack up the 5.4, not even close. The diesel should make it interesting though, can't wait to see what happens!

 

I'm bumping this to the top for further discussion / announcements on any new developments with the diesel in this application.

I own a 2003 SuperCrew with a 4.6L that I'll be giving to my daughter soon when she starts driving. Love the truck, she'll be getting a nice ride.

I have since bought a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 with the 5.9 Cummins for my business and a 2002 Ford Excursion with the 7.3L after we bought a horse trailer and travel trailer.

I was on the verge of buying another Dodge Ram Cummins for my own personal use when I found out Cummins has a 5.6l V-8 diesel scheduled for an upcoming iteration of the Ram 1500. So I then decided to do a little research to see where the F150 diesel stands in the pipeline. Glad I saw some of the articles y'all posted, I think I'll hold off for the F150 IF I can buy one by or before Feb. 2009 and if it field tests well with people like you and me.

Both our Dodge and Excursion are fantastic vehicles and the turbo diesels are flat out badazz and fun to drive. The Excursion weighs close to 9,000 lbs but gets slightly north of 20mpg on the highway when the tires are inflated to 45-50psi. When you need to pass slower cars on the highway it will eat them alive, and when towing our trailers it just yawns and scratches its nuts as it pulls 8,500 lbs. effortlessly. It's the best unit I've ever owned, just an awesome ride.

Someone mentioned above that throttle response on a diesel can be sluggish...true, off the line it can be but when going 50 mph I can stomp on my Dodge and be at 90 mph before I can remember my name. Set the cruise at 68-70 mph and it will sip fuel, 21-24 mpg highway hand calculated depending on the terrain and wind.

People like me buy diesels for several reasons:

- Longevity. I fully expect 300k out of my Excursion and Dodge.
- Fuel efficiency.
- Towing and payload. Many of us don't pull huge 5th wheels or backhoe trailers but we do pull a boat, horse trailer or medium sized RV now and then. My current F150 would struggle with that. I used to load topsoil and mulch in the back of my Screw for weekend jobs around the house and then listened to the 4.6L rattle and protest on the way home. It struggles with the horse trailer too. I realize the 5.4 tows fairly well but it won't sniff the fuel efficiency of this new 4.4l diesel.

I agree with several others that these new clean diesels are going to be the panacea for the pickup and SUV segments. These units are going to be flying off the lots and I can't wait to get one. Like someone else said, the dealer premium when they are first released might force us to wait 6 months to a year, but you can bet I will be owning one of these, and my wife will someday have a brand new diesel Expedition with a 4.4 (or a Durango with a 5.6 Cummins), and hopefully we'll both be filling up once every 600-700 miles.

I'd be interested in hearing further discussion on this new F150 and any updates or new developments with it, including delivery dates.

 

Well Cheeks, ya wanted to know- here it is:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache...lnk&cd=2&gl=us

The blocks will probably be cast in Brazil and machining and assembly in Mexico. Expect to start seeing them around summer next year if Ford gets passed the law suit with Navistar. The suit also names Mexico in their papers as the point of origin for the new 4.4 V8 diesel that is slated for the F-150. I assume that this will be an early and special edition of the 2009 year model as Ford is intending for it to have a 6 speed auto behind it. The current frame and body does not allow fitment. The numbers, looks like 330 hp and 515 lbs but it is subject to emmissions certification.

 

Well, Ford better get on the stick and make the announcement. The competition has started the race already.

GM Light Diesel

Nissan Light Diesel

 

haha nissan is gonna be buying the engine from international

 

Thanks for the info, guys.

It looks like the light duty diesel market is going to be important enough that most if not all of the light truck manufacturers are rushing to get to them to market at the same time....they don't want their competition to be ahead of them for any lengthy period of time. From what I can tell, GM and Toyota are behind the others on the timeline. As Labnerd said above, Ford looks like they could deliver for the 09 model year if the Navistar legal wranglings don't interfere.

Some of these makers may be under the gun and rushing too fast, thus we may get some questionable powertrains in the mix in 2009-2012. Apparently Cummins has been testing their light diesel in conjunction with the DOE since the late 90's, so they should be up to speed. Ford looks like they didn't start yesterday either. My guess is GM and Navistar are somewhat behind the curve on this one...I would be interested in other opinions on this.

Here's an interesting summary on the Cummins light duty diesel, as you can see the testing has been thorough and the value proposition is compelling: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehicles...deer_stang.pdf

I prefer the overall truck package that Ford offers and would buy a SuperDuty Crew Cab if it wasn't so lengthy. My Dodge 2500 QuadCab is the same length as my F150 Screw and is better suited for daily driver, parking, etc. Therefore the 4.4L F150 looks like it's just the ticket for me.

Regardless if you're in the market for a diesel half ton it looks like these new light duty diesels are going to spawn a lot of interesting discussion around here when they start hitting the market in the next 12-24 months. That'll be fun.

 

[QUOTE=mikeyss]The offering of the 4.6 and 5.4 by ford is geared toward different truck owners needs. If you do a lot of towing, the 5.4l engine is the way to go, But for some of us who have a car as a daily driver and the truck is only used for the weekend for hauling stuff from Home improvement center, or for occasional towing. The more fuel efficient 4.6l (4-5 mpg difference) fully justifies getting a less powerfull engine. The 2007 V8 4.6 boasts 248 hp and that is more Hp than I need. Even my daily driver with 158 hp 4 Cyl is great around the city.

 

there are alreayd lots of light duty diesel engines that navistar international cummins cat isuzu all the manufacturors have over seas. and in america that are just primarly used in the commercial end. but since economy and power are becoming more and more important they bring them over to the consumer end of the market.

 

I think the Diesel will revive the sales of Ford

 

I should have been more clear. I realize a lot of these manufacturers have been producing light duty diesels for a while. The new emissions standards however in some cases may require a redesign or new engine altogether. Piezo injectors, EGR pathways cast into the heads, regenerations of the particulate filters, etc.

I agree that if they seize the opportunity and do it best, this may be the shot in the arm Ford needs to take more market share for their half ton trucks. I wouldn't mind seeing a Tundra killer even though they're made in Texas. I admire what Toyota has done over the past decade, but watching foreign companies kick our tail on our home turf disturbs me. Ford needs to expand its brand and leadership in the diesel pickup market to the half ton platform and return the favor and make the folks at Toyota pucker up for a change.