7Mary3

I think plan was that Henderson would act is interm CEO. Good man though he may be, Henderson was very much part of the group that got GM into the mess they were in.

The Argosy is gone too. Mack was bulding limited runs of Ultraliners for export, and I think Peterbilt was also building small numbers of cabovers for export only.

I liked the square headlights. 77 looked real good too!

No, not by a long shot! I think the best looking Ford pickup was the 1979. While the 2011 Super Duty has some great features, I think the styling is flat out terrible, only slightly better looking than the ugliest truck of all time, the current Tundra. The new Super Duty is way to exagerated and cartoonish. The grille and headlights are too big, and the wheel openings are over emphasised. Ford's styling department really made a bad thing (the 2008 Super Duty) and made it worse. Then again, there are a lot of ugly trucks out right now (the Silverado, the Mitsubishi Raider, the Tacoma, the Colorado/Canyon) so amybe it won't matter.....

Has anyone seen what the base model 2011 Super Duty will look like?

Yeah, that's a nice fairey tale about a class 8 Dodge. I am not looking for that one to happen. As for Hino, look for them to pass Ford up soon. They have a lot of new models coming, including class 4 and 5 LCF's, a vocational class 8 tandem conventional, and soon will be offering a lot of specialty conversions in conjunction with Fontaine Truck Equipment. Ford's (or Blue Diamond's) strategy of 'personal use' F-650's seems like a bad idea to me. None of the Internationals, the Ford Super Crewzer, or the Monroe converted GM mediums were successful. If Ford truly is serious about class 6 and 7, now is the time they really need to move on it.

Why do I keep repeating myself???

First off, the original Ford 'Y' block was the 1954 239, which evolved into the later 256, 272, 292, and 312. Those engines were not competitive with the Chevy Small Block in any way, shape or form, period. The 'FE' series was a completely different (and larger) engine, though it did share the earlier engine's deep skirt block. Yes, the 'FE' did have quite a NASCAR career before the Chrysler 426 Hemi put everyone on the trailer, but it is important to note that Chevy didn't compete in NASCAR after '63 at all, so we will never know how the 'FE' would have done against the Mark IV Chevy Big Block. The big Chevy did do quite well in Can Am during the late 60's, so it is reasonable to think they would have been successful in NASCAR too. But it never happened. As for the LS, I think it most closely resembles a small block Buick V-8, but there are certainly some similarities to early Fords too..

First off, the original Ford 'Y' block was the 1954 239, which evolved into the later 256, 272, 292, and 312. Those engines were not competitive with the Chevy Small Block in any way, shape or form, period. The 'FE' series was a completely different (and larger) engine, though it did share the earlier engine's deep skirt block. Yes, the 'FE' did have quite a NASCAR career before the Chrysler 426 Hemi put everyone on the trailer, but it is important to note that Chevy didn't compete in NASCAR after '63 at all, so we will never know how the 'FE' would have done against the Mark IV Chevy Big Block. The big Chevy did do quite well in Can Am during the late 60's, so it is reasonable to think they would have been successful in NASCAR too. But it never happened. As for the LS, I think it most closely resembles a small block Buick V-8, but there are certainly some similarities to early Fords too..

First off, the original Ford 'Y' block was the 1954 239, which evolved into the later 256, 272, 292, and 312. Those engines were not competitive with the Chevy Small Block in any way, shape or form, period. The 'FE' series was a completely different (and larger) engine, though it did share the earlier engine's deep skirt block. Yes, the 'FE' did have quite a NASCAR career before the Chrysler 426 Hemi put everyone on the trailer, but it is important to note that Chevy didn't compete in NASCAR after '63 at all, so we will never know how the 'FE' would have done against the Mark IV Chevy Big Block. The big Chevy did do quite well in Can Am during the late 60's, so it is reasonable to think they would have been successful in NASCAR too. But it never happened. As for the LS, I think it most closely resembles a small block Buick V-8, but there are certainly some similarities to early Fords too..

I remember exactly that! Plus, DeLorenzo bemoned the selection of Alan Mulally as 'not good', citing Mulally's lack of experience in the automotive world.

In the business world, how exactly does one get so big? Don't you think in the case of GM, GE, Walmart, ect. that size was the result of delivering a superior product at a competitive price and backing it up with superior customer support? Or did they just hypnotize people into buying their products? Ford truly had some great cars, as they do now. But in the grand scheme of things, GM had more of them over the years. At least more that were viewed favorably by the car buying public. If it were not so, than it would have been Ford on top during those years.

Ford Jr. and Mulally deserved that, no question. As for GM's unheard of heights, I think no other corporation contributed so much to this nation's GDP as GM did from 1945 to 1975 or so. Yes, marketing had a lot to do with it, but so did great product, like it or not. Not to mention everything else- railroad locomotives, home appliances, aircraft engines, construction equipment, marine and industrial engines, military hardware, ect.. As for the Y-Block, do you really think the availability of more aftermarket speed equipment would have helped? I sure don't!

Despite the lousy outlook for medium and heavy commercial truck sales, Hino is moving forward. Next year, they will offer a high horsepower tandem axle conventional and a new line of class 4 and 5 LCF's. In addition, Fontaine Truck Equipment offer specialty conversions of Hino trucks, such as crew cabs and cutaway cabs for fire service. Read more in the latest issue of 'Heavy Duty Trucking'.

I knew SAAB would be a disaster for GM back when they first bought 50% of it in the early 90's. Ford probably lost a similar amount on Volvo, though they did get some very worthwhile technology from Volvo in the process. I won't even bring up Hummer, Jaguar or Range Rover. Speaking of other auto manufacturer's endevours, if you want to bring up railroading, you have to acknowledge GM's part in making the diesel-electric locomotive a success. GM's Electro-Motive division built 1000's of locomotives, more often than not the best in the industry too (don't argue with me, I have done some railroading in my past!). Good enough to bury the steam locomotive, and it took G.E. a couple of decades to get their act together and catch up (a fine locomotive today). Also, GM created North American Aviation and owned it until the early 50's (don't argue with me on that one either, my old man worked there). Yup, the P-51 Mustang was a GM product. Also, Allison was a major aircraft engine manufacturer for many years.

I know in Europe the Cargo went to Iveco when Iveco bought Ford's British medium/heavy truck operations, sometime in the late 80's. I don't think Iveco kept the Cargo around too long, maybe someone knows for sure? In any event, the Cargo was not the truck the old C was, and it was not competitive with the larger Japanese cabovers either. The Freightliner produced domestic Cargo was an interesting truck. They only used the Ford cab, the chassis was a modified Freightliner FL design.

Front suspension.

Do you guys really think Ford is going to come up with a unique platform for a low volume low margin fleet vehicle? I can tell you that Ford makes nowhere near $5000 on a CVPI. In fact, my guess is they make a couple of hundred $, if that!

In think if Ford really is serious about the 650 and 750, they need to get a dedicated marketing staff together for these trucks. They need to focus the advertising and go after some of the big fleets. You never see Fords in the large national fleets anymore.

I see some Modular there, but a lot that's new. And that's a good thing.

Chassis and front suspension is supposed to be new. They really need to do something about the front end on those trucks.

Very interesting! However, I recently read Navistar's latest 8k filing, and Blue Diamond was mentioned. They clearly stated that they hold 75% of the vehicle manufacturing operation, and 74% of the replacement parts operation. Navistar also said that they will be entitiled to a like percentage of profits (if any) generated by Blue Diamond. I can't imagine what Ford's position in Blue Diamond is beyond holding a minority interest in the joint venture, but at this point who knows. In other news (don't laugh) Fiat is saying they will not only develop the 'Ram Truck' brand for a stronger position in commercial markets, but is also seriously considering extending the line into class 8 over-the-road! I think it is pretty obvious that means distributing Iveco trucks in North America. Iveco is highly regarded in Europe, but does not have much of a presence in the rest of the world. Just think, the first class 8 Dodge since 1975! I'll believe it when I see it..........

If Ford were to declare backruptcy, their negotiating position with the UAW would be quite a bit better, wouldn't it? Otherwise, Ford will somehow have to come up with other competitive advantages to make up for their current uncompetitive labor costs, compared to GM and Chrysler. Hold on, 2010 is going to be interesting to say the least.......

A re-restyled (ditch the oversized grille and headlights) 2012 F-350 Super Duty with a 6.7L Cummins and an Allison automatic. Or a F-850 tandem Super Duty with an ISC or ISM Cummins.

Yes, I get 'Fleet Equipment' and saw that cover too. Interesting that Hino seems to be concentraiting on class 6 and 7, while the other Asian manufacturers are mostly after class 4 and 5. I think Mitsubishi Fuso was going to pull out of class 6 and 7 next year. I talked to an Isuzu salesman Monday and he said Isuzu will stay in class 6 and 7.