Two Ideas that Might Help

[NorfolkWright]

I'll keep it short. A TDI Focus. Small diesel, small car, great fuel mileage. The combination is working for VW. Next, small 6cyl. diesel in the F-150. fleet sales would be through the roof. A lot of small companies and contractors don't need the capacity or size of the F-250/F-350 diesel. The F-150 diesel would make a great alternative. I'm not knocking the F-350 6.0, I have one, but a lot of people don't need that much truck. What do you think??

[Guest Sixcav]

How about more ethanol (flex fuel) vehicles. It's clear the oil companies are not going to quit bending us over the table at the fuel pumps any time soon. Ethanol seems a logical alternative. Or are you guys at Ford too busy being bought off by big oil companies and not interested in helping the average American save from spending a couple hundred dollars a month in gas just to get to work and back?

[F250]

I'll keep it short. A TDI Focus. Small diesel, small car, great fuel mileage. The combination is working for VW. Next, small 6cyl. diesel in the F-150. fleet sales would be through the roof. A lot of small companies and contractors don't need the capacity or size of the F-250/F-350 diesel. The F-150 diesel would make a great alternative. I'm not knocking the F-350 6.0, I have one, but a lot of people don't need that much truck. What do you think??

 

Good idea. I'll add one more, the next AMERICAN BUILT Ford small truck (Ranger/F100?) should get a 4-cyl turbo diesel engine option.

 

The suggested F-150 6-cyl and Ranger 4-cyl diesels need to be durable and affordable above all else when introduced even if it means sacrificing a little power in their design. The fleet buyer for this size truck will quickly figure out the fuel savings return will not recover paying $7000 more for a diesel option and $50 per oil change, especially if the fleet is turned over every 2-3 years. I'm not knocking the Super Dutys either but this class of truck buyer is looking to get the job done with minimum fuel not absolute max pulling power.

 

Diesels in cars are a different matter, the average American car buyer thinks of diesels as dirty and low tech. They are falling for the hybred hype, Ethanol, fuel cells, etc.

[swenson88]

How about more ethanol (flex fuel) vehicles. It's clear the oil companies are not going to quit bending us over the table at the fuel pumps any time soon. Ethanol seems a logical alternative. Or are you guys at Ford too busy being bought off by big oil companies and not interested in helping the average American save from spending a couple hundred dollars a month in gas just to get to work and back?

 

The reason ethanol hasn't caught on is it gives you less mpg and costs at least as much as gas. While it would be nice to say most Americans would be willing to spend more on domestic ethanol than foreign gas, I know I wouldn't.

[Guest Sixcav]

Yeah I'm not saying ethanol is the cure all. I'm just saying we are getting flat out gouged at the pump and I don't see our good ole government doing a damn thing about it except pointing fingers and posturing about how they are on our side. All the while the cost of gasoline climbs. What this country needs is the Sam Walton equivalent of the oil industry. Hell the world for that matter. Perhaps a combination of Ethanol, Hybrid and maybe fuel cell cars would work. In the end all of it would be controlled by Exxon Mobil and the gang so you just know that no matter what they come up with as an alternative it's going to "just happen" to cost as much as using gasoline does. I guess they think we are all honestly stupid enough to believe they aren't ripping us off. Just pisses me off is all. Something needs to be done about it.

[5.0 Junkie]

I'm a big proponent of ethanol, but it is just as high or higher than gas now. With the last jump in gas prices, E85 jumped way up. Also, with the MTBE ban, ethanol is being substituted. The sudden jump in demand is taxing the entire infrastructure. I think E85 is the way to go, but we're not there yet.

 

Diesel is a huge deal. Go to a VW dealer and try to get a TDI. Lucky if they even have any. A diesel focus, ranger, and f150 would all be huge sellers. I would like to have any of them.

 

Why hasn't anyone done a diesel hybrid? If a diesel Jetta will get 50 mpg, what will it get with hybrid technology? 70, 80 mpg?

 

My question is why is the EPA so stringent on diesels? I have talked to engineers about the diesel F150. They said the ones they were testing were upper 20s-lower30 mpg, but wouldn't meet emissions. Now if you take a normal F150 getting 15mpg and compare it to a diesel F150 getting 30 mpg, which is more harmful to the environment? I'm sure if they do a diesel F150 it'll be mid 20 mpg, which is fine, since I'd be running some french fry oil in it, but dang. Let's get something going here.

 

Another rant, we have more crude in reserve now than any point in the last 6 years, gas was at a recent high in reserve, although it is going down, so why is oil so high? Yes, I have an MBA which makes me stupid, but I can't find an economic reason for the price other than speculation on the traders parts. :shrug:

[J-150]

I love the idea of diesels available in full lineup.

[NorfolkWright]

Ok, we agree that diesels across the board would be a good idea, why have we not done it??

[Mr. KABC]

...Because those nutty (Democrat) enviro-whackos won't allow it. Here in CA we can't have any diesel vehicles except the large "super duty" type trucks.

 

Why?

 

The Democrats that run this state are trashing our economy and making it rougher for companies to do business here. They just LOVE sitting back and thinking of new and interesting restrictions not based upon hard science, but rather their tree-hugging hippy mentalities.

[dr511scj]

...Because those nutty (Democrat) enviro-whackos won't allow it. Here in CA we can't have any diesel vehicles except the large "super duty" type trucks.

 

Why?

 

The Democrats that run this state are trashing our economy and making it rougher for companies to do business here. They just LOVE sitting back and thinking of new and interesting restrictions not based upon hard science, but rather their tree-hugging hippy mentalities.

 

Dude! There were no diesel Microbuses during the Summer of Love . . . or in Haight-Ashbury . . . not even veggie-oil-fired ones!

 

Maybe when the illegal aliens eventually retake Cali, they will smuggle in some of Mexico City's environmental conditions in place of CARB and SCAQMD . . . .

[dr511scj]

The reason ethanol hasn't caught on is it gives you less mpg and costs at least as much as gas. While it would be nice to say most Americans would be willing to spend more on domestic ethanol than foreign gas, I know I wouldn't.

 

Susan Cischke, Ford vice president of environmental and safety engineering, testified at a Senate Energy Committee hearing on U.S. energy security that "we need a strong, long-term focus on policies that increase U.S. ethanol production and accelerate E85 infrastructure development."

 

She also testified that "U.S. automakers have produced almost 6 million flexible-fuel vehicles. If they all ran on E85 fuel, over 2.5 billion gallons of traditional gasoline could be saved."

 

BUT THE BIG PROBLEM CISCHKE MISSES IS THAT FORD AND OTHER "DETROIT 3" BUILDERS HAVEN'T PRODUCED E85 VEHICLES WHICH INHERENTLY GENERATE DEMAND FOR THE HIGH OCTANE FUEL! The current flexi-fuel fleet is generally comprised of forgettable, fleet-type vehicles which run about the same on E10 (or E-ZERO!) as E85. So, excluding a few environmentalists, farmers and trendy politicos, nobody really demands more E85.

 

However, if Ford were to exploit the high performance characteristics of E85 (such as was once-upon-a-time hinted in SVT's "Superstallion" flexi-fueled concept car), then market forces would undoubtedly demand increases in E85 retail infrastructure. Just as GM led and stoked market demand with higher performance Kettering V8s after WWII, Ford should sell its customers "hot" cars that run quicker and faster on E85.

 

If buyers see a serious performance advantage with E85, they will demand oil companies start carrying it (and even at a higher price point than current E10 premium!).

 

Energy security and environmental handwringing won't get E85 to the mass market anywhere near as fast as creating real demand with a real market feature such as higher performance on E85.

 

AS FOR DIESELS:

 

1. Light turbodiesels should get a boost from better low-sulfur fuels and advanced technologies (direct injection, better particulate traps) and public exposure (Continued success of the Audi R-10 will garner at least some attention. Gale Banks is also planning to road-race a tube-framed GMC Duramax (not sure how that will work, though)

 

2. If Ford brings turbodiesels to some light-duty vehicles, they MUST be more reliable and user friendly than the 2.0 Mazda non-turbo IDI diesel they used back in the 1980s. 54 smokey horsepower (in between blown head gaskets and weekly drainings of the water separator. Big fun).

 

3. After the 6.0 PowerStroke fiasco, Ford can't afford any more false steps with diesels.

 

4. If battery replacement becomes an issue for hybrids and fuel costs rise, diesels become more attractive.