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Sources Say: Ford Planning Innovative Changes Aimed at Fuel Efficiency in Next F-150

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V8-X

V8-X

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Please do not turn our beloved F150 into a car. I understand the need to increase the mpgs, messing with the frame and capabilities are not the way to go. Plus, whoever designed that F150 image, has lost their mind. Too much car influence, not enough truck influence.

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Deanh

Deanh

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Please do not turn our beloved F150 into a car. I understand the need to increase the mpgs, messing with the frame and capabilities are not the way to go. Plus, whoever designed that F150 image, has lost their mind. Too much car influence, not enough truck influence.

remembr the uproar ( 97? ) when Ford went svelte and rounded...same thing here, fear of change is already rampant.....me I embrace it, Ford WONT cut corners on their crown jewel...and thats exactly what the F-150 is.........

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JLaudioF150

JLaudioF150

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remembr the uproar ( 97? ) when Ford went svelte and rounded...same thing here, fear of change is already rampant.....me I embrace it, Ford WONT cut corners on their crown jewel...and thats exactly what the F-150 is.........

 

Totally agree with you. There are those that will bitch bitch bitch about the new materials, but if they only knew the advancements made in materials science... Rest assured this will be a better truck than the current one. I have confidence in Ford.

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4d4evr-1

4d4evr-1

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remembr the uproar ( 97? ) when Ford went svelte and rounded...same thing here, fear of change is already rampant.....me I embrace it, Ford WONT cut corners on their crown jewel...and thats exactly what the F-150 is.........

 

You are right, change or die and the only change Ford will make to the 150 to good for the future.

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fordmantpw

fordmantpw

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Please do not turn our beloved F150 into a car. I understand the need to increase the mpgs, messing with the frame and capabilities are not the way to go. Plus, whoever designed that F150 image, has lost their mind. Too much car influence, not enough truck influence.

 

Why do some folks always assume a change means a decrease in capabilities? :banghead:

 

As others have said, the F150 is the crown jewel for Ford, and it will not be compromised.

 

Seriously, though, I think the F150 could stand to lose some capabilities. Who needs to tow 11,300 lbs. with an F150? I think an 8-9k tow rating would be fine for the F150. Make it get phenomenal fuel economy, and people will buy it.

 

Make an F250 a tad larger than today's F150. You then have both areas covered perfectly! Of course, this is all IMHO!

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RangerM

RangerM

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remembr the uproar ( 97? ) when Ford went svelte and rounded...

I certainly do. It looked like a super-sized Ranger (which, IMO, was a good thing) I loved it, and wished they had kept with it.

 

Some comments I remember were that it looked "soft" (I guess like it wasn't a real truck). But I know it didnt take as long to see new ones on the road after they came out, either. (the styling probably made it stand out more admittedly)

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V8-X

V8-X

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remembr the uproar ( 97? ) when Ford went svelte and rounded...same thing here, fear of change is already rampant.....me I embrace it, Ford WONT cut corners on their crown jewel...and thats exactly what the F-150 is.........

To me, style is subjective and means less in the truck category than capabilities. I loved the 92-96 F150, loved the 97-03 F150 (owned a 2002), and still love the 04-08 and 09+ F150s. Yeah some were turned off my the 97-03 style, but that doesn't mean compared to like years that truck was worse than other makes/models, and it increased upon capabilities over the 92-96 models.

 

Why do some folks always assume a change means a decrease in capabilities? :banghead:

 

As others have said, the F150 is the crown jewel for Ford, and it will not be compromised.

 

Seriously, though, I think the F150 could stand to lose some capabilities. Who needs to tow 11,300 lbs. with an F150? I think an 8-9k tow rating would be fine for the F150. Make it get phenomenal fuel economy, and people will buy it.

 

Make an F250 a tad larger than today's F150. You then have both areas covered perfectly! Of course, this is all IMHO!

Never said change decreases capabilities. All depends on the changes that are made. When talking about going to a uni-body frame, then you've got to be concerned with towing/payload capacity.

 

I agree, any of the F-Series redesigns/changes can't come with a compromise.

 

Why not tow 11K with an F150? Heck, most F150s already are maxed out at 8-9K lbs, with only a limited # on the road that actually clear that 11K mark. And I'm okay with making it have great mpgs, but not if you compromise the the trucks abilities.

 

And exactly what model year F150's after a major redesign went backwards in capabilities? Most the working crowd that actually use their truck would look at it and wonder what the benefit of a less capable truck would have, other than better mpgs?

Edited by V8-X
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Bryan1

Bryan1

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F-150 could stand to lose some capabilities? Really? That's great. NOT.

 

1,203 payload (includes 150 driver as I recal)

- 75 (avg pickupdriver heavier than 150lbs)

- 675 (3 passengers also 225 lbs)

- 200 (avg weight of 4 golf bags)

- 250 (avg wieght of a tool box w/some tools inside

- 50 (weight of tow hitch, mud flaps, side steps you put on)

 

Whoops! You're over limit. You have to leave one of your buddies on the side of the road and hope someone picks him up as your overweight. OK his wife will come pick him up. She has 3 of her friends, a stroller, couple infant seats and some shopping bags in the back.... Much safer.

 

The problem is most 5th wheels etc when you look at hitch weight and look at how heavy F250s are... They are illegal too. Need a F350 to legally tow even avg trailer/camper.

 

Source: Power Kid.

Edited by Bryan1
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goinbroke2

goinbroke2

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I don't like the rubber band tires or 30" rims, the windshield that puts you so far back you can't see the end of the hood....and I hate the 97-03 body style too. Yes it was "too soft"

 

LOL

 

Now that I stirred that up, my cousin has a fox body mustang on a mud bogger frame and the biggest issue is that you sit so far back in a car and so low you can't see stumps etc. This is the same complaint as most others that put car bodies on 4X4's. Why do I mention it? Because if you make a truck like a car (highly slanted windshield, low/farther back seating position,etc) you take away actual capability but don't see it on the spec sheet. It can say 400hp, but if you can't get more than 1/2 throttle because the pedals are crowded(for example) than on paper it looks good but in reality it sucks....kinda like the tundra, great on paper......

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lfeg

lfeg

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What with CAFE requirements, market demands for "softer", more luxurious pickups with more passenger space and amenities, and so on, I think that something is going to have to give. There are three (at least) competing market vectors acting on the "half ton" pickup segment already:

 

The capability vector - highest towing, highest GVW, most "utility". (Even if payload suffers, because nobody pays attention to that number - witness the Excursion. In its prime a fully loaded Excursion with a diesel and all of the bells and whistles had about the same payload as a Taurus wagon of the same model year.)

 

The comfort/convienience vector - luxury interiors, more and more features, maximize interior space and minimize bed size (come on now, a 5 foot bed on a full size pickup?)

 

The we want it all vector - combine both of the above.

 

 

The result is a compromise that so far has worked and sold very well, but will have to change as we go forward. The illustration at the head of this topic may well be what the mainstream market desires in a few years, as most newer F150s that I see are parked in suburban and urban driveways and are used as people movers first and trucks just about fifth or sixth down the list.

But there is still a segment that uses a pickup as a truck. There seem to be fewer of us all the time, but we still need something to do the job. Now, a "traditional pickup" may just be becoming a niche vehicle, but it may be a profitible niche if done right.

Edited by lfeg
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fordmantpw

fordmantpw

Posted
Posted

F-150 could stand to lose some capabilities? Really? That's great. NOT.

 

1,203 payload (includes 150 driver as I recal)

- 75 (avg pickupdriver heavier than 150lbs)

- 675 (3 passengers also 225 lbs)

- 200 (avg weight of 4 golf bags)

- 250 (avg wieght of a tool box w/some tools inside

- 50 (weight of tow hitch, mud flaps, side steps you put on)

 

Whoops! You're over limit. You have to leave one of your buddies on the side of the road and hope someone picks him up as your overweight. OK his wife will come pick him up. She has 3 of her friends, a stroller, couple infant seats and some shopping bags in the back.... Much safer.

 

The problem is most 5th wheels etc when you look at hitch weight and look at how heavy F250s are... They are illegal too. Need a F350 to legally tow even avg trailer/camper.

 

Source: Power Kid.

 

I should clarify. I don't think the F150 can stand to lose payload capability, only towing. Honestly, it's payload could use some help, but it could lose some towing capability and still meet the needs of 99% of customers.

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esevans

esevans

Posted
Posted (edited)

F-150 could stand to lose some capabilities? Really? That's great. NOT.

 

1,203 payload (includes 150 driver as I recal)

- 75 (avg pickupdriver heavier than 150lbs)

- 675 (3 passengers also 225 lbs)

- 200 (avg weight of 4 golf bags)

- 250 (avg wieght of a tool box w/some tools inside

- 50 (weight of tow hitch, mud flaps, side steps you put on)

 

Whoops! You're over limit. You have to leave one of your buddies on the side of the road and hope someone picks him up as your overweight. OK his wife will come pick him up. She has 3 of her friends, a stroller, couple infant seats and some shopping bags in the back.... Much safer.

 

The problem is most 5th wheels etc when you look at hitch weight and look at how heavy F250s are... They are illegal too. Need a F350 to legally tow even avg trailer/camper.

Source: Power Kid.

 

 

The problem with this is, average trailers/campers are not 5th wheels. You do not need a 1 ton truck to tow an average trailer/camper.

 

Also don't know where those payload #'s are from, but that doesn't match much of anything on the 2011's. Maybe current year or older I guess. 2011's seem to hover around 1500# and up. That said, if I had a Supercrew, I would have no problem loading it the way you demonstrate and taking a very long road trip.

Edited by esevans
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V8-X

V8-X

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What with CAFE requirements, market demands for "softer", more luxurious pickups with more passenger space and amenities,

The result is a compromise that so far has worked and sold very well, but will have to change as we go forward. The illustration at the head of this topic may well be what the mainstream market desires in a few years, as most newer F150s that I see are parked in suburban and urban driveways and are used as people movers first and trucks just about fifth or sixth down the list.

But there is still a segment that uses a pickup as a truck. There seem to be fewer of us all the time, but we still need something to do the job. Now, a "traditional pickup" may just be becoming a niche vehicle, but it may be a profitible niche if done right.

And that is the problem. The trucks sales of the last decade have sky rocketed and the design of trucks changed to meet the requirements of these urban/suburban type, but still attempting to give the traditional truck market folks the capability they need. So we'll have to wait and see if Ford moves to the suburban/urban crowds preference, or if they try to keep to the roots of a pickup truck.

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fordmantpw

fordmantpw

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And that is the problem. The trucks sales of the last decade have sky rocketed and the design of trucks changed to meet the requirements of these urban/suburban type, but still attempting to give the traditional truck market folks the capability they need. So we'll have to wait and see if Ford moves to the suburban/urban crowds preference, or if they try to keep to the roots of a pickup truck.

 

I think they will meet them both. How, we don't know yet, but the needs WILL be met.

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V8-X

V8-X

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I think they will meet them both. How, we don't know yet, but the needs WILL be met.

I'm sure they will be met. Will just have to wait to see how that is accomplished though. If the design is anything like that portrayed in the sketch provided, I think some sales will be lost, but they could be countered by CUV or car owners liking the sleek look.

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rmc523

rmc523

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I'm sure they will be met. Will just have to wait to see how that is accomplished though. If the design is anything like that portrayed in the sketch provided, I think some sales will be lost, but they could be countered by CUV or car owners liking the sleek look.

 

That sketch has been around for years now (a long time, anyway), I don't think it necessarily means much of anything.

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