Pickups get tough for automakers to unload

[Blue Oval Staff]

click here for the article

[Traveler]

I'm probably no different than most pick-up truck owners. I have a half-ton truck because I appreciate the interior volume and the bed volume more so than at the limit towing or hauling capacity. My truck is used for multiple purposes; for work and leisure. The items that I do haul are numerous and sometimes large but not necessarily weighty and I don't tow with my truck. However, with gas prices on the rise I probably would consider a more economical alternative these days and attempt to make due with a smaller sized vehicle like a Frontier 4 door, Sport Trac, Dakota Quad or similar.

 

I think part of the problem has been pressure from the competition in the half-ton market to be better than the rest and that has created less emphasis on living with one of these behemoths. It will truly be interesting to see if Toyota will have success with the Tundra arriving on the market at a time that many would consider less than ideal to say the least. The automakers that have already aligned themselves with attractive mid-size trucks will probably see more interests in these trucks...especially those with mileage that is easier on the wallet. However, late in addressing the need, Ford has nothing in between the smallish Ranger and the large and heavy F-150 except the Sport Trac.

Edited August 10, 2006 by Traveler

[kevinb120]

Those smaller pickup trucks barely get 1 or 2mpg better then full size ones do, unless its a 4cyl 2wd reg cab. All I know is I went from selling 10+ F-150's every single month to one or two lately. I haven't even sold an Expedition ONCE this year, last year I sold over 50.

 

I'm getting ready to jump ship.

[Traveler]

Its probably the perception of significantly decreased gas mileage, too. I think ALL the truck manufacturers are in dire need to shed dependence on what was once cheap gasoline and push the development envelope into two or three various forms of alternative fuels. I'd like to see more biodiesel research being done, especially for larger vehicles.

[altaforddealer]

Why can't Ford grow some balls and ramp up their diesel engine program!! They have teased us for close to 8 years with a v-6 navistar that would put out similar power to a pre- 1999 7.3L 210-250 hp and 400-425 ft/lbs of torque. Every year they have said in a year or two we will have a diesel Expedition, F150, and Econoline (light duty) but no one listens to the public demand!! yet we still get stuck with 5.4l gas engines that never will break 17 mpg. This is absolute crap if you want to compete offer something no one else has put the diesel engine in make it biodiesel compatible and quit chasing everyone away because of this sham of an oil crisis we are going through.

 

 

Thanks I just had to get that off my chest

[jaym69]

I agree that the smaller trucks with say a 3.0L get the same or very close to the same gas mileage as a 5.4L big truck. I currently have a 2002 Sport Trac with 4.0L and I get about 15 to 19 mpg and am considering getting a new 2006 F 150 with a 5.4L and expect to get the same mpg. The Sport Trac has a 5 speed auto trans. that I expected to help more with the mpg than it did. Maybe this E85 will catch on and it will be cheaper to run our trucks.

[Traveler]

Maybe this E85 will catch on and it will be cheaper to run our trucks.

 

The only problem with E85 is that currently vehicles get worse fuel mileage on it than with gasoline. Maybe if it becomes more available, the cost would come down significantly, but right now its hardly any more than a nickel a gallon less than regular unleaded and you're going to burn through it quicker. If the costs can't be adjusted then I don't see Ethanol being a good solution. I am interested in seeing more biofuels though. If more larger vehicles such as 3/4-ton and up sized trucks, buses, tractor-trailers and trains as well as non-highway use vehicles like construction equipment and agricultural equipment can be made to run on bio-fuels more successfully, I think it would lessen demand of petroleum-based fuels. That doesn't even touch on the environmental impact.

 

Also I think the government could step in and make hybrid gas/electric light duty vehicles more appealing with incentives to offset the higher repair costs down the road. Certainly if companies like Exxon has their way, gas prices can go through the roof all the while they are making record profits. If the United States could spearhead refinement and development of biofuels, I can only see it has a return of greater prosperity for the country. It lowers our need on Middle Eastern oil, it revives our deep agricultural roots and makes farming profitable again, it saves the average American at the pump and curbs any kind of reported environmental fallout. If the United States was competitive internationally exporting domestic biofuels, our economy as a whole would look to improve I would suspect.

[cheri/ck]

I'm probably no different than most pick-up truck owners. I have a half-ton truck because I appreciate the interior volume and the bed volume more so than at the limit towing or hauling capacity. My truck is used for multiple purposes; for work and leisure. The items that I do haul are numerous and sometimes large but not necessarily weighty and I don't tow with my truck. However, with gas prices on the rise I probably would consider a more economical alternative these days and attempt to make due with a smaller sized vehicle like a Frontier 4 door, Sport Trac, Dakota Quad or similar.

 

I think part of the problem has been pressure from the competition in the half-ton market to be better than the rest and that has created less emphasis on living with one of these behemoths. It will truly be interesting to see if Toyota will have success with the Tundra arriving on the market at a time that many would consider less than ideal to say the least. The automakers that have already aligned themselves with attractive mid-size trucks will probably see more interests in these trucks...especially those with mileage that is easier on the wallet. However, late in addressing the need, Ford has nothing in between the smallish Ranger and the large and heavy F-150 except the Sport Trac.

 

 

I could not agree more with this post. Can't help but wonder at what point Ford thought they should take their already different platforms - F-150 and SuperDuty - to confusing levels. Now the customer has an F-150 with towing capacity of a base SuperDuty? And, we also now have a huge difference between the F-150 and Ranger.

 

I for one have found this a mystery from the first time I read the spec sheet of the latest F-150. I agree that the threat of competition to the F-150 - probably from the Titan - pushed us into this overweight current edition. And, who knows what the thought process was involved in the development of the latest Sport-Trac - maybe once again reacting to the upcoming competition as in the Honda Ridgeline?

 

Ford - why not listen to your customers rather than reacting to the competition? You have a lot of truck folks out there that are mostly disappointed right now. Most of us would have rather seen an updated 1999-2003 chassis F-150 truck with a stronger engine, lighter weight and better tranny than what came out in 2004. Those of us buying a current Ranger would sure have liked to have seen a 4.6 V-8 engine option. Not necessarily a fancy, high perforamance V-8 option, just the old, tried and true SOHC 4.6 that would most likely not only outperform the 4.0 6-cylinder but also get better gas mileage. And, those of us that like manual trannys would like to see a strong 6-speed option. Running that 4.0 V-6 on the highway at 3,000 rpms just doesn't seem like the right thing to do.

 

I guess I am just requesting that Ford quit looking so much at the up and coming competition and listen to what their very loyal past Ford truck owners are demanding. We don't want an independent rear suspension on a truck like in the SportTrac. And, those of us that have owned a number of Rangers mostly want something updated with a little more room and a better engine. Something that is really a half ton truck again since we have seemingly lost the F-150 to who knows where or forever.

 

Guess I am off to dreamworld now in Ford world on a Sunday night. Can't help but keep hoping that Ford will figure out how to make a new truck that I want to buy again. In the meantime, I can't help but watch Nissan with a lot of interest. Granted they have had a bunch of problems with the Titan, but you know what - those problems have been addressed. The Frontier is one strong small truck too.

 

I'm not sure Nissan isn't addressing the needs of the truck buying public better than Ford right now. As far as Toyota, I think their new Tundra is entering into a market that wanted that sort of truck several years ago. Too late in my mind. The current Tundra is a better answer and the current Tacoma is a nice truck, but it needs the V-8 option as bad as the Ranger.

 

I guess all the truck manufacturers decided at some point that their vehicles would be grocery-getters with the big crew cabs and tiny beds. Not so in my mind as I need a strong half-ton truck that gets decent fuel economy. I don't need to tow more than 5,000 pounds and will rarely ever carry more than maybe 800 pounds. Nothing out there right now that I want to spend so much money to buy. Will keep my current Ford trucks forever or keep looking for good used ones until someone makes an efficient, strong half-ton truck again.

[igor]

Why can't Ford grow some balls and ramp up their diesel engine program!! They have teased us for close to 8 years with a v-6 navistar that would put out similar power to a pre- 1999 7.3L 210-250 hp and 400-425 ft/lbs of torque. Every year they have said in a year or two we will have a diesel Expedition, F150, and Econoline (light duty) but no one listens to the public demand!! yet we still get stuck with 5.4l gas engines that never will break 17 mpg. This is absolute crap if you want to compete offer something no one else has put the diesel engine in make it biodiesel compatible and quit chasing everyone away because of this sham of an oil crisis we are going through.

Thanks I just had to get that off my chest

 

The V6 was cnacelled for NVH issues ... 4.4l V8 is in the works . .I know how frustrating this is .. I love diesels too (although smaller -i4 dor me please), but simply put, most manufacturers were waiting for the new emisions to pass, so they can start engineering with fixed results in mind. Ford is no different. Currently there is a silent Diesel race in the works - everyone wants to be the first one to bring the diesels to the market .. LD trucks, and smaller engines are easy fruit to pick because a diesel will likely get the same combned MPG as a hybrid, for less money fro mthe customers posket, and less maintenance headaches... of course then there are the benfits of extra torque, and the option of diesel hybrids..

 

Ford is in this race, but so far has made no announcements. the only companies that did: DCX which will bring a 45state diesel next year in the Cherokee, and 50state urea-enabled Bluetecs in the mercedes lineup.

and Honda, which says it will have a diesel 4banger in 09 lineup.

 

We shall see.

Igor

[TOMSIMMS]

The pics from the article on slower F-150 sales shows the holding lot for the F-150. There are both crew and extended cabs. Don't ALL of these units have the 5.5' box configuration? Looks like it to me.

[altaforddealer]

The V6 was cnacelled for NVH issues ... 4.4l V8 is in the works . .I know how frustrating this is .. I love diesels too (although smaller -i4 dor me please), but simply put, most manufacturers were waiting for the new emisions to pass, so they can start engineering with fixed results in mind. Ford is no different. Currently there is a silent Diesel race in the works - everyone wants to be the first one to bring the diesels to the market .. LD trucks, and smaller engines are easy fruit to pick because a diesel will likely get the same combned MPG as a hybrid, for less money fro mthe customers posket, and less maintenance headaches... of course then there are the benfits of extra torque, and the option of diesel hybrids..

 

Ford is in this race, but so far has made no announcements. the only companies that did: DCX which will bring a 45state diesel next year in the Cherokee, and 50state urea-enabled Bluetecs in the mercedes lineup.

and Honda, which says it will have a diesel 4banger in 09 lineup.

 

We shall see.

Igor

 

I understand what you mean but I look at the mustang and see that they can come up with a new shelby gt500 and within months come up with a new shelby gt. The technology is out there. and to claim that they had to wait for emissions is crap, its disguised laziness. Here is the best selling truck for the last 30 years that pioneered the supercab, 4x4,crew cabs and on the heavy duties we had the first legitimate diesel in 1982. Now in 2004 we redesign the truck and make a few glaring errors like 4-door regular cabs that look retarded and no heavy payload f150's unless you order it in a long box only with really crappy general or hankook tires with argent painted shitty rims and then lets sit on on our asses and pat each other on the back with the remarkably underwhelming product we have created, now we will coast with bold new graphics and cheezy gimmics for another five years while the market catches up and surpasses us again. No sense in keeping the competition guessing it is to hard for us to react to everyone elses improved products outshining us again.

 

Another example of this was when I talked to engineering on the F350 years ago before the super duty came out in 1999, GM had a 1 ton dually with a pickup box and 4 wheel drive since about 1992 upon my asking why they didn't produce a comparable model of a ford with dual wheels a pickup box and 4x4 their response was they couldn't see enough market for it to be feasable to build such a truck for such small production numbers!! I couldn't believe my ears the chev dealer next door had 4 on their lot and I was losing customers then. 3 years later after my call and probably countless others they finally came out with it in feb 98 as a new 99 model and soared sales way above the competition. I'll bet like this example they will come up with a diesel F150 in 08 or 09 or 2010 and say it was a new idea that they rushed to market in time for that fad to be over.

 

Like the bold moves infomercial says, "Ford is like a big ship that takes a really long time to turn" in volume 9 of the infomercial on this site, we need someone with stronger arms to steer it or less burocracy to allow the true leadership and inventive people to take the lead in the market!!