2015 ford f-150 - Page 2

i don't expect them to sell a lot of 2WD models up north I can tell you that much. as far as future scrap, depends on how they make it, probably sheet or extruded. I can't imagine those being cast, it would take them forever to mass produce

I'm actually in the market for a new truck to bury some taxable income. I looked hard at the 14 f150 ecoboost, I will have to drive a f150 2.7 ecoboost here next week to see if I'm willing to take the plunge, word on the street is even the 3.5 ecoboost 2015 is getting 24-25 mpg in 4x4 configurations...that alone is impressive. The ram ecodiesel is said to get cheaper next year as well...I expect it will have an increase in horsepower, they slipped up and said it would have 255/450 hp/tq in the ram ecodiesel for 2015 on one of the youtube interview videos I watched and it was on motor trend tv last month. Problem is production is so far behind if I ordered a 2014 today I couldn't get it until December...but the ones on the lot are all super uptrim laramies...but enough of ram...

I'm seriously considering this 2015 ford...I have to do something soon I am eating more than 1000 a month in fuel costs in my 2000 ram 1500 at around 13.5mpg avg (I am massively lifted as well).

Normally, I'd bash Ford due to their lack of serviceability, but everyone has stooped to that level now. The thing that would concern me the most is the repair costs on body work- especially for the first few years. Once wrecked ones appear, some used parts may be available, but for the first year or two, that would worry me a bit.

Of course, in Wyoming, there is no road salt. My 1986 Dodge D250 spent it's whole life here, and there isn't a speck of rust to show. Back east, I'd probably take that gamble on aluminum, though. I've witnessed firsthand how rust can kill a vehicle.

Out here, though, I'd have the Chevrolet or the Dodge. I'm not ready to get back in bed with Ford yet....

The thing I wonder about these small engines is longevity.

Historically, Small engines in large cars have always ended up in said vehicles having relatively short life spans. Flogging the hell out of a little motor to get power of the thing goes against every engineering principal. Sure, you can get the power but for how long? All the large car/ small economical engine types I have seen before end up smoking, unreliable heaps that disappear fast.
Whenever you see a life critical engine application, it's always a big engine with very modest power for its size turning at a relative slow speed. Putting a little engine in a workhorse application I am unaware of in any other application. I wonder if the lower fuel bills are not going to be largely offset by faster replacements needed and falling resale prices or even more frequent/ pricey repairs?

If you look at Japanese Trucks, They have all gone bigger engines over the years and Euro cars have gone much the same way. They actually get better economy out of turning a bigger engine slower. I'm sure there is more than one way to viably skin a cat but little engines in big vehicles do not instill me with confidence in their long term endurance. As an outsider, I get the impression there is a propensity for a good amount of owners of these vehicles to overload the crap out of them as some sort of pride and proof of their choice of chosen brand. On trucks that are worked hard regularly, it's going to be interesting to see how these things are holding up in 5-10 years.

That of course is of little concern to the manufacturer.
IF they can quote impressive numbers and the things last past warranty, all good for them. If they do fall over a year or so after the warranty is over, better still, Make some back end profit on parts and maybe even replacement engines.

I would say it could go either way. It all depends on the driver and how the truck is being used. The F-150 really isn't a work truck. It's better suited for use as a daily driver commuter vehicle that sometimes hauls loads under a thousand pounds. Within that context it's fine for the purpose. If you ask a monkey to do a gorilla sized job then you might run into problems.

Here's a lineup of motors that are available for the F-150 :

2015 Ford F-150 | View Full Engine Specifications | Ford.com

Personally, i don't see the reasoning for 2.7 & 3.5 ecoboost . Maybe it's to appeal to a market segment that likes advanced engine design ? Maybe the 3.5 turbo ecoboost is to appeal to the sport truck market the way the Lightning series did ? Maybe Ford wants to road test some of the engine designs that it's developed ? I just don't know .....

I've been running Ford trucks for over 30 years now. My current f-150 has a 351 cid (5.8 liter) and it's massively over powered for the job. I've run the 302 cid (4.9 liter) and that was more than enough. Given a choice i would much prefer a 6 cylinder under the hood. They phased out the venerable 300 cid ( 4.9 liter ) but it looks like the new 3.5 liter TI-VCT would be allright.

The price of a new truck has gone up quite a bit over the years but you have to remember that quality has improved a lot. The Ford trucks these days are seriously built for the long haul. Back in 1979 when i bought my first new F-100 you would reasonably expect to get 100 - 120 k. out of a motor. Most of the engine designs now are tested to last 300 k. and it's not at all uncommon to see a ford with 200 k miles selling for over eight grand at the dealership because the trucks retain their value if properly maintained.

There are a lot of in's and out's to it.

The new aluminum body sounds interesting. All of the aluminum trim on my present truck (20 yrs old) is in perfect condition. There's not a bit of corrosion. Sure would be nice to have a truck body that didn't rust out here in the salt states.