In a Wall Street Journal article, Ford Motor Co. touted its new F-150 with the aluminum body. The engine is a 2.7-liter turbocharged V-6 engine that is said to achieve 26 mpg* on the highway and 22 mpg* combined city and highway mileage. Since the new trucks are just going into production, you won’t see them at Johnson Bros. Ford for at least a few weeks.
At an event in Dearborn, Michigan in late November, Ford released the EPA label ratings for the truck. Fuel economy readings will vary depending on the model you choose, and whether that model is a two- or four-wheel drive vehicle, the size of the cab and the engine that is mated with the particular F-150 trim level.
The new F-150 models are expected to get up to 29 percent better fuel economy than the current model year. According to Raj Nair, via the Wall Street Journal, Ford met a significant achievement by significantly reducing the curb weight of the vehicle. Nair also expects that Ford will release a hybrid F-150 by 2020; and he also stated that the American vehicle manufacturer is working on a 10-speed transmission with General Motors.
Even a one to two mile-per-gallon improvement on fuel economy can save millions of dollars of gas every year. If an F-150 uses 17 mpg combined, it uses 705 gallons of gas over the course of 12,000 miles. Ford’s 3.5-liter V-6 engine gets 20 mpg* and it uses only 600 gallons over 12,000 miles. That means that if Ford reduces the fuel consumption on just the F-150 models and it sells over 500,000 units, it could reduce overall gas consumption by 52 million gallons over a year. With the aluminum trucks, gas consumption could drop significantly more.
Production and Delivery to Dealerships
Ford started production of the new aluminum-bodied F-150 in mid-November 2014 and expects to start delivering it to dealerships by mid-December. This truck is 700 pounds lighter than the outgoing model year’s truck. Not only does the lighter weight reduce fuel economy, but Ford can use a smaller engine since it won’t be bogged down by the weight of the truck. And, a lighter truck has better acceleration, better braking and will have more towing capacity.
Learn More About the New Aluminum F-150
Keep your eye on this space for more information about the new F-150 models, including a release date and when they will be available at Johnson Bros. Ford.
