Less Is More For Ford's New V-6 Engine [Federal Regs Kill the V-8]

Newhouse News ^ | 1/9/2008 | Robert Schoenberger

[ElkGroveDan]

I don’t suppose this bodes well for the V-10s like my wife and I have in our F250 and Excursion.

[Names Ash Housewares]

From my cold dead hands.......

Auto enthusiasts really need an NRA type organization. Anyone know of anything close?

[Hoffer Rand]

Very nice. I especially like the one with the Mustang for sale in the background!

[Tenacious 1]

I think Ford’s best to motors ever were the last generation of the 302 and the 300ci In-Line 6.

But I drive pick ups.

[duckworth]

As a Mazda6/626 owner since 1985, I’m glad to see what the 2009 Mazda6 will look like...

(I’m always tickled to think about all the $30K+ Fords and Lincolns that are based on my $15K (after dickering) Mazda6!)

[Abathar]

My mom just sold her Lotus with a four cylinder that had a second gear beyond belief. Of course the cylinders were the diameter of an old steamship engine but man could that thing go.

[KenHorse]

Yea, the ‘stang was my ride before I bought the Z06!

(sold it at a loss just to get rid of it. A ‘stang ain’t no Vette!)

[Domandred]

Think the F150 counts as a “big commercial truck”? If not my dad will be switching brands. He’s had 3 F150’s so far but won’t get rid of his V8 engine to stay in the Ford family.

[stephenjohnbanker]

LOL!

[VOA]

Very nice car but Mazda is discontinuing for 2008 due to lack of interest.

I'm no accountant of true cost of horsepower.
Thus I do wonder if that extra $7,000 for an extra 27 horsepower
really is a reasonable deal for the consumer.

In other words, is Ford/Mazda's real extra cost more like $2,000
for the added hardware and research and they are just picking up
an extra sweet $5,000 profit?

I'n not slamming Ford/Mazda...just wondering what the dollar-and-cents
analysis of this extra dollar per horsepower situation means to
the car buyer and the manufacturer.

As for the competitiveness of some Mazda models, they lost my
mom last year when she was car shopping...about $3,000 more for
a Mazda as compared to a similar Toyota model.
(Of course, the question of whether there will be a Ford/Mazda
dealership/service out here in flyover country in a few years
also factored into the decision.)

[taildragger]

Do you think they would take that risk of low durability and warantee issues given their current economic situation?

I think not.

Again Audi, VW and Porsche are essentially doing the same thing with turbo and FSI and no one complains.

[WOBBLY BOB]

Top Gear Prius test

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdwRhYjio8Y

[VOA]

Oops!
I meant “an extra 27 percent horsepower”, not “27 extra horsepower”
in my post 30 above.

[Dan Middleton]

Off-topic comment: Why does the Lincoln MKS look like a Pontiac? What were they thinking with that grille design???

[IamConservative]

There are turbos now that instead of being driven by exhaust gases are driven by the crankshaft, much less lag than traditional turbos. Couple this with direct injection and you would essentially have a motor that can cruise a car on sub-100HP and burst to 200 plus easily and reliably.

I have a Cummins turbo diesel that is a daily driver at 235HP or so, flip a go button in the cab and it will dyno over 400RWHP and 900+ ft/lbs of torque.

The range of adjustability of an electronically controlled, direct injected, turbo charged engine is incredible.

[PAR35]

Ford looks to be in a death spiral. Would you rather have an expensive Turbo6 in your Ford pickup, or a Toyota with a V8? (Hint: higher temperatures and pressures lead to shorter engine lives)

[Alberta's Child]

I'm not an auto expert, but isn't Ford going about this the wrong way? I've got a fully loaded Ford F-150 4x4 pickup truck with the LARGER V-8 (5.7 liters), and I've averaged 16-17 miles per gallon (I can get better than 20 on the highway) since Day 1. The major factor in this case is the transmission (it's got a low gear ratio that makes it run more efficiently at highway speeds), not the engine size.

Why don't some of these auto manufacturers simply take their existing engines and add another gear (5th, 6th, or even 7th) to improve fuel economy?

Conversely, the auto industry could push the U.S. government to do one thing that would probably be quite effective in improving overall fuel efficiency: Increase the number of vehicles with manual transmissions on the road. This isn't a bad idea at all . . . if Congress is going to force people to drive certain types of cars to meet these fuel standards, they might as well force them to drive cars that require a driver who -- well, KNOWS HOW TO DRIVE.

[RexBeach]

God gave us the V-8 to let us know that he loved us, and that everything would be OK.

For example, I am the owner of a 2003 Cobra Mustang: Double over head cam and factory supercharger. It delivers 400 HP to the rear wheels, and on my last long driving trip I registered 28 MPG! Hah! It even has a factory boost meter for the blower. 6-speed standard shift is, well, standard.

I love to hear that blower spool up on the DC beltway.

[wbill]

So, Congress either wants you to have less fun or is willing to sacrifice the lives of it’s citizens

You're being entirely too close-minded. They could very easily want both!

[Spktyr]

“There are turbos now that instead of being driven by exhaust gases are driven by the crankshaft, much less lag than traditional turbos.”

Those are not new. They’re called “superchargers.”