Posted on 05/04/2015 4:17:20 AM PDT by thackney
Ford Motor Co. says the 2016 F-150 pickup will be available with a 5.0-liter V8 engine that can run on compressed natural gas or propane, part of a growing lineup of CNG vehicles from the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker.
Ford’s commercial vehicle customers, in particular, have been asking for more trucks and vans that can run on compressed natural gas because it lowers their fleet operating costs and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
CNG sells for an average of $2.11 per gallon of gasoline equivalent, as of April 30, 2015, and is as low as $1 in some parts of the country, representing a significant savings compared with unleaded regular fuel, and an even greater savings compared with diesel. The national average for unleaded regular fuel is $2.58 per gallon, while diesel sells for an average $2.81 per gallon, as of April 30.
Ford says demand has been steadily increasing for the past five years. Ford sold a record 16,821 commercial vehicles with CNG/propane gaseous engine-prep packages in 2014, and says 2015 will be even stronger. Since 2009, Ford has sold more than 57,000 CNG/propane-prepped vehicles – seven times more than all other major U.S. automakers combined.
Ford sells only a kit to prepare the engine for conversion to compressed natural gas. The factory prep kit costs $315. It’s then up to the customer to choose a Ford-sanctioned contractor to supply fuel tanks, fuel lines and unique fuel injectors. That modification costs between $7,500 and $9,500, depending on fuel tank capacity.
That extra cost certainly hasn’t been a sales deterrent. “The growth in interest for CNG/propane-prepped vehicles shows a shift in fleet customers’ mindsets,” says Dick Cupka, Ford commercial vehicle sustainability leader. “They are becoming more forward-thinking about alternative fuels, taking into account their total cost of ownership and looking for ways...
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
There’s been some ideas floating around to give semis a “fuel car” with CNG tanks to give them the range they need. It would hook up between the semi and the trailer. I suppose it’s no worse than the double bottom trash haulers that tear up Detroit’s highways.
CC
Much of the added price in diesel came from the EPA Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel regulations. While diesel has a little more tax, the processing of it in the refinery became much more expensive.
Development on the fuel tank front has been fast and furious over the past year. Just last summer, we reported that Freightliner was boasting fuel tank range of up to 700 miles with a back-of-cab and saddle tank system capacity of 115 diesel-gallon equivalents. A year later, Carrick says he can build a system with a range of 1,200 miles.
“I can give you dual 45-gallon CNG tanks on the rail and 155 back of cab,” he says. “With capacity of 245 gallons of fuel, you’ve got a range of 1,200 miles.”
http://www.truckinginfo.com/article/story/2014/09/natural-gas.aspx
Available from the factory on the Dodge Ram for a few years already. Ford Is behind.
The right way.
Yup, I remember in the early 70's during the "gas shortages" and gas station lines, folks were buying VW and other diesel powered cars, until the cost of diesel surpassed gasoline.
GM and Ram drew quite a bit of attention at the 2012 NTEA show by announcing bi-fuel compressed-natural-gas heavy-duty trucks sold through their fleet and commercial networks. For comparison’s sake, we note that the Chevy Silverado 2500 HD can be ordered through any dealer, but it does need to be shipped to Impco for the alternative-fuel retrofit.
The Ram HD 2500 will be built on the production line in Mexico. So technically, it will be the first of the major players to offer a factory-installed bi-fuel CNG option. However, many don’t know that Ford’s bifuel CNG program has been in place for several years, and its supplier, Westport Inc., is just feet away from the Kentucky plant production line that makes the Super Duty.
Since 1997, Ford has offered its F-series pickups with a dedicated natural gas engine option.
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/pdfs/f250.pdf
Did you ever read about the biodiesel requirement?
Ruined most of the kerosene heaters used in the US.
Because it lowers their fleet operating costs. They don't give a happy damn about the fantasy of the greenhouse gas emissions and the climate fantasies of the totalitarians in Washington.
Nat gas, propane, acetylene, etc., and gasoline all make excellent bombs if you are specifically using it in making a bomb.
won’t be a big market as one needs lots of NG stations.
Best bets for NG are in truck fleets, ports and buses. for these, NG refilling can occur along interstates and in central terminals.
Cool, thanks.
CC
I think that Fed Ex and UPS are also using in some areas. It makes sense for any transportation, delivery operation that return to a central hub at the end of shift. It would make a lot of sense for the postal service. Maybe they could actually not lose as much money.
Nat Gas makes a lousy bomb.
You have to dilute in down to 15% concentration mixed into air before it will ignite.
They are even trying out NatGas for long haul trucking, but I believe that is just LNG.
http://about.van.fedex.com/newsroom/global-english/fedex-freight-debuts-new-lng-tractors-in-dallas/
http://www.pressroom.ups.com/Press+Releases/Current+Press+Releases/UPS+Freight+Adds+LNG+Tractors
I only need a vehicle with a range equal to or greater than my bladder range. ;-) Seriously though, good range is important given the relative scarcity of filling stations. As they become more common then range will be less of an issue. How about using CNG or propane as the backup in a hybrid system with regenerative braking?
I’m a proud owner of an F-150, and am quite certain that after a half dozen beef and been burritos I could power that Ford with natural gas.
However, what Washington could do would be to offer tax credits for switching to these natural gas vehicles. If you could depreciate the cost of buying these in a much shorter period than normal(say two or three years)then you would see all sorts of delivery companies install CNG systems.
For example, about 15 years back the Federal government changed the law to allow a business to depreciate the cost of new trucks over 6000 pounds 50% in the first year. All my lumber yard customers went out and bought new flatbed delivery trucks. As an unintended consequence: H2 Hummers, Cadillac SUV, Lincoln Navigators and Chevy Suburbans also weigh over 6000 lbs. So, people that owned other business went out and bought these SUVs. A buddy of mine owns a hair salon. He bought a new Hummer and wrote it off as a company car. My dentist did the same with a Lincoln. The SUV dealers couldn’t keep these trucks on their lots. They were selling at full sticker.
The point is the government can do something to incentivize the switch to natural gas and away from diesel if it wants to.
Problem right now in Omaha is infrastructure. They have a couple around town or if you have NG at home you can put in a charging station for a couple grand but moisture is an issue.
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