Just
as rumours circulate that Toyota is about to launch a Cummins-powered Tundra, Ford
lets everyone know who really is boss in town; who is the big kid on the block.
Ford,
North America’s truck leader, has announced an all-new F-650/F-750 medium-duty
truck line-up powered by the 6.7-litre PowerStroke V8 turbo diesel.
The diesel, manufactured at Ford’s Chihuahua Engine
Plant, Mexico, will feature three engine power ratings. These include
best-in-class standard diesel horsepower and torque, and no vocational limits
on top ratings.
The latest announcement will help cement further
growth of compacted graphite iron (CGI) for the cylinder blocks of
high-performance diesel engines as the applications for the F-650/F-750 amount
to new business for the Chihuahua Engine Plant for these engines.
The three diesel power levels available for the
2016 Ford F-650/F-750 are: 270bhp and 675lbft torque (best-in-class standard);
300bhp and 700lbft torque; and finally, 330bhp and 725lbft torque.
These new levels go on sale next year in the Spring
of 2015. Multiple ratings provide customers with the flexibility to scale
engine power to work applications and operations.
“While other medium-duty truck manufacturers
restrict top horsepower and torque ratings to certain applications, such as
emergency services, the all-new F-650/F-750 will arrive with no vocational
restrictions,” said John Ruppert, general manager Ford commercial vehicle sales
and marketing. “We’re giving our customers the power of choice to determine
what’s best for their business.”
The all-new F-650/F-750 joins North America’s
broadest commercial vehicle line-up, delivering a combination of commercial-grade
quality, capability and convenience that makes the range the toughest, greatest
value, most work-ready Ford medium-duty trucks ever.
The second generation 6.7-litre PowerStroke V8
turbo diesel builds upon the success of the diesel engine found in the F-Series
Super Duty line-up. The F-650/F-750 6.7-litre PowerStroke and commercial-grade
six-speed TorqShift HD automatic transmission have been developed and
tested for medium-duty applications. The powertrain offers an unsurpassed
five-year/250,000-mile limited warranty.
Ford is the only medium-duty truck manufacturer
that designs and builds its own diesel engine and transmission combination –
ensuring the powertrain will work seamlessly with all chassis components and
vehicle calibrations.
This approach enables Ford engineers to optimize
vehicle performance across the entire line-up and further refine the powertrain
to the specific needs of the customer.
“Engineering the truck and powertrain together is
the best way to deliver a great product for the customer,” claims John Davis,
Ford commercial vehicle chief nameplate engineer.
Key innovations on the 6.7-litre PowerStroke V8
turbo diesel are its CGI engine block sourced from Tupy SA of Joinville, Brazil.
The CGI cylinder block material enhances durability and helps reduce noise,
vibration and harshness.
The reverse-flow layout places the exhaust inside
the engine’s vee-shape, while the air intake is positioned on the outside of
the vee configuration. This segment-exclusive design naturally improves a
variety of attributes.
Shorter airflow from the exhaust system to the
turbocharger sitting between the engine’s cylinder banks improves turbo
responsiveness – key to providing torque quickly to truck customers when they
need it most. Positioning the turbo inside the engine’s valley helps isolate
the engine’s hottest temperatures, aiding performance and efficiency while also
reducing noise, vibration and harshness for improved driver comfort.
During testing, the 6.7-litre PowerStroke V8 turbo
diesel endured the equivalent of 500,000-plus miles on an engine dynamometer,
replicating the duty cycle of the harshest-use customer.
In addition to its PowerStroke diesel, Ford remains
the segment-exclusive automaker to offer a gasoline-powered engine for a medium
duty truck. The 330bhp, 440lbft torque 6.8-litre V10 is now available for both
F-650 and F-750 models with the TorqShift HD six-speed automatic
transmission.
The 6.8-litre V10 can be factory-prepared for
converting to compressed natural gas or liquid propane gas as cost-effective
alternatives to gasoline.
Offered in Regular Cab, SuperCab and Crew Cab
styles and in straight frame, dock height and an all-new dedicated tractor
model for heavy towing applications, the 2016 F-650/F-750 features a bold look
inside and out.
The Ford F-650/F-750 anchors Ford’s commercial truck
line-up – North America’s best-selling line of commercial trucks for 29 years –
giving vocational customers an unmatched one-stop shop to meet their needs,
from a Class 1 Ford Transit Connect cargo van to a Class 7 Ford F-750 tractor
rig.
Every truck and van in the Ford commercial truck
line-up will be all-new or significantly refreshed in the next 18 months, Ford
claims.
Last year, Ford announced it would shift production
of the 2016 F-650 and F-750 models to its facility in Avon Lake, Ohio, near
Cleveland from the joint-venture Blue Diamond truck company in Escobedo, Mexico, just outside of the northern city of Monterrey.
The
Avon Lake plant formerly produced the E-Series vans. With the new Transit
coming out of Kansas City, Avon Lake was faced with the possibility of being
shuttered, but future product for the plant was negotiated as part of the UAW's
2011 negotiations with Ford.
The
Avon Lake plant will continue to build Econoline cab-chassis and cutaway
commercial models.
The
big purchasing change for the 2016 F-650 and F-750 trucks is the
discontinuation of 6.7-littre Cummins ISB diesel engine.
As mentioned above, starting with the 2016
model, the only diesel option will be the Ford-designed 6.7-litre PowerStroke
V-8 with its three output levels. The 6.8-litre gasoline V-10, offered in the
F-650 since 2012, continues to be offered, giving buyers the option of running
on compressed natural gas or propane.
The
Blue Diamond plant was a joint-venture between Ford and Navistar, where
International's 4000-series/DuraStar trucks were also built.
Anyone
who has followed the history of Ford's heavy-duty pickups and medium duty
trucks over the past decade, will be well aware of the acrimonious relationship
Ford and Navistar had in the last few years, this largely centred on mechanical
reliability issues of the ill-fated 6-litre PowerStroke diesel designed and
built by Navistar. Now Navistar’s new bosses are having to pick up the pieces
of that acrimonious relationship.
Ford
finally introduced the clean-sheet 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel for the 2011
model's redesign, the first in-house Ford diesel engine for its Super Duty
trucks.
All of
which makes the importance of Cummins Inc.’s new contracts with Nissan Motor
Company and Toyota Motor Company for the ISV5.0 engine all the more important. Notwithstanding
that, it is good news too for CGi as the new Cummins ISV5.0 has a CGI cylinder
block – the first production Cummins engine making use of CGI. It is also good news
for Tupy which wins on both counts. ∎
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