Ford Customers give F-150 with Fuel-saving Technologies High Marks for Quality

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EcoBoost Boosting F-150 Sales
Ford’s gasoline turbocharged, direct-injection EcoBoost engine combines the performance of a V-8 with the fuel efficiency of a V-6 to help boost the truck to new heights. The F-150 with EcoBoost is showing there is a “replacement for displacement.”

 

“This truck gives customers more with less – using advanced technology to deliver both power and efficiency,” said Raj Sarkar, F-150 Marketing Manager. “The EcoBoost trucks are our most capable F-150s and the fact they also offer exceptional fuel efficiency means our customers don’t have to compromise.”

 

The Ford F-150’s official 2011 EPA ratings certify that 4x2 models equipped with the 365-horsepower 3.5-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo engine and six-speed automatic transmission achieve 22 mpg on the highway and 16 mpg in the city. At the same time, the engine produces a class-leading 420 lb.-ft. of torque, helping enable best-in-class maximum towing of 11,300 pounds and maximum payload of
3,060 pounds.

 

Ford total truck sales were 9.1 percent higher year to date through October than a year ago, with 651,837 trucks sold, representing their highest sales since 2007. Ford F-Series sales totaled 54,410 and 52,511 in September and October, respectively. It is America's number one selling nameplate, totaling 468,899 vehicles through October of this year. This included new monthly records for the EcoBoost-equipped F-150's, with nearly 13,000 trucks sold to retail customers, representing over 40 percent of all F-150 retail sales. 

 

The EcoBoost is so popular with truck buyers that the F-150 is on track to sell 100,000 of the engines in less than a year. Third party accolades for EcoBoost continue to roll in with the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) naming the 2012 F-150 the "Truck of Texas" and the 2012 F-150 Platinum EcoBoost the "Luxury Pickup of Texas".

 

Electric power-assisted steering, or EPAS, enables Pull-Drift Compensation technology, which constantly measures the driver’s steering input, adapts to changing road conditions and helps compensate for slight directional shifts caused by factors such as crowned road surfaces or steady crosswinds. The system’s Active Nibble Compensation feature helps reduce vibrations that transfer through the steering wheel.

 

The system has been carefully tuned with sophisticated speed mapping to deliver accurate responses at high speed while remaining light and manageable in parking maneuvers. EPAS steering also improves fuel economy by up to 2 percent, compared to conventional hydraulic steering systems, because EPAS only requires power during steering maneuvers instead of constant engine power to drive the hydraulic pump. That also means there’s no hydraulic fluid to be disposed of during maintenance, creating less hazardous waste and resulting in a cost saving for owners.