truth about domestics

The 2011 Ford Super Duty stands once again atop the heavy duty truck heap.  Even with new offerings out or on the horizon, Dodge and GM can’t seem to keep up.  There are many reasons for this, two of which happen to be Ford’s dedication to truck buyers and their desire to build the best products money can buy.  Just look at this beast!  The all-new, in-house developed 6.7L Scorpion diesel engine cranks out 390 horsepower and a mind-numbing 735 pound feet of torque!  That’s the same amount of torque as 7 Toyota Priuses!  The even more impressive feat is that the new Super Duty is capable of pulling 24,000 pounds when properly equipped, or almost 8 Toyota Priuses!  These new rigs even manage 22 miles per gallon on highway drives.  For the full story, head on over to PickupTrucks.com or Autoblog.com.

(Image source: Ford)

Ford has been talking about its new 2011 Super Duty for over 6 months now, ever since it debuted at the State Fair of Texas.  Well the specifications have finally come out and they are nothing but amazing.  The new 6.7L Scorpion diesel produces 390 hp and a whopping 735 lb-ft of torque!  That’s 85 more lb-ft of torque than the 2010 Super Duty.  Towing is up to 24,400 pounds on the F-450 with a fifth wheel trailer.  Payload is a Toyota-embarrassing 6,520 pounds on the F-350.  Fuel economy is also up, 18% on pickup models and 25% on chassis cab models.  For more details, head on over to PickupTrucks.com or Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford)

Ford Motor Company has a lot to be proud of this year.  The automaker was the only one of the Domestic three to avoid bankruptcy and they passed on the government bailout.  The 2010 Ford Fusion won Motor Trend’s car of the year, and now it appears they have something else to celebrate.  According to the results of the ALG January/February 2010 Residual Value Forecast, the average residual value of a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle is up an average of $1,310 versus the same period in 2009!  That’s the biggest jump amongst any automaker in the industry!

Ford has passed Toyota for best in initial quality, and the Fusion hybrid surpassed the Camry hybrid by 8 mpg in the city.  Now they have another award to add to their portfolio; the Fusion is worth $687 MORE than the Camry after 36 months!  The Flex also knocked the Toyota Highlander hard, being worth $1,800 more than the Toyota in three years!

The Ford Taurus and Super Duty trucks won the Kelly Blue Book Best Residual Value awards for their segments.  Ford also posted the highest customer consideration, even besting Toyota for the first time since the survey started in 2002.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford)

Ford has offered a dealer-installed remote starter system for several years now but it has decided to start offering a factory-installed option on the 2011 Super Duty.  The reason?  Well, the switch is mostly due to the fact that JD Power states that 90% of customers would prefer a remote starter system was installed at the factory.  Ford also states that the system could have a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 75% compared to starting your car and driving it off cold. 

On the 2011 Lincoln MKX, Ford will offer a heated steering wheel, which is said to improve dexterity and movement in the hands.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford)

How many factories does Ford have in California?  Take a guess.  Go ahead, it’s pretty simple really.  Want the answer?  Zero!  Ford doesn’t have a single assembly plant in California, but that doesn’t stop them from helping people out in California too.  Ford designed and built a 2011 Ford F-550 chassis cab into a firefighting machine.  The truck features a 300 gallon water tank, 8 gallon foam cell and a bunch of other cool accessories.  The truck also comes with Ford’s all new 6.7L Power Stroke V8 diesel.

The purpose of this truck is to raise money for the Los Angeles County Firefighters Widows and Orphans Fund.  Ford will donate money for every person who visits the Ford display during the LA Auto Show and will also donate money for every person who takes a Ford car for a test drive during the week and a half of the show!  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford)

Check out this video of a stock 2011 Ford F-450 Super Duty at a tractor pull event.  The trailer weighs 30,000 pounds and the truck makes it the full pull before being waved off by the flag man.  Impressive considering the truck is a preproduction unit from the nearby Kentucky Truck Plant.  The truck in the video was packing Ford’s all new, in-house designed and developed 6.7L V8 Scorpion diesel.  For more on the story, head over to PickupTrucks.com.

Ford has released a ton of videos on the new F-250 through F-550 lineup, which prove why this truck is the biggest and most capable of all trucks on the market!

Yea, that’s about it lol, I don’t have much else to add.  This is apparently the mascot for Ford’s new 6.7L V8 diesel expected to be fully revealed in the 2011 Super Duty pickups sometime in the next month or so.  For more, head on over to Pickuptrucks.com.

Scorpion diesel (Brian Williams)

Spy photos, caught by Brian Williams for Brenda Priddy & Company, show the new 6.7L turbo diesel being developed in-house by Ford Motor Company.  The new diesel is expected to produce 390 hp and 720 pounds-feet of torque.  That’s a hefty increase from today’s current 6.4L Power Stroke diesel, which is rated at 350/650 respectively.  This new engine, called the Scorpion, should allow Super Duty drivers two things they have been asking for: more power and better fuel efficiency.  The new engine will reportedly be paired with Ford’s new 6 speed automatic and should be good for an increase of 3 mpg over the current line of diesels.  For more, head on over to Pickuptrucks.com.

Ford Kuga

According to a source who spoke to Louisville’s NBC affiliate Wave 3, Louisville assembly plant will be building the Ford Kuga once production stops on the slow selling Ford Explorer.  Ford has said it will spend over $100 million to retool this plant and another in the city that builds the Super Duty F-Series trucks.  The Kuga is a small crossover currently on sale in Europe, and is similar in size to the Escape that we have here.  The next gen Kuga will be shared with global markets including the US as part of Ford’s ONE Ford transformation plan.  For the full article, as well as a link to a video of the story, head on over to Autoblog.