OK, this is the last thing Ford Motor Co. needs to deal with right now.

 

That sucks.

 

Ford doesn't like the price hike Int. stuck them with on these engines. Now if Ford caves, it will probably raise the price on these already pricey trucks.

 

If I remember correctly there were a LOT of problems with those 6.0s early on....

Sounds like Ford is just doing what they had to and International got ticked off.......

 

Wonder if Cat's interested in a nice, big truck engine contract....

 

Oh my lawd. What next? Why does it feel like vultures are circling overhead?

 

Navistar is just playing hardball with Ford over the warranty lawsuit. If the Ford lawsuit had no merit, Navistar would have counter-sued instead of stopping production. As I see it, they will either negotiate a settlement to the lawsuit or Ford will file an injunction in an attempt to force Navistar to resume production until the lawsuit is settled. I really don't see this lasting very long as it's severely hurting both companies.

 

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Can you imagine the cachet big yellow valve covers with the moniker CAT emblazoned ion them would bring to the table? And the fact that CAT has taken a feew lumps of late might make them even more inclined to want to enter in to such an arrangement.

The only thing that would make it better is if Ford went with a TDi Ford/CAT V12 instead of the expected V8. Talk about bragging rights.

 

We're of like mind on this. CAT's been one of my favorite companies for a long time, and has a great overall product reputation. Would be great for commercials too, you gotta love "There ain't nothing like a Caterpillar engine."

 

2 things first, that's the company(Navistar) that is supposed to be building the block for the "Boss" crate motors (the Windsor-style motors) and also, why go with Cat when the Volvo diesel will get the job done, even if we don't actually own the Volvo truck division (not sure about this), we'd at least get some kind of good deal.

 

Wouldn't get a better deal than CAT. CAT needs good publicity and growth, they're struggling against foreign manufacturing. They'd throw call girls through Ford's bedroom window if it got them the contract, and they'd probably get support in the form of tax breaks in whatever state gets the factory. Ford owns Volvo cars, but other than sharing the name rights has no close ties to AB Volvo, so there's no big incentive to get a "deal" from them.

As for the crate motors, there's no reason for Ford to pull out of that contract if they switch disels to CAT so long as the motors are being delivered. Were Navistar to pull out, or pull another hissy-fit, there's other block-manufacturers.

 

Moosetang is right on the money. Volvo truck and Ford's Volvo car division are apparently still 'cordial' but that is about all they are. And either way, developing a diesel engine with Volvo just doesn't have the cachet that 'CAT Power' does. Honestly, I'd bet simply having the phrase CAT Power displayed on the valve covers would be worth a ten percent sales boost over virtually any other potential partners name alone. Recent difficult times aside the CAT name is pure gold. And as Moosetang hinted above, CAT would likely be very eager to deal with Ford with such a lucrative contract at stake given their recent setbacks.