http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/14/f...g-improvement/

A new battle is brewing among fullsize pickup trucks. On top of boasting horsepower or towing capacity figures, it seems the next generation of pickup trucks will also be getting pretty serious about fuel economy. With General Motors and Ram recently unveiling their latest pickups, Automotive News is reporting that Ford is working on the next-generation F-150, which is expected to include a lighter curb weight and higher fuel economy.

Reports of Ford cutting weight and using aluminum to do so on the next F-150 aren't new, but the AN article is finally putting a possible target fuel economy to go along with the expected 700- to 750-pound weight reduction. Currently, the F-150 with EcoBoost delivers the best highway mileage of up to 23 miles per gallon, which is off the pace of the 2013 Ram 1500 that stands as the fuel economy leader (for now) with up to 25 mpg on the highway. But Ford may be looking at a three-mpg gain on its new truck; official EPA ratings for the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and 2014 GMC Sierra have not been released yet.

The article also mentions small-displacement (2.9 liters) engines and a shared Toyota hybrid technology, but it isn't clear if either would be used in the 2016 F-150. Until then, AN says that Ford is planning to bring an eight-speed automatic to its fullsize truck within the next couple of year.

 

Well it sure is better looking than the new chevy anyway. I dig the new headlights especially.

 

Word, the New Silverado is ugly. Even more than the last model.

 

Guys that I know with ecoboost are only getting 16-17.

 

Guys I have talked to with them were getting as advertised or better.

It all depends on how you are using it. If you are commute driving you should get as advertised. Pulling stuff and hauling loads you will get teen mpgs.

 

as with any vehicle, mpg depends on how you drive.


Also, an 8 speed transmission? Really? That **** thing is going to be searching for gears all day every day! In a semi, you need all 10+ gears sometimes, but a lot of times, even they skip gears, these vehicles wont do that.

 

Yeah that's true - why not continuous? Too much torque loss under load when you need a full lock up trans?

 

If you're referring to CVT, I don't think they can handle a lot of torque - at least at the levels they would be subjected to in a truck application.

On another note, I'd love to see that level of weight reduction across the whole Ford vehicle line. But, we'll just have to wait and see how much it really is reduced if at all when the final product is unveiled.