Ford's Doug Scott: Hybrid trucks are a publicity stunt
Doug Scott is the marketing manager for Ford's truck division and he was the one who said "capability matters" when talking about the new 2009 F-150. That means he's chiefly responsible for trying to convince people to buy his employers trucks. In that capacity he has to convince people F-150s are better than Silverados, Rams and Tundras. The F-150 certainly has plenty of features including many that its competitors don't have. There is however one feature that is notable by its absence: a hybrid system.
In an interview with Automotive News, Scott was asked about the GM and Chrysler hybrids. His response was to call those products "a publicity stunt." Based on the low sales of the Tahoe and Yukon hybrids, Scott sees the hybrids as little more than something to advertise rather than a real viable product. To date, Ford has repeatedly told us they had no plans to build large hybrid trucks of their own. However, now that the company's new diesel V8 for the F-150 has been shelved, Ford may be rethinking things.
Interestingly on the same day the interview was published we learned of a series hybrid F-150 that will make its debut at the SEMA show in a little over a week. We checked with Ford spokesman Alan Hall about the hybrid F-150 and he told us that the truck was a project of PML Flightlink, the manufacturer of the wheel motors. However, we're also hearing from other sources that there may be more to this truck than meets the eye. We'll be watching the announcements from SEMA to find out more.[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gorr 11:21PM (10/25/2008)
Nobody is able to increase the efficiency of these trucks. Sad
because a lot of people needs them.
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ronnie schreiber 12:20PM (10/26/2008)
Actually, the two-mode hybrid developed by GM, Daimler and Chrysler, improves fuel efficiency on full size BOF trucks by about 25%. Unfortunately the system is expensive, but when you consider that full-size pickups still outsell Camrys and Accords, and just how large a fraction of the American fleet is made up of BOF trucks, improving the gas mileage of that part of the fleet by 25% would save a lot more fuel than selling a 40mpg minicar.
GM's been raked over the coals for the poor sales of their two-mode hybrids so far, but the two-mode system, built into the automatic transmission, was the quickest way to achieve a significant increase in fuel efficiency - not just for GM's trucks but for the overall US fleet of vehicles.
rob 10:12AM (10/26/2008)
Ford's Doug Scott - "We don't have a hybrid truck to sell you, so they're stupid."
So then explain the Escape Doug. Is that a stunt too?
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Perry 12:16PM (10/26/2008)
When the price of the two mode system comes down ford will be hurting. Everyone who needs a truck will buy a hybrid ram, sierra, or silverado. Unless ford can perfect its hydraulic hybrid they will be left out in the cold.
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MikeW 12:23AM (10/27/2008)
Ford NEEDS that 8 speed automatic from ZF.
Show truck drivers how thing work in the real world.
1-7 in tow haul, 2-8 otherwise
couple that with the 3.7 V6 for 4x2
and the 3.5 twin turbo direct injection V6 for 4x4
and call it a day
Just make sure Ford doesn't do something stupid and spec 5w-20 oil for the ecoboost, unless it is going to hold 8-9 quarts of oil.
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Jason 9:02AM (10/27/2008)
Hmmm...to expand on the "they have it, we don't, so they're stupid" comment, wasn't it the Ford Motor Company that took SO long to implement hydraulic brake systems, which are standard on every passenger car/truck that's been made for decades? Chrysler had hydraulic brakes as standard ever since their first motor car in 1924. I guess, following the above logic, Chrysler was "stupid" to have beat Ford, by more than a decade, in the standard application of hydraulic brakes.
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Luke 10:59AM (10/27/2008)
The same idea that GM was pushing with their mild-hybrid truck is a winner. Have a "generator" position for the key, so that someone can use the hybrid system as an on-site power supply. A contractor could then run an extension cord into the jobsite and work all day.
A compact version (Ranger-sized) would probably be popular with people in hurricane-prone areas... Those folks loose power during every major storm, sometimes for a week or two. It seems that any homeowner who'd been through that would jump at the chance to have a really good mobile generator that could power their refrigerator AND central air-conditioner run for days at a time built into his/her vehicle for the price of a V8. Heck, I'd jump at that, and I live in one of the most placid parts of the country!
I currently own a 2WD Ranger, and I could probably afford to upgrade. But the new Ranger doesn't offer anything that my 1998 version doesn't have.
Here are a list of features that would convince me to buy a new Ranger now:
1) All-wheel drive. Anyone who's driven a RWD compact pickup in the rain knows how to handle a fishtailing vehicle. Why not put in something like the drivetrain in the Subaru legacy?
2) A 2.5L 4-cylinder diesel engine. My ranger has a 2.5L 4-cylinder gasoline engine. I'd love to get more torque, since I tow small things from time-to-time, but I don't want to take the efficiency-hit that comes with bigger gas engines. Plus, I'd love to run on locally-produced biodiesel.
3) A generator function, or a plug-in hybrid. A regular hybrid would be OK -- but, like 4wd, the doors will have to fall off of this one before I can justify buying either 4wd or Prius-style hybrid. But, if I could use the vehicle to deliver a couple of hundred amps worth of whole-house backup-power, I'd seriously consider buying it now. As for the plug-in hybrid, I'd much rather make my trips to the hardware store on American/Canadian electricity.
I'm sure I'm not the only person who thinks this way.
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