What is it with Ford?

[Florida Rang]

There is still No Replacement for Cubic Inches when it comes to durability and long life. If there was all 18 Wheelers would have smaller engines in them. I can see it now , 18 wheelers with ECOBOOST V-4 engines pulling 80,000 lb loads down the Interstate,,LOL in your Dreams....

[Gammel]

"You can choose ... to buy or not buy as you like."

Oh no you can't! Don't you pay attention? You can't get a Platinum in Stone Gray and you can't get power deployable running boards on a Platinum Tremor but you can on a King Ranch Tremor! I'm telling you the inmates are running the asylum!

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Gammel

"You can choose ... to buy or not buy as you like."

Oh no you can't! Don't you pay attention? You can't get a Platinum in Stone Gray and you can't get power deployable running boards on a Platinum Tremor but you can on a King Ranch Tremor! I'm telling you the inmates are running the asylum!

You are always free to shop somewhere else and try and find it there. We don't have just one truck maker and you can choose which one to buy from.

If you don't like the offerings of any company, you are also free to get the capital together and make your own truck to your own specs. Many have gone this route and made custom vehicles. Buy a base model, then add components as you like. Finish it off with the running boards of your choice in the paint of your favorite color.

[rickshaw49]

Originally Posted by HISSSSS

So, anyone that thinks they know what's the "best" engine/ trans combos today, do you have an engineering degree and spend 40+ hours a week evaluating every possible combination that is available to make the "best" truck for the various segments at a major automobile company? What worked a few years ago may not be the "best" today. Ford won the 2019 24 hours of Le Mans with a 3.5 EcoBoost (though it was probably on steroids compared to what we can buy) as it got better gas mileage than the competition so it took fewer pit stops to refuel. I also love a V8 that has lots of HP (my summer ride is a 550HP supercharged Shelby that get to 60 MPH in 4 seconds) but as Dylan sang, "Times are a Changin'". My next Pony car will probably be an electric Mustang that accelerates even faster up to 60 MPH (or maybe a AC Cobra with a big block).

I have met quite a few automotive engineers during my R&D engineering career in another manufacturing environment and they all had a good handle on what to do make the "best" vehicle based on the input requirements for a particular vehicle. I would trust their judgement over some internet posting experts but YMMV. I like my 2020 3.5 EcoBoost though I haven't towed in the mountains yet.

Or you could get an electric Hummer. 1000 hp, 0-60 in 3 seconds. Over 80 inches wide. Just wait until the urban jungle crowd starts terrorizing the streets with another GM useless piece of equipment.

[Jack Klompus]

Originally Posted by HISSSSS

So, anyone that thinks they know what's the "best" engine/ trans combos today, do you have an engineering degree and spend 40+ hours a week evaluating every possible combination that is available to make the "best" truck for the various segments at a major automobile company? What worked a few years ago may not be the "best" today. Ford won the 2019 24 hours of Le Mans with a 3.5 EcoBoost (though it was probably on steroids compared to what we can buy) as it got better gas mileage than the competition so it took fewer pit stops to refuel. I also love a V8 that has lots of HP (my summer ride is a 550HP supercharged Shelby that get to 60 MPH in 4 seconds) but as Dylan sang, "Times are a Changin'". My next Pony car will probably be an electric Mustang that accelerates even faster up to 60 MPH (or maybe a AC Cobra with a big block).

I have met quite a few automotive engineers during my R&D engineering career in another manufacturing environment and they all had a good handle on what to do make the "best" vehicle based on the input requirements for a particular vehicle. I would trust their judgement over some internet posting experts but YMMV. I like my 2020 3.5 EcoBoost though I haven't towed in the mountains yet.

And it gets weirder.

[MinntoMich]

Originally Posted by Gammel

Oh no you can't! Don't you pay attention? I'm telling you the inmates are running the asylum!

Yup. They're posting on fourms too.

Funny... A while ago when I went on a rant about VERY EXPENSIVE health insurance and backed it up with a figure (which I still have a hardcopy of, thanks Blue Cross Blue Shield & the Unaffordable I Don't Care Act) my comment was promptly yanked.

Hmmm... That has nothing to do with a truck but some folks are getting testy.

Can't help you Gammel, sorry. My father worked for years at a FoMoCo truck assembly plant. Nothing is as simple as it was years ago. Maybe we've been spoiled over the years and expect too much or have been accustomed to having it good for so long. Good luck on whatever you plan to do.

[HISSSSS]

Regarding my Post #70, I never said to use an electric Hummer or put a small engine in an 18 wheel semi rig and expect them to be economical or even a feasible idea. I'm an engineer, I lived by the trade-off of Good, Fast, and Cheap as a way of life for forty years while on a payroll, there are a lot of ways to get where you want to go: Do you want to get there as quickly as possible, as cheaply as possible, or is there something else that weighs into the decision, i.e. 300 mile max a day or staying off the interstate? You get two of the three, you optimize to meet what the given requirements are. As the NASA engineers asked the president's administration back in the 60s after JFK stated we were going to the moon in that decade, one of their first questions were, do you want to bring the astronauts back from the moon alive? Seems like a simple question but definitely requires more planning to get them off the moon and survive re-entry, slowing retro rockets to the moon landing are a lot more simple than a main engine to escape the moon's surface/ gravitation. JFK's directive was Good and Fast, forget about the Cheap factor.

More cylinders, by themselves, may not be the best answer, the turbo on my V6 Sprinter RV makes 16 MPG and passes many vehicles climbing the Rockies. There is limited towing for a toad with that vehicle but that is not one of my requirements, I'll take the cost savings for fuel vs. towing capability I don't need.

Going electric for towing a fifth wheel is totally impossible with today's technology as it is. But you need to make progress trying new ideas or we would still be using early 70s technology of non-electronic ignition, no fuel injection or turbos on vehicles. Who want to still be filing points, hassling with a carburetor or a faulty choke, etc. , I am glad we have progressed in the last fifty years so it's hard to find a vehicle without fuel injection. Are you also against using solar on a rig to allow you to boondock for an extended period of time? I went to grad school to work in the solar engineering field but changed that path after doing economic analysis that showed without Carter's tax incentive, there was no ROI at that time. Since then, solar is more economical but still has a long payback in most cases. Having to not run a generator is a driving force for many people who like solitude.

Anyone who want to debate my post(s) further are welcome to, I'm out of here on this thread as discussing this further would be considered by some to be like trying to get someone to change their politics or religion. I respect what your choices are as much as I would hope you would respect mine, we all have our reasons and it's hard to change someone's convictions. I like the past but also hope for positive change, the best times are in the future, not the past.

[joshuajim]

Originally Posted by Gammel

“ I’m quite sure that I’m also the only expert here in the production of Soviet synthetic rubber for MIG tyres,

Wow, I checked my MIG welder and it doesn’t have Soviet synthetic rubber tires. If you actually did what you say, you would know it’s MiG aircraft.

Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in case you didn’t know

[Gammel]

Gee, Jim, do you teach typing on the side too? I've been in more Soviet aircraft than you know the existence of in places that not only you couldn't spell but that you don't know exist or could find on a map with both hands.

[joshuajim]

Originally Posted by Gammel

Gee, Jim, do you teach typing on the side too? I've been in more Soviet aircraft than you know the existence of in places that not only you couldn't spell but that you don't know exist or could find on a map with both hands.

Sure is a lot of I’s in your posts. You know what that means din’t you?