Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Is Ford About to Build the Greatest Truck of Our Generation?

Semantics, semantics...

'bout time,they only been trying for 60+ years..Chevy did it first!

OK, guys, the $1.84 EQUIVELANT is what natural gas costs vs Gasoline. It INCLUDES the equivelant highway taxes. My company pays something like $200 per vehicle per year for alternative fuel use in leu of per gallon tax on gasoline. This is figured in the cost of the gas. Natural gas has recently passed coal in production of electricity because of environmental reasons. It can cover 25% of vehicle use just in fleet vehicles only which would cut half the imported oil. We are fighting an uphill battle just to get compressor stations installed for quick fills. The oil companies don't want this at their stations. A quick fill station would cost about $100,000 to take street gas and compress it enough to fill vehicles. It is already being done at most natural gas companies, a lot of phone companies, a lot of garbage trucks, city busses, etc. The compressors are there, and sometimes the gas companies will help with the costs and there are tax credits also. It is just that oil companies are making money drilling and selling crude oil, making money transporting the oil or refined gasoline or diesel across country, and making money selling it at their local stations. They can't make as much buying the gas from the local utility, compressing it and reselling it. Not across the board. Feds aren't helping. Current crop of libs want electric cars. Technology just isn't there for quick charges. It is for natural. Problem is also, even with a quick fill station that we have, we can't fill but 4 vehicles at a time. We have about 25 vehicles. There are far more gasoline pumps available everywhere.

I heard that ford is also coming out with heated tailgates on their trucks for those who live in colder climates. That way you can keep your hands warm while pushing it.

was that not the (1.84) gasoline price down there BEFORE zero took the kings royal chair????

Oh, that was funny! And I drive only Fords.

There were two electric charging stations at the Muir Woods Park in CA. I went there on vacation in June, among other places. They were free to the public, but I never saw any vehicles charging on them.

I hope they don't go flimsy with the tailgate. The steel ones on trucks now and days are already flimsy enough. I just replaced the one on my Duramax.

When I worked at the Fannie Mae backup server facility in Maryland the entire front row of parking was reserved for electric vehicles. I never saw one on the charger. That was in 2005.

Unless it has Toyota in the name, no way could it be a good truck. By the way, Ford, brought to you by Mexico and Canada.

Not in these United States, it hasn't. Not even close...

You might want to amend your "statement", as the Ford Truck Plant in Louisville makes all the Super Duty trucks............you know where Louisville is, right up the road from TN..................

Same over here. Virtually all major petrol stations have one or more LPG pumps, and they don't take any longer to fill up a tank than the petrol pump.

Due Government tax incentives, LPG is currently about 30% cheaper than petrol, but I doubt that differential will remain.

Performance wise, at least on paper, petrol offers a bit more power, but having driven in duel fuel cars, I couldn't see any difference.

Older cars with simpler petrol engines tend to be easier to convert. After market conversions on modern cars can be problematic due to their engine management systems not recognizing the different emissions..

All in all, LPG is now a mature technology and from an engineering perspective, there is no reason not to use it..

I was looking at one of the new 40% made in the USA 52% made in Mexico GMC Trucks Saturday night!!! When I opened the door, it smelled like Burritos and Refried Beans.

GM Welding Breakthrough Enables More Use of Aluminum
Increased use of lightweight metal can help improve fuel economy, performance
2012-09-24

DETROIT � General Motors Research & Development has invented an industry-first aluminum welding technology expected to enable more use of the lightweight metal on future vehicles, which can help improve fuel economy and driving performance.

GM�s new resistance spot welding process uses a patented multi-ring domed electrode that does what smooth electrodes are unreliable at doing � welding aluminum to aluminum. By using this process GM expects to eliminate nearly two pounds of rivets from aluminum body parts such as hoods, liftgates and doors.

GM already uses this patented process on the hood of the Cadillac CTS-V and the liftgate of the hybrid versions of Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon. GM plans to use this technology more extensively starting in 2013.

�The ability to weld aluminum body structures and closures in such a robust fashion will give GM a unique manufacturing advantage,� said Jon Lauckner, GM chief technology officer and vice president of Global R&D.

�This new technology solves the long-standing problem of spot welding aluminum, which is how all manufacturers have welded steel parts together for decades,� Lauckner said. �It is an important step forward that will grow in importance as we increase the use of aluminum in our cars, trucks and crossovers over the next several years.�

Spot welding uses two opposing electrode pincers to compress and fuse pieces of metal together, using an electrical current to create intense heat to form a weld. The process is inexpensive, fast and reliable, but until now, not robust for use on aluminum in today�s manufacturing environment. GM�s new welding technique works on sheet, extruded and cast aluminum because GM�s proprietary multi-ring domed electrode head disrupts the oxide on aluminum�s surface to enable a stronger weld.

Historically, automakers have used self-piercing rivets to join aluminum body parts, because of variability in production with conventional resistance spot welding. However, rivets add cost and riveting guns have a limited range of joint configurations. In addition, end-of-life recycling of aluminum parts containing rivets is more complex.

�No other automaker is spot-welding aluminum body structures to the extent we are planning to, and this technology will allow us to do so at low cost,� said Blair Carlson, GM manufacturing systems research lab group manager. �We also intend to consider licensing the technology for non-GM production in automotive, heavy truck, rail and aerospace applications.�

According to Ducker Worldwide, a Michigan-based market research firm, aluminum use in vehicles is expected to double by 2025. The material offers many advantages over steel. One kilogram of aluminum can replace two kilograms of steel. It is corrosion-resistant and offers an excellent blend of strength and low mass that can help improve fuel economy and performance.

According to AluminumTransportation.org, a 5 percent to 7 percent fuel savings can be realized for every 10 percent weight reduction, and substituting lightweight aluminum for a heavier material is one way to do it. Cars made lighter with aluminum also can accelerate faster and brake quicker than their heavier counterparts.

�GM aims to be an industry leader in mass efficiency,� said Roger Clark, manager of the GM Energy Center. �Many little things can add up to big improvements in fuel economy. Incremental mass reductions, like using welds instead of rivets, can help our customers save at the pump.�

The NCDOT has had dual fuel trucks for at least 15 years, they work fine. As far as aluminum bodies go look at all of those $80,000 Audis.

Here is an interesting video of making aluminum cars. Trucks they are not, but apparently for these cars, somethings are glued, some welded, and some riveted.

Pretty impressive robots and not too many employees to make one of these.

What's the mpg for the CNG vehicles?

Also, this could be a huge money maker for you Dixie. Since the vast majority of gas stations/convenience stores are not owned by big oil, but instead by sole proprietors or private companies, you can invest what, say $500,000 minimum to put one of these CNG stations in. At 6-8cts/gallon net profit, tell us what kind of return you can expect?

With this new Ford if you run out of fuel , just have all your hunting buddies fart in the tank.

FORD

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