Ford F-150 starts flexing its fuel
Yesterday Ford announced that production of the first F-150 flexible fuel vehicles has begun at its Kansas City
Assembly Plant and will arrive in showrooms after the first of the year. The FFV technology has been built into the
truck's 5.4L V8 engine at no extra cost to the buyer. Consumers can choose to run regular gasoline or E85, a mixture of
85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, with no difference in power.
Ford's release of the F-150 as a FFV fits right in line with the company's target of selling 250,000 FFVs next year.
The FFV F-150 joins flexible-fuel versions of the Crown Vic, Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car.
Ford has also partnered with VeraSun Energy Corporation, the second largest producer of ethanol in the country, to
help bolster the nation's ethanol distribution network, as currently only 500 out of the 180,000 fueling stations in
the U.S. offer the blend.
[Source: Ford]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sr20de 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
My girlfriend's Ranger is an FFV vehicle, and I wish I could figure out how that is of any benefit to her. Gas mileage doesn't go up, so what's the point?
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Mike 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
I believe that ethanol is supposed to be a cleaner fuel - burns cleaner or some such.
What I want to know is: where on earth do you buy E85 fuel?
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xsivone 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Find E85 fuel here.
http://www.e85fuel.com/database/search.php
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sr20de 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Yikes. Closest E85 station is in PA. I live in New England.
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tbyron 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
I believe that some of this info is inherently wrong. The characteristics of E85 and regular gasonline are very different. With a higher octane rating, E85 generates more power and less energy, better acceleration and worse fuel economy. The fuel sensor and EFI make the necessary adjustments. Right?
Regardless, it is really good that Ford has incorporated this into the 5.4 so that there is no upfront cost to the buyer.
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