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Reader Comments for
Subscribe to this thread5.4L V8 power ratings revealed for 2009 Ford F-150
(Page 1 of 1)
Daniel @ May 16th 2008 11:55AM
Ford never ceases to amaze me. Pickups are their biggest money maker and now they are working on giving up their once very substantial lead in this segment along with the others they have pissed away over the years. All of their major competitors offer V8s with between 380 hp and over 400 hp and Ford is once again stuck at the back of the pack in terms of engine power. This weak kneed engine is an anchor on a very nice pickup.
American pickup drivers are a demographic that wants their power big time!!! Ford really needs a larger, competitive V8 engine (6.4 L Hurricane – not 6.2 L) to retain its now very thin lead in pickups. If they do not come to market with this engine soon, they will give away the lead in pickups they have held for a few decades. If that occurs, the stockholders of Ford should revolt and throw the Board of Directors and the Executives out on their ear.
brmacrae @ May 16th 2008 11:58AM
Right on...........what a bummer, another massaged version of the 5.4L that STILL doesn't match the power & efficiency of the competition. New Tundra has 381hp and 401 lb.-ft, GM and Dodge have cylinder deactivation, etc.
C'mon, Ford, get with the program!!
Bah @ May 16th 2008 12:09PM
Ford is only the "leader" in pickups because GM splits their sales between Chevy and GMC. Add those sales together and Ford has been #2 for years.
I agree Ford has been behind on their engine for a long time as well. I forget how many years ago it was I first heard that the Triton was limited to 5.4L but it has been a long time, and still no replacement. Meanwhile Chevy/GMC are going strong with an engine that is up to 6.2L and can definately still go bigger in future iterations - at least up to 7.0L.
As for the stockholders revolting - that cannot happen. Due to the way the Ford stock system is set up, the Ford family has a guaranteed majority vote. So, unless one of the Fords votes against the board or sells out, the public shareholders effectively have no power.
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 16th 2008 12:23PM
A bigger motor?
Give me a break. This country has gone completely insane. Almost no one needs 380HP in a half-ton truck. If you do, perhaps you could be interested in an optional motor, even a Diesel.
I remember back when I was a boy, the entire country was paralyzed because half-ton trucks only had 270HP. We literally couldn't build houses or haul manure around because once you loaded the bed of a truck, the engine couldn't move it.
Here's an idea. Maybe Ford could catch up on efficiency. Anyone who has had an Explorer knows Ford is still catching up on mpg for a given power output.
Andrew L @ May 16th 2008 12:36PM
sure it does not have as much power but it can tow more than the Tundra so it does not need a bigger engine
Dan @ May 16th 2008 12:58PM
It's not a trade off between mileage and power. With worst in class power the current F-150 consistently shows worse real world mileage than every other fullsize truck except the Titan.
It's a trade off between spending R&D money on a new engine or using the Mod V8 they already have, which goes back to 1990 and wasn't a very good engine even then.
Guenther @ May 16th 2008 2:20PM
Dan, although its long in the tooth now, the Triton 5.4 was repeatedly ranked one best truck engines around. that said...
If you aren't doing VVT, overhead cams are a waste of money,space and friction in a truck motor.
The HP race in these trucks is silly, but the race is still on. If their tweaks to the old engine gave them fuel econ comparable to what GM is mustering from the 5300, they might not be finished. Ford builds a good truck (although I find the 09 rather offensive looking) but resting on reputation and unfounded tow capacity increases just wont get you very far.
Dan @ May 16th 2008 4:12PM
Ranked best engine by whom? People who'd just traded up from a Dodge with the LA 360 from 1971?
The 4 valve variants Ford has put in SVT Mustangs and Oz Falcons etc. is pretty good but the 2 and 3 valve versions that have seen truck duty here have trailed GM - and now Nissan and Toyota and the Hemi - from day one.
Randy @ May 18th 2008 1:15AM
With all due respect! I believe Ford knows what they are doing with the F-150. Think about this... We all agree that the new Focus looks like ass! But it's a huge success! Who's wrong, us or Ford? I think we (including myself) get stuck in ways that we believe are the right way because we are familiar with it or because it's something that we know is better! Ford on the other hand has data to backup such a move. I would hope anyway! I doubt very much that there will be a lacking of anything in the F-Series anytime soon!
I'd worry more about the grille on the front of it than anything else! Not as funky as the E-150, but close!