The tremendous pressure on the auto industry is rapidly unraveling even the most carefully laid out plans. Fuel economy is king right now, and trucks and SUVs have gone from cash cows to the 6,000-pound albatross around the necks of automakers. Ford has been giving us a steady flow of news regarding its plans to weather this wicked storm, including the decision to switch truck and SUV plants into facilities that can produce fuel efficient cars and the delayed launch of the 2009 F-150. Now we're hearing from Mike Levine at Pickuptrucks.com that the Blue Oval has all but killed the once promising Boss V8 engine program.
The powerful V8 engine was slated to appear on models ranging from the new Mustang to the best-selling F-150 and Super Dudy, but a stop work order has narrowed the Boss' available engine bays down to one model. Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields told Levine that while the program isn't being killed completely, it will now only appear in one vehicle. Levine has heard from three sources that the lone vehicle will be the Super Duty, which needs a more efficient replacement for the 6.8L V10. Ford has already spent a load of cash on the beefy pushrod, so killing the program altogether would have been a tough pill to swallow. Ford was also planning on more than one displacement for the Boss, but with it now only going in the Super Duty, it'll likely only appear in 6.2-liter guise.
Ford will likely move any and all monetary and development resources possible away from the Boss, and into the hands of greener projects like the US-bound Fiesta. The move makes abundant sense given the current realities Ford is facing, but it still saddens us that we won't get to mash the pedal to unleash 400 naturally aspirated ponies any time soon.
[Source: Pickuptrucks]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Js @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:15AM
Maybe this is a chance for Ford to ship over one of the turbo V6 engines its using down under and place it into the bay of the mustang ? Not quite the grunt or sound of the V8, but I'm sure it would make for an interesting ride none the less..
rypt @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:41AM
I'll take Turbo (or Twin Turbo) V6 any day :)
Rboyett @ Jun 23rd 2008 10:06AM
Ford has already said that the Eco-Boost V6 (340HP) will be going into the F-150 and offered on the refreshed Mustang. However I've read that a twin turbo version of that engine will be offered in the Mustang (400HP??)
Do that and drop 500 lbs for the 'Stang and we won't need the Boss. The 'Stang is very overweight as it is...
Kookr @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:19AM
"The powerful V8 engine was slated to appear on models ranging from the new Mustang to the best-selling F-150 and Super Dudy...."
I took a super dooody this morning!
Randy @ Jun 23rd 2008 1:16PM
That typo is the sh*t!
martin @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:21AM
i'd love some $4 gas. i think it was that cheap in the 1980's. certainly never been that cheap since ive been driving.
but on topic. more turbo v6's and turbo 4's should be on the cards. actually maybe superchargers for better torque spread, which is what a truck needs
John @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:21AM
$4 Gas. I wish! In Europe we pay $10 a gallon.
Injected @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:54AM
You can thank your government taxing the crap out of gas for that, my Euro friend. 63% of what you pay is likely going to the Government. Beyond that, Europe is made up of much closer cities, and you have far more fuel efficient offerings in the car market.
Bottom line is that as a commodity, comparing gas prices across countries doesn't make sense.
John @ Jun 23rd 2008 5:14PM
I do agree with you on that. Last month I was in the US and my neighbor was happy that he had a fuel-efficient car that did 28mpg. When I told him that I drove a 70mpg car, he was shocked!
In most parts of Europe anything under 40mpg is not considerd fuel-efficient, but we get taxed like crazy!
Justin @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:26AM
While I realize this will upset a bunch of people...let's be realistic. As a company, they need to make what will sell the most, not just to a handful of enthusiasts. The Boss just wasn't marketable in current conditions.
I would love to have heard it in a 'stang though.
BigRedSpecial @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:34AM
Wow, where did you get this information??
for one, it's been widely known for over a year and a half that the Boss motors aren't pushrod, they're 2v SOHC. Secondly, the mustang wasn't getting these engines anyway... apparently the boss/hurricane block is way too large/heavy for the mustang.
The new mustang V8 is a 5.0 modular design (albeit heavily modified). According to insiders, they tested two engine prototypes (both 5.0) named coyote and bobcat, built from the 4.6 and 5.4, respectively. The 4.6 based design won out.
Jay Evans @ Jun 23rd 2008 10:21AM
I concur with BigRedSpecial. This has been common knowledge in the Ford/Mustang forums for a year.
Guenther @ Jun 23rd 2008 11:05AM
Wow- a 2V SOHC V8 is just dumb. Packaging sucks and you get no real advantages over a OHV set-up.
Throwback @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:55AM
Folks, now is the time to buy your high performance V8s. It appears that the days of affordable, high performance V8s are dwindling. The good news is hot rod builders will probably have plenty of business in the future. As for me, I plan to start building a '32 highboy with my son next Summer.
mike @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:57AM
Injected, well Europeans do not want their economies addicted to oil....like some countries run by oil men. And i am not talking about saudi arabia.
dejal @ Jun 23rd 2008 9:19AM
Could you site some references where the price of gas was raised for the express reason to NOT be dependent on foreign oil?
Dude @ Jun 23rd 2008 9:24AM
Right. Apparently Europe is showing this lack of addiction to oil by protesting in the streets about rising oil prices.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7426971.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7432664.stm
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2008/2008-06-11-02.asp
geo.stewart @ Jun 23rd 2008 9:25AM
yes, oil was forced upon us. the oil companies are the secret evil force behind everything.
maybe its the environmentalists who wont let any new refineries go up, or any domestic oil fields to be tapped.
Or maybe its short-sighted politicians like Barack who evidently believe that fuel prices will go down on their own in the next 5 years and so the fact that any laws passed now to allow new oil refineries or wells wont impact us for 4-5 yrs means there is no point since he wont be able to take credit for something now.
give me a break.
Injected @ Jun 23rd 2008 2:48PM
Mike,
I completely understand various reasons behind the "evil" tax tacked onto gas prices. Different coutries handle it differently. Some actually subsidize it in order to make the population more complacent. My reply was more to the reasoning behind being told that we don't have it that bad. I would say the prices across the countries are not comparable because they aren't.
Kimura @ Jun 23rd 2008 9:22AM
While this is the logical choice, the fact remians that real truck buyers will want capable, powerful engines, and the competition offers more powerful powerplants than the F-150.