Summary
Ford Motor Company recently announced specifics regarding their new diesel engine they developed in-house. It’s got a bunch of power, but a successful product is much more than a new cool design. Many of us are pulling for the only US non-government motors player, but some loyalists are going to hit the “wait-a-while” button to see how it goes - for potentially good reason.
Analysis
I must admit it on the front end - I’m a BIG TIME Ford pickup truck fan. As a matter of fact, I have loved Fords since my first car - a ’69 Mustang. I still have my first new Ford - an ’84 full size Bronco. A fellow-Purdue friend at Ford advised me how to spec it - and it has still been the best as compared to my GM, Chrysler and German-wonders. Just wish it would get more than 14MPG. The other Ford pickups I’ve personally had have been winners.
I’m also a diesel lover in anything - and believe that’s a good option for meeting CAFÉ standards, lower operating costs and good performance. It gave me a grin when I just read that a new Volkswagen Jetta TDI beat a Toyota Prius in highway fuel mileage - and blew it’s doors off in acceleration. I have put on thousands of miles in our company’s Jetta’s / Passat diesels, and they handle the mountain passes with ease while getting almost 50 MPG.
Also on the business side, we have had dozens diesel pickups / SUV’s in a partner company lease fleet and have considerable experience with the Ford PowerStroke-Navistar diesel, the General Motors DuraMax-Izusu diesel and the Dodge Cummins Turbodiesel. My personal biases aside, all of the offerings have done well engine-wise. The trucks (suspension, cabs and bodies) are a different story and also follow end-user preferences.
The common theme is all of this history is that pickup-makers have partnered with “diesel engine-experts” for their successful US offerings for quite some time. There is good reason when we remember the ill-fated GM diesel catastrophe from 30-years ago. Of concern with the Ford approach, it’s appears like gas engine guys are developing the new diesel without wise old diesel guys being intimately involved. Déjà vu all over again? We hear some are nervous there. We also know that Ford has supposedly sold more Navistar diesel trucks than GM Duramax and Dodge Cummins pickups combined, so there are some big numbers here at risk!
I also recall from my corporate days when the Cummins B-Series was being originally developed for Ford pickups. Of course, we all know that when that didn’t happen, the Dodge deal was made. Those engines were pretty simple (controls & integration-wise) as compared to today, but the ramp-up problems were notable. There are not only all of the new engine components today, but also getting it through production and into real users hands.
So what do a number of motorhead diesel pickup people do over a long weekend? Us Ford-lovers are talking about the 400 Horsepower and 725 ft-lbs torque, as compared Cummins and Duramax being notably less. But then reality sets in when the question is asked whether anyone will buy one.
OK - we understand that the Navistar Powerstroke had warranty failure rates of around 50%, but that also included issues with emissions-related items. We also know the diesel engine is the largest cost component in a truck, so bringing it in-house makes sense. Just look at what is going on with BIG trucks at Navistar, Paccar, Freightliner and Volvo. But Navistar has a long successful tradition of building good diesel engines, so that raises the question whether the Ford folks will end up with a better warranty experience.
Perhaps Ford knows something we don’t, but take a new engine design + big power + new emissions technology + new production engineering issues + new vehicle application engineering issues = Oh Boy! B20 Biodiesel approved for use is another risk factor. We’ll hit the pause button too - but wish them well!
I’m also a diesel lover in anything - and believe that’s a good option for meeting CAFÉ standards, lower operating costs and good performance. It gave me a grin when I just read that a new Volkswagen Jetta TDI beat a Toyota Prius in highway fuel mileage - and blew it’s doors off in acceleration. I have put on thousands of miles in our company’s Jetta’s / Passat diesels, and they handle the mountain passes with ease while getting almost 50 MPG.
Also on the business side, we have had dozens diesel pickups / SUV’s in a partner company lease fleet and have considerable experience with the Ford PowerStroke-Navistar diesel, the General Motors DuraMax-Izusu diesel and the Dodge Cummins Turbodiesel. My personal biases aside, all of the offerings have done well engine-wise. The trucks (suspension, cabs and bodies) are a different story and also follow end-user preferences.
The common theme is all of this history is that pickup-makers have partnered with “diesel engine-experts” for their successful US offerings for quite some time. There is good reason when we remember the ill-fated GM diesel catastrophe from 30-years ago. Of concern with the Ford approach, it’s appears like gas engine guys are developing the new diesel without wise old diesel guys being intimately involved. Déjà vu all over again? We hear some are nervous there. We also know that Ford has supposedly sold more Navistar diesel trucks than GM Duramax and Dodge Cummins pickups combined, so there are some big numbers here at risk!
I also recall from my corporate days when the Cummins B-Series was being originally developed for Ford pickups. Of course, we all know that when that didn’t happen, the Dodge deal was made. Those engines were pretty simple (controls & integration-wise) as compared to today, but the ramp-up problems were notable. There are not only all of the new engine components today, but also getting it through production and into real users hands.
So what do a number of motorhead diesel pickup people do over a long weekend? Us Ford-lovers are talking about the 400 Horsepower and 725 ft-lbs torque, as compared Cummins and Duramax being notably less. But then reality sets in when the question is asked whether anyone will buy one.
OK - we understand that the Navistar Powerstroke had warranty failure rates of around 50%, but that also included issues with emissions-related items. We also know the diesel engine is the largest cost component in a truck, so bringing it in-house makes sense. Just look at what is going on with BIG trucks at Navistar, Paccar, Freightliner and Volvo. But Navistar has a long successful tradition of building good diesel engines, so that raises the question whether the Ford folks will end up with a better warranty experience.
Perhaps Ford knows something we don’t, but take a new engine design + big power + new emissions technology + new production engineering issues + new vehicle application engineering issues = Oh Boy! B20 Biodiesel approved for use is another risk factor. We’ll hit the pause button too - but wish them well!
Jay Thompson consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
