All Entries Tagged With: "f150 vs tacoma"

The Turbocharged V6 Truck Revolution Is Coming

This week’s Automotive News includes a somewhat startling fact: for the 2nd quarter of 2011, about 40% of F-150’s were sold with a turbocharged V6. When combined with Ford’s naturally aspirated 3.7 V6 (hello, fleet!), that means that Ford sold more V6 than V8 between April and June, 2011.

The surprising popularity of the EcoBoost V6 is bad news for all truck manufacturers who don't have a comparable option.

In my opinion, this represents a sea change in the truck market. For years, many so-called experts (myself included) assumed that truck buyers were likely to reject new technology simply because it was new. Just a few months ago I wrote that Ford truck buyers might be concerned about EcoBoost reliability, wondering if perhaps Ford truck buyers would stay with the tried-and-true V8 rather than go with the more fuel efficient V6.

However, the consumer has spoken. Ford’s strong sales of the EcoBoost V6 show that tens of thousands of new truck consumers are interested in buying a more fuel efficient V6 over a more traditional V8. This is great news for Ford, but obviously bad news for GM and Chrysler-Fiat, neither of whom have a working turbocharged V6 they can slap in the Sierra/Silverado or Ram. Only GM, with their new 2013 hybrid half ton, has an engine/transmission combo on the horizon that could possibly surpass the overall value of the EcoBoost.

For  Toyota, the EcoBoost V6 is a threat to not only Tundra sales, but it’s also a threat to Toyota Tacoma sales.