Ford announced the specs for the upcoming 2015 Ford Expedition and while that in itself isn’t all that BangShifty there’s an underlying situation involved with the Expedition that seems VERY much of interest to BangShifters. Why should we care about the 2015 Expedition, you ask? Mainly because there is no V8 option and we think this may be the canary in the coal mine for V8 engines at Ford. The EcoBoost program has been an amazing success for the company over the last few years and they continue to expand their line of turbocharged engines into smaller and smaller applications and displacements. We can’t really argue with the logic behind the decision because the 370hp and 400+ lb/ft of torque provided by the 3.5L V6 that will power the truck will hustle it on down the road with any of its V8 powered competitors but as a hot rodder that understands every large SUV and pickup built means another potential V8 engine source, this is creepy to us. How long until the F150 is a V6 only program? You’d then be left with the Super Duty line of trucks and the Mustang GT with V8 engines and we already know that the company is throwing some weight into new small displacement turbo options for the Mustang, so this could be the start down a slippery slope at Ford.
We know that the Ford engines aren’t as swapped as LS motors or traditional small blocks but the reality is that over time they’ll become more and more popular as everything does. There are still millions of them out there roaming around the streets of America, but when that “bank” stops getting filled up with new stuff being produced at Ford, the supply will immediately start to wane, no matter how slowly. GM has certainly gotten into the turbo act hot and heavy after lagging behind Ford over the last few years. Their 3.6L twin turbo engine is a power house like the EcoBoost and the smaller mills like the 2.0L four banger that can be found in the Malibu, Buick Regal, and others is a competent piece that stands on its own. Chrysler, now with Fiat steering the ship has announced that the current generation Hemi will be gone by the end of the decade and we’re seriously doubting a new V8 engine family will be coming from them. The company has so much money tied up into small diesels and other boosted four and six cylinder motors that it seems non-sensical that they’d devote the money and engineering on a clean sheet V8 family to supplement that. The long range thinker in us believes that they were quick to market with the diesel 1500 Ram because they’re setting themselves up to have a customer base familiar with the idea of NOT having a larger displacement V8 in their pickup but rather a smaller gas or diesel V6. Maybe we’ve got our tin foil hats on a little tight today, but you can see where we’re going with this.
GM’s new LT family of engines seems to have a long life ahead of it. The LS family had a run (that technically still continues) of well over 10 years so maybe GM will be the last brand standing in the V8 game by the time we get to 2020-2025 or so. We’re betting that Ford is going to be first out. Are we soft or do you think that the Expedition announcement is one of those moments where a sea change is actually starting to happen with how our cars are built and powered?
I didnt even know they still built this vehicle. Not smart with no v8 option.
The American market is becoming more like that of other developed nations. Emphasis is shifting to economy. Smaller engines and smaller vehicles. I welcome more good turbo engines which are very tunable but part of me is sad to see v8s go.
The last of the V8 Interceptors… a piece of history! Woulda been a shame to blow it up.
+1 Internets for you sir.
Interesting as the ecoboost has been a successful engine in terms of matching the performance of a v8 and in some cases exceeding it. At the same time, it has not. Proven itself to be more efficient and some cases less so. The added cost and complexity of the turbo system and the ability to still make efficient v8s may help to keep the v8 around a while longer. I speculate that this Chang met be taking place as we could possibly be taxed by engine displacement size like they do in the UK..
This article is so depressing! My question is, if there’s turbo V6 mills making 370hp and 400lb-ft, why not throw them in a hot rod? We will always find a way to have fun and go fast, I’m not too worried. Maybe even a bit of bonus gas savings along the way!
Because the same guys who give us crap about LS swaps would never shut up about a sweet turbo 6 setup.
Market pressures will eventually bring V8s back in downsized, turbocharged form. You read it here first.
Fire Mulally and Li’l Billy . . . .
If anything, it signifies the impending doom of the Expedition platform itself. It strikes me as being Ford divesting expensive assets from an aging and barely profitable line of vehicle.
Can’t remember the last time i saw someone towing anything big with an expedition around here, My bet is that ford feels the v6 will cover 95% of people needs who buy an expedition.. I highly doubt they could ever rely on one of these over juiced v6 in a heavy duty truck… there just no way they would hold up to towing heavy loads day in and day out unless they were built as heavy as a diesel.
Dunno, but thats a good looking SUV….
Lets pray for some turbo V8’s before their demise….
I’ve wondered why there were not more Expeditions vs Tahoes out there, they look good and have more interior room. The V6 is going to hurt its already small sales numbers.
not sure, the Expedition is priced about 10K to 20K lower than a comparable Tahoes…maybe people like the styling better …or the mix up of names and sizes turned people off…who knows but there are far more Tahoes around here than Exp
I was out looking for a new F150 over Presidents Day Weekend and about 90% of all the trucks on the lots were ecoboost’s, I had to get into the Platinum or Raptor price range of $55K to find a V8 — — It depressed me so much that I hit Craigslist and found an old crewcab dually with a 460 for $3500 and I’ll just fix it up and drive it — — I can buy a lot of gas for a $600 truck payment
Rats! That means that prices for the Coyote probably won’t be coming down at the JY . . . .
The law requiring a 54.5 m.p.g. corporate fuel economy average by 2025, will force everyone to improve truck/SUV fuel economy to almost 40 m.p.g.
And all of the savings on fuel will be offset by higher sticker prices necessary to pay for the “economy” technology and weight reductions.
. . . a crappy future.
“quick to market with the diesel 1500 Ram” Hu? Light truck guys have been begging for this for the last 20+ years, and it sounded like this, ‘Please, please, please we will do anything, please master, bless us with a 4BT in a half ton and Ram Charger and something smoky in a Jeep please, we beseech thee…”
I hear that and I think it kind of makes my point in the fact that Fiat has had control of Ram for a couple years and made it happen. If it weren’t for them, there’s no way it would be out on the streets today. It was a long time coming, but once the right people were in a decision making capacity, it turned around pretty quick.
Many people buy large SUV’s for towing boats, campers, etc… Ford will be at a disadvantage in the minds of those buyers by only offering a 6, even if it is as powerful as a V8.
GM had a similar issue with only offering an inline 5 cylinder as the top engine with Colorado/Canyon trucks, whose sales never matched the S10 they replaced.
Colorado/Canyon sales were low because they are fugly.
The S-10s were not.
This comment is brought to you by an old Ford and Mopar guy.
Just throwing rocks over here…
The Canyon/Colorado was just a bad design all the way around, like the brake rotors that bolt to the back of the hubs. Here in the Rust Belt, that means that every brake job entails new hubs too
Kind of ironic that the company that pioneered the affordable V8 is the company to bring about it’s demise.
Ford’s current managers . . . clueless morons who fail to appreciate Ford’s V8 history.
Toyota is making a full size V8 SUV, Nissan is making a 5.0 turbo diesel V8 full size truck, a V6 is dragging an expedition around welcome to bizaro world! With the turbo maintenance cost and the microsoft sync system I predict higher suicide rates for expedition buyers. Save yourself, buy an old truck now!