Ford Incentives Up, Include Specialty Models

April has begun, and Ford has updated its incentives for the rest of the month. There are some very interesting deals to be had. We’ll break down all the models soon enough, but the most interesting tidbit of information for car enthusiasts is that both the Ford Mustang Bullitt and the upcoming Ford F-150 Chip Foose Edition are getting cash back just like their plain-jane brethren. 

The 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt is already on sale, and the Bullitt package costs an additional $3,310 on top of the cost of a regular Ford Mustang GT. Rebates range from $1,000 to $1,500, with an additional $1,000 offered in some regions if you go with Ford Credit to purchase the vehicle.*

Depending on where you live, that means you could pay just a $810 premium to have the special edition, which adds horsepower and suspension tweaks.

The 2008 Ford F-150 Chip Foose Edition isn’t on sale yet, but the roughly $55,000 sport truck will come to market over the next few months with between $3,000 and $3,500 cash back (plus that potential $1,000 in financing cash) on the intricately detailed hood.

Other rebates are more pedestrian, but still noteworthy:

Ford F-450 Saves the Environment

Our friend Mike Levine over at PickupTruck.com has penned one of the best stories we’ve ever seen on how and why large pickups like the Ford F-450 exist and who uses them for what. We’d guess most owners aren’t helping out wildlife conservatories every day, but it’s interesting to see that when an environmental group needed help, it also needed a truck this big with its capabilities. 

Levine used the F-450’s 5,720-pound payload rating to haul two cubic yards — or 4,500 pounds — of donated topsoil 40 miles. No half-ton or three-quarter-ton trucks could handle that task.

The story illustrates one of those points we routinely try to make to people who think there’s no need for vehicles like this to exist. Those folks genuinely believe these are being used for commuting, but there are many legitimate uses for such trucks. Heck, even if every home built was completely green, builders would need something to get the supplies to the site.

Nature's New Friend Road Test: 2008 Ford F-450 Super Duty (PickupTruck.Com)

Ford Technology Lets Workers, Bosses Keep Track

If you're a contractor, there’s likely nothing more annoying than arriving at a job without a tool you need. If you're a boss, there’s likely nothing more annoying than not knowing where your employees are. To help remedy that, Ford is rolling out new technologies, called Ford Work Solutions, that are designed for business owners who use their trucks or vans as important tools in their own right. Work Solutions will be available in fall 2008 on the 2009 F-150, F-Series Super Duty trucks and E-series vans. We recently got a hands-on demonstration of the new offerings at the Chicago Auto Show (see video), and also talked with a local construction company to see whether these features would work in the real world.

Toys for Trucks: Ford's New Trucks Get High Tech

Ford announced today that the 2009 F-Series and E-Series, as well as its upcoming Transit Connect work vans, will offer a host of job-friendly features the automaker calls Work Solutions. Among them are an onboard computer with internet access and wireless printing, a scanner that can inventory your on-board tools, a telematics system to keep tabs on other vehicles in a small-business fleet, and a steel cable to secure items in the bed.

The onboard computer is packaged to fit in the same area as a navigation system. It includes a 6.5-inch screen plus a wireless mouse, stylus and keyboard. With subscription-based Sprint broadband, Ford says you can access spreadsheets and word processing documents from your home computer, make changes and print them from a portable printer. Naturally, the computer also has a navigation system.

The telematics system, called Crew Chief, tracks real-time locations, unauthorized usage and various mechanical diagnostics for other vehicles in a small-business fleet. (No word on whether owners can program their teenagers’ Mustangs to receive the same tracking.)

Ford’s Tool Link has bed-mounted scanners that catalog tools in the bed with stick-on electronic tags. To ward off theft of those tools, Ford’s Cable Lock system comes with an eight-foot steel cable that retracts into a box at the rear of the bed. It works like a bike lock — run it through the handles of your equipment and lock it in place.

Ford spokesman Alan Hall said the features will be available a la carte, though pricing wouldn’t be available until closer to their fall launch. Hall said Ford will make the features “very affordable,” much like it did with Sync, which is a $395 option. We’re guessing the onboard computer will be the priciest and Cable Lock the cheapest, but we’ll report more when we know more.

Auto Show Head-to-Head: 2009 Dodge Ram vs. Ford F-150

The 2008 Detroit auto show was the venue for two important redesigned-pickup-truck debuts: the 2009 Ford F-150 and the 2009 Dodge Ram. They are two of the best-selling vehicles in the country, and we've taken a look at what the new trucks have to offer, category by category.

Exterior
Both the Ram and F-150 sport tougher new looks — not that either really needed them. The F-150's hood is taller than before, and it's now offered with even more distinctive grille designs that help separate the various trims. There are also new headlights, and all of these elements give the F-150 a look that's more similar to its Super Duty big brothers.

The Ram also has new headlights and a new take on its trademark grille. Dodge has given the Ram's grille a forward lean for 2009 that's a radical styling element for a pickup, even though it's appeared on sporty cars before. The look is traditional yet stylistically interesting, and that's what gives the Dodge the edge in this category.
Advantage: Ram

F-150, Ram Get Much-Needed Safety Features

Brawny V-8s and inventive storage features aren’t the only improvements for two of Detroit’s best-selling pickups. When the redesigned Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram hit dealerships this fall, some important safety features will also be standard — namely, electronic stability systems to counteract skids and side curtain airbags to protect occupants in a collision.

The extra features mark a “huge development” for pickup trucks, said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Pickups have generally trailed the market in safety features, with just 8 percent offering standard stability systems in 2007, according to IIHS. That same year, 58 percent of cars and 87 percent of SUVs were equipped with those systems standard. Worse yet, head- and chest-protecting side airbags were standard on just 7 percent of pickups in 2007, Rader said.

The outgoing Ram offered stability control and side airbags as options, but the F-150 – America’s best-selling vehicle — had neither. Despite the bravado-fueled perception that occupants in pickups are safer in crashes, Rader said they may actually need these features more than those riding in cars.

2008 Detroit Auto Show Video: 2009 Ford F-150 Bed Features

Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder already walked us through the new F-150. In this video he shows off the new truck's configurable bed.

2008 Detroit Auto Show Video: 2009 Ford F-150

Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder takes on the redesign of the best-selling vehicle in the country. There's no overstating the importance of the F-150 to Ford; check out the video to see if it measures up to anticipation.

Up Close: 2009 Ford F-150

My first glimpse of the redesigned F-150 was of a Lariat SuperCrew loaded with most of the goodies, including a side step that you pop out of the rocker panel in front of the rear wheel by kicking a button. It definitely allows you to reach over the side of the cargo box, which can now be outfitted with many optional features, like Ford's take on C-channel rails that let you position tie-down cleats anywhere along the box's length. They use a spring-loaded pin design, like GM does, so they can be repositioned in seconds without unscrewing anything.

There was also a heavy-duty partition that can wall off a section of the bed, and a secure Ford-branded tool box that hangs on the inner side of the bed wall. With a kick, I stowed the side step and moved to the tailgate, which borrows from the Super Duty trucks in providing a step of its own that pulls out and swings down. One of the most useful features, also from the Super Duty line, is a split bed extender. It detaches in the center, allowing either side to stow against the bed wall. Sweet.

Video: 2009 Ford F-150

We haven’t stepped into the new F-150 yet this morning, but our friend Mike Levine over at Pickuptruck.com got some time with the new truck, ahead of today’s unveiling. In the video above, he walks us through the interior and in the one below he tackles even more of Ford's new truck.

2008 Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Ford F-150

• Competes with: Chevrolet Silverado, Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra
• Looks like: Ford truck designers have been playing with their blocks
• Drivetrain: 4.6-liter V-8, E85 capable 5.4-liter V-8, four-speed and six-speed automatic transmissions
• Hits dealerships: Fall 2008

First, we’re just going to come out and say it: We don’t know how much the 2009 Ford F-150 shown here tows. That’s one bit of information — along with horsepower and torque — that Ford didn’t release before Sunday’s public unveiling at the kickoff of the Detroit auto show.

We do know quite a bit, though. For one, the F-150 is significantly redesigned for 2009. Besides the new looks and a polarizing grille, the chassis has been revised and is lighter and stiffer. Ford says this helps make all variations of the 2009 F-150 the most capable in the segment, meaning that it should tow more than the current model’s 10,000+ lbs.

There are three engine choices: Two 4.6-liter V-8s, one for economy, one for power, and a top-of-the-line 5.4-liter Triton V-8. Ford doesn’t say if the engines are more powerful than before, but they are saying the trio gets 1 mpg better fuel economy than the previous models.

The biggest changes are perhaps to the interior, where many new corporate parts have been integrated. The center stack is busting with buttons. The 2009 F-150 also gets the new Sync system and upgraded voice activated navigation with Sirius TravelLink. The truck bed also comes with an available cargo system with custom made toolboxes. We’ll get more information in the morning, but for now check out the photos below.

Truck Outlook Gloomy, Tied to Housing Market

Pickup trucks are the lifeblood of the auto industry, contributing an estimated $5,000 to $15,000 to automakers’ coffers for each one sold.

But trucks are in need of a transfusion, and the outlook isn't very bright this year or next.

People staying put in their home — fearful of moving up in a dismal market — might have money to spend on a new car. But those who build homes can't afford to buy new trucks when there are no homes being built. 

General Motors has a 150-day supply of unsold Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups in stock, more than twice the normal 60-day supply. Dodge has a 120-day supply of unsold Rams, while Ford is at 91 days of F-Series pickups.

Full-Size Trucks Get Full-Size Discounts

Trucks like the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra often hover near the top of Cars.com's Top 10 incentives list, thanks to reasonable prices and large cash-back bonuses. This month, though, the Silverado and Sierra are joined by a host of other trucks offering thousands of dollars in customer cash back.

Toyota is offering region-specific discounts on its popular Tundra model, and we've seen as much as $4,000 cash back on the 2007 Tundra and $1,500 on its 2008 brethren. (Search for Toyota's offers in your area here by entering your zip code under "Find Local Specials.") Nissan has joined the party, too, with up to $4,500 back — plus a $500 holiday bonus available until Dec. 3 — on the 2008 Titan. Mitsubishi's offering $4,500 cash back on the 2007 Raider; Dodge is offering $4,500 on the 2008 Ram; Ford is giving up to $2,500 on the 2007 Ranger, up to $4,500 on the 2007 F-150 and $2,000 on the 2008 F-150 and, well, you get the picture. If you're in the market for a truck, now is the time to seize that long-awaited discount. Who says you never get anything for Christmas?

Check out Cars.com's full list of incentives here.

Supercharged Ford F-150 Coming This Summer

It’s that time of year again: Summer blockbusters are hitting theaters left and right, and each one is trying to top the next, just like Ford is trying to top the increasingly competitive full-size truck market with a new supercharged version of its Harley-Davidson F-150. The new model is a $6,500 option that adds a supercharger developed by Saleen, an established Ford tuner. The Harley-Davidson F-150 starts at $36,285 before the option price, plus a $925 destination charge. 

The supercharged setup is very similar to what’s found in the Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang and also includes a dual-stage intercooler in the $6,500 price. The F-150 shares the same engine, but the supercharger in this application is different, producing 450 hp and 500 pounds-feet of torque. The engine is mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. 

The Supercharged F-150 comes in only two colors: black and this purplish hue called Dark Amethyst, which we think is one of the baddest-looking purples to come along in a while. The slick 22-inch wheels come with all Harley-Davidson editions, supercharged or not. Of course, anyone opting for the supercharger option will most likely only care about what’s under the hood.

Supercharged 2007 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson Photo Gallery

A Propane Powered Ford F-150

Roush, known for its custom Mustangs, debuted the first dedicated propane-powered F-150 pickup today. The company says it has the same horsepower and torque of a gasoline-powered F-150 with a 5.4-liter V-8 engine: 300 hp and 365 pounds-feet of torque.

The car features a 20-gallon propane tank mounted where the spare tire would normally reside, under the bed. An additional gasoline tank can be added. The range of a full propane tank is 250 miles, roughly 12.5 mpg of propane. The average price for a gallon of propane as of yesterday was $2.05, according to the Energy Information Administration, a government agency.

Before you rush off to order one of the Roush F-150s at a premium of $6,500 over the base MSRP, you should know that most of the 10,000 propane refueling centers in the country are for commercial use. Roush admits it expects most sales to go to businesses that already have their own propane fueling stations on site.

Propane is used in other motor vehicle applications and powers some 450,000 forklifts as well. It’s a byproduct of natural gas processing and the refinement of gasoline, and it burns cleaner with less emissions than gas.   

Roush says it’s taking orders now for the propane F-150, which can be ordered in regular cab, SuperCab and SuperCrew styles, with XL or XLT trim and the full range of bed lengths through select Ford dealers.

For more information, check out Roush’s website and let us know what you think of propane as a viable alternative fuel.

New York Auto Show: 2008 Ford F-150 Foose Edition

Truck buyers may not be familiar with Chip Foose. He's a custom hot rod builder who has created an empire out of his 1950s-influenced designs. Most recently he's been churning out customized Ford Mustangs. His work was good enough to catch the attention of the Blue Oval, and the company recruited Foose to develop in-house custom vehicles.

Foose's first official Ford project is the 2008 Ford F-150 Foose Edition. This truck isn't just for show; it packs a 450-hp supercharged V-8 engine. The plan now is for just 500 of these to be sent to dealerships this fall. There are a number of exterior changes, most noticeably custom Foose wheels and a lower stance. The hood, headlights and grille also get the custom treatment.

No price has been announced, but we'd guess it will be much more than the last go-fast F-150, the SVT Lightning, which had a sticker of $32,515 in 2003. More photos below.

Ford Recalls 155,000 2003 Trucks and SUVs

Ford is recalling 2003-model-year F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 trucks; Excursion SUVs; and Lincoln Blackwood pickups due to faulty cruise-control switches that could ignite. The recall follows a series of similar recalls in more than 5.8 million trucks and SUVs from the 1994 - 2002 model years and was discovered during internal testing. While there have been 65 reported cases of fires involving the older vehicles, Ford says there have been no incidents in the 2003 models. Notices will be mailed to owners during the next few weeks. Repairs will be made at no cost. Concerned owners can call Ford at 1-800-392-3673 for more information.

[New Recall Involves Ford F-Series Pickups, SUVs, Kansas City Star]

Ford, Chrysler Get New Rebates, Ad Campaigns

Ford is using a new ad campaign to promote its latest round of incentives, but instead of glorifying the vehicle, it’s trying to sell the company’s new “reality” route. Ford hired Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel reality show “Dirty Jobs” — in which Rowe takes on a different arduous and, yes, dirty task each episode — for its new “Ford Challenge” ads showing off the F-150. The incentive is $3,000 cash back or 0% financing for 60 months on all 2007 F-150s, minus the Harley-Davidson edition.

Chrysler, on the other hand, is using options as incentives. As we mentioned before, the company is offering a free upgrade to a Hemi engine in the Dodge Ram pickup and Durango SUV, in addition to $5,000 cash back on the Ram and $2,500 on the Durango, according to Dodge. Jeep Grand Cherokees get $3,500 cash back but no free Hemi upgrade.

Check out all available incentives here. 

[Chrysler, Ford Roll Out New Rebates, The Detroit News]

Related:
Dodge Offers $500 Cash Back on All-New Avenger
New Chrysler Incentive: Free Hemi Engines and DVD Systems

Cars.com Faceoff: Toyota Tundra, Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150

One of the biggest launches this month is the all-new Toyota Tundra full-size pickup. Toyota hopes it can compete with the two big boys on the truck block, the Ford F-150 and the also all-new Chevrolet Silverado. Mike Hanley, David Thomas and Joe Wiesenfelder tested all three in their four-door trims, and the final winner wasn’t easy to decide.

Cars.comparison: Full-Size Trucks

Best-Selling Cars of 2006

A few readers recently asked when someone would release the list of last-year’s best-selling cars. The answer, it seems, is now. MSN Autos tracked down the top 10 best-sellers of 2006 using data from Automotive News, and there are few surprises. The Ford F-150 still tops the list, and the Chevy Silverado comes in second despite a 6.7% downturn in overall truck sales last year. The full list including total sales is below.

Ford to Sell Foose Special Editions

Chip Foose is a custom-car legend. Besides being the main man on the TV show “Overhaulin’,” he has built a reputation — and a profitable company — around his daring designs and high-priced wheels. This week in Las Vegas, Ford announced it will team with Foose to build special edition Ford vehicles to be sold at dealerships nationwide in 2007. The deal is similar to Ford’s deal with Carroll Shelby that produces the Shelby Mustangs. 

Foose’s first foray will be with an F-150 truck, but Foose is most known for his work with Mustangs, like the one shown here. We don’t see him touching any pony cars — officially — for Ford, though, since there are already plenty of Shelby Mustangs coming down the line. Perhaps he will tackle something more sedate, like a Ford Fusion or the new Edge crossover.

[Ford Joins With Foose to Create Special-Edition Vehicles, AutoWeek]

Ford to Offer Diesel F-150

Ford will offer a diesel engine for its light-duty F-150 pickup, likely around 2008, according to a former Ford executive in Automotive News earlier this week. The engine will come from Land Rover's diesel-powered Range Rover in Europe. It's a 3.6-liter turbodiesel V-8 that makes 267 hp and 472 pounds-feet of torque in the Range Rover – and it helps the Rover get around 31 mpg on the highway.

This marks the first U.S. light-duty pickup truck to have a diesel engine, according to Automotive News. Those who tow covet diesels for their prodigious torque and massive pulling power, and most heavy-duty pickups – like the Ford F-250/350 and the Chevy Silverado 2500/3500 – offer them. Light-duty pickups typically have regular gasoline V-8s with less torque and towing capacity. To get a sense of how diesels affect things, compare Ford's F-350 with a regular gasoline V-10 to a diesel V-8:

• 2007 F-350 6.8L V-10: 362 hp, 457 lbs.-ft. of torque
• Max towing capacity (4.1 axle, dual rear wheel): 13,100 – 14,100 lbs., depending on cab style

• 2007 F-350 6.0L V-8 (diesel): 325 hp, 570 lbs.-ft. of torque
• Max towing capacity (4.1 axle, dual rear wheel): 15,000 lbs., all cab styles

The brawniest F-150 uses Ford's 5.4-liter V-8 to make 300 hp and 365 pounds-feet of torque, and it can tow up to 10,500 pounds. Since torque has greater impact on towing than horsepower, it's likely the diesel F-150 will tow considerably more.

[Ford Will Offer Diesel in F-150, Automotive News – registration required]