For Ford, there's good news and bad news. First, the bad news: The company's restructuring (layoffs, early retirements, plant closures) and steep dropoffs in full-size pickup and SUV sales have made 2006 the worst financial period in the company's 103-year history. As the Blue Oval struggled to stay ahead of Toyota in total market share, its F-Series pickups retained their 30-year title as the best-selling trucks in America, but there's no getting around the fact that Ford is a troubled giant.
The good news comes with the introduction of the redesigned Super Duty line of Ford pickups, including the F-250, F-350, and the all-new F-450. Truck Trend offered an exclusive preview of the 450 late last year ("2008 Ford Super Duty," November/December 2006), and now we've had some seat time in an F-350 4x4 Crew Cab equipped with the innovative sequentially turbocharged diesel V-8 (see sidebar). Even better for us, our companion for a 3-hour drive--through rain and snow flurries over icy roads--from Corpus Christi to San Antonio, Texas, was Pete Reyes, the 2008 Super Duty line's chief engineer.
Unlike many previous diesel-equipped vehicles we've driven, the F-350's new Power Stroke spurred rather than hindered conversation. It was amazingly quiet while delivering smooth, even power and had a significant improvement in throttle response compared with previous versions. Mated to a five-speed automatic transmission with a 3.11:1 first gear and a transfer case with a 2.42:1 low range, the powertrain is undoubtedly capable over most terrain.
The increase in power and torque, plus new U.S. emissions standards, require 50 percent more cooling. For that, the engineers upsized the radiator and the air cooler, which in turn demanded a taller front end. The headlamps and bumper were lowered, and the grille is now attached to the hood and lifts away with it to reveal the entire radiator. The hood and grille hang on a steel front-end cage that ties to C-channel frame rails, and the components are more easily accessed for maintenance or replacement.
Within the cab, the dash and the floor are all new, though the roof, windshield, and doors have stayed the same. The interior structure is mainly Ford's patented laminated Quiet Steel and is designed to accommodate higher-quality features while reducing unwanted noise. The carpets are thicker than in previous iterations, and there are drapes and more sound pack behind the instrument panel. An all-new climate-control system vents discharge air that's 10 degrees colder, resulting in improved cooling for the A/C, and a ceramic heater--an option available only with the diesel--also improves warming time. Dual-zone controls allow the driver and front passenger to set the automatic temperature control in the center stack independently. Our test vehicle featured a high-end audio system that included a subwoofer, an eight-speaker system tuned specifically for the cab, and an input for an iPod or other MP3 player.
In this model, the steering wheel's climate controls were on the left spoke, stereo controls on the right, and the airbag was in the central hub. The instrument cluster also is all new, featuring a white-face speedometer and tachometer flanking a digital trip and systems computer with turbo boost, engine temperature, transmission temperature, and fuel gauges arrayed in a line above.
Ford optioned this truck with an array of towing accessories, not the least of which are an integrated trailer brake controller and the TorqShift automatic transmission with tow/haul mode. The brake-controller switches are now housed in the center stack on the dash (they no longer hang below). The controller interfaces with the truck's antilock braking system and the trailer's electric brakes for better stopping power. Its control panel--including output, gain, and connection-status indicators--resides just below the audio system and also includes four toggle switches that can be wired to operate accessories such as auxiliary lights or a winch. The TorqShift transmission optimizes shift points in tow mode and uses a beefier torque converter, reducing gear hunting and incorporating engine braking during deceleration.