Ford dialing back F-150 V8 production due to dwindling demand

It seems like yesterday that diehard pickup truck lovers and enthusiasts were detesting the arrival of slightly more fuel-efficient force-fed six-cylinder engines as a replacement for gas-guzzling V8s. But now they’ve seen the light, at least with

Ford F-Series

trucks.

The Dearborn automaker is reportedly dialing back production of its 5.0-liter V8 due to dwindling demand as buyers are opting more for the EcoBoost V6 engines.

Automotive News Canada

spoke with Ford Canada’s spokesman Matthew Drennan-Scace and John D’Agnolo, president of Unifor Local 200, which represents workers at

Ford’s

Windsor

Engine

Plant in Canada.

“We’ve had down shifts every week since January, and we have two down weeks in the summer, and two more down weeks scheduled in September,” D’Agnolo said. “We could see that sales of the 5.0-liter were dropping.”

“All employees affected by the shift reduction will have the opportunity to move to Windsor Engine Plant Annex to support 7.3-liter engine production,” Drennan-Scace told

Automotive News Canada

in an email.

Buyers of the

F-Series trucks

have the option to equip a base naturally-aspirated 3.3-liter Cyclone V6, while stepping up moves to the turbocharged six-cylinder EcoBoost engines in 2.7- and 3.5-liter form. The eight-cylinder option is Ford’s venerable Coyote 5.0-liter V8, which is also found in the

Mustang

, but in a different state of tune. There are Powerstroke

diesel

options available as well.

Ford is also working on

electric and hybrid powertrains

for its

F-150

as automakers continue to push for

fuel efficiency

.

The Coyote 5.0-liter naturally-aspirated V8, which Ford labels as the “Ti-VCT” V8 for the

F150

, produces 395 horsepower at 5,750 rpm and 400 pound-feet of torque peaking at 4,500 rpm. It is the second most powerful motor in the F-150 lineup behind the “

H.O. (High Output)

” 3.5-liter EcoBoost twin-turbocharged V6, which produces 450 hp at 5,000 rpm and 510 lb-ft of torque at 3,500 rpm.

The standard 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 makes 375 hp at 5,000 rpm and 470 lb-ft at 3,500 rpm, while the 2.7-liter EcoBoost motor produces a still healthy 325 hp, also at 5,000 rpm, and 400 lb-ft at 2,750 rpm.

The base naturally-aspirated 3.3-liter V6 produces 290 hp at 6,500 rpm and 265 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. In between sits Ford’s latest light-duty Powerstroke 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 with 250 hp at 3,250 rpm and

440

lb-ft of torque at 1,750 rpm.