Fuccillo Ford of Nelliston

01/2011 - Ford engineers put the new powertrain lineup through a litany of tests to ensure complete compatibility with truck applications and durability, with all components and systems passing testing to the equivalent of 150,000 miles.

Available are a 3.7L V-6 and a 5.0L V-8, each with fuel-saving, performance enhancing twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) technology, and a version of the 6.2L V-8 that is the base engine in the 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty. A 3.5L EcoBoost truck engine, specially tuned and calibrated for the F-150, will be available in early 2011.

The 2011 F-150 lineup delivers best-in-class fuel economy. The 3.5L EcoBoost engine that will be added to the engine lineup in early 2011 will support an up to 20-percent fuel economy improvement for the 2011 F-150 in comparison to the outgoing 2010 F-150.

* story courtesy of worktruckonline.com

1/4/2011 - Toyota Motor Corp.?s U.S. vehicle sales fell in 2010 while industrywide sales rose 11 percent and every other major automaker reported gains. Ford Motor Co. moved up to second place behind only General Motors Co.

Ford displaced Toyota as No. 2 in the U.S. with 1.97 million vehicles sold in the year, up 17 percent from 2009, compared with Toyota?s sales of 1.76 million cars and trucks. GM retained the top spot with U.S. sales of 2.22 million vehicles, an increase of 7 percent. Deliveries in December accelerated to the fastest pace of the year.

Toyota recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide last year, mostly for flaws related to unintended acceleration, with the majority occurring in the U.S. The company temporarily halted U.S. production and sales of eight models, including its top-selling Camry and Corolla cars in January to fix the flaws. Meanwhile, GM, Ford, Nissan Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. lured buyers away with new models.

?The black clouds from Toyota?s recalls just don?t seem to go away,? said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for Santa Monica, California-based auto pricing website Truecar.com. ?We saw Ford, GM and Hyundai-Kia come on strong. Brand loyalty isn?t what it used to be.?

Industrywide sales in 2010 totaled 11.6 million, according to Autodata Corp., based in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. That?s up from 10.4 million the previous year for the first gain since 2005 and the largest percentage increase since 1984.

Toyota?s incentive spending rose in December to $2,253 a vehicle, up 37 percent from last year, Toprak said. Toyota?s incentives were below the industry average of $2,721 a vehicle. The rising deals are a sign that Toyota will fight to hold market share, Toprak said.

* story courtesy of businessweek.com