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Eventually, someone needed to come out with a fullsized truck with a small turbocharged gasoline engine and Ford just happened to get there first. I was expecting the small V8 diesels to make their debut, especially the 4.5L Duramax V8 from GM, but that was put on indefinite hold when they filed for bankruptcy. I like the idea of a small turbocharged gasoline engine in a truck though. The Syclone and Typhoon were niche vehicles in a specialized market. It's about time they started putting small displacement turbocharged engines in mainstream PU trucks. They have the big turbo diesels, but not everyone needs 800ft lbs of torque with the added expensive of buying/maintaining a diesel.
The newly redesigned 1990 300ZX was certainly an impressive machine when it first came out. Even today, the numbers are very respectable. A TT 3.0L V6 pumping out a incredible "300hp" when 250hp was still respectable in the L98 Corvette. Imagine if Nissan put that engine in a limited edition hardbody? Or, in a special edition Maxima? Yikes! Unfortuntately, this was the time when Nissan began to price the 300ZX out of its own market. The car was definitely much more capable and faster than before, but it came at the expense of a huge price increase that kept getting higher and higher. As the '90's progressed, it got to the point where it was priced out of its own market and then sales collapsed. We had to wait 7 long model years before the cheaper and lower performing replacement, the 350Z, came out.
What makes the Ecoboost in the F-150 so impressive, is the whole idea behind it. Sticking a small turbocharged V6 car engine in a big PU that can tow like the gas guzzling monster V8's and still get respectable fuel economy while doing it. It's the idea because the truck market is ultra conservative when it comes to changes like this. I hope Ford is very successful with this engine because it will force the other manufacturers (like Nissan) to offer their own turbocharged gasoline engines into their truck lines. I wouldn't mind cruising around in a 400hp TT 4.0L V6 Titan that does low 14's in the 1/4 mile and gets 25mpg. That would be cool.
Don't knock the Ecoboost. Ford is doing the same thing Nissan did when the Titan first debuted back in '04. They're setting the new standard for fullsized PU's.
The newly redesigned 1990 300ZX was certainly an impressive machine when it first came out. Even today, the numbers are very respectable. A TT 3.0L V6 pumping out a incredible "300hp" when 250hp was still respectable in the L98 Corvette. Imagine if Nissan put that engine in a limited edition hardbody? Or, in a special edition Maxima? Yikes! Unfortuntately, this was the time when Nissan began to price the 300ZX out of its own market. The car was definitely much more capable and faster than before, but it came at the expense of a huge price increase that kept getting higher and higher. As the '90's progressed, it got to the point where it was priced out of its own market and then sales collapsed. We had to wait 7 long model years before the cheaper and lower performing replacement, the 350Z, came out.
What makes the Ecoboost in the F-150 so impressive, is the whole idea behind it. Sticking a small turbocharged V6 car engine in a big PU that can tow like the gas guzzling monster V8's and still get respectable fuel economy while doing it. It's the idea because the truck market is ultra conservative when it comes to changes like this. I hope Ford is very successful with this engine because it will force the other manufacturers (like Nissan) to offer their own turbocharged gasoline engines into their truck lines. I wouldn't mind cruising around in a 400hp TT 4.0L V6 Titan that does low 14's in the 1/4 mile and gets 25mpg. That would be cool.
Don't knock the Ecoboost. Ford is doing the same thing Nissan did when the Titan first debuted back in '04. They're setting the new standard for fullsized PU's.
