Ford's New Truck Engine

With new government mileage standards and rising gas prices, pressure is on auto manufacturers to produce vehicles that get good gas mileage and still offer the performance of big engines. Enter Ford's EcoBoost engine, specifically the 3.5 liter V-6 engine designed for use in the F-150, Ford's classic (and best-selling) full size pickup.

This new V-6 used turbo charging, direct injection, and other fancy technical jazz to make V-8 power and return V-6 fuel economy. Pickup purists will worry, of course, about the durability of a little ole V-6 compared to a big, sturdy V-8. Well, Ford set out to alleviate those worries. Engineers put the engine through some pretty ridiculous torture tests, including hauling logs in Oregon, towing 11,000 lbs for 24 hours straight, and spending 300 hours on a dyno, simulating 150,000 miles of driving. Then Ford yanked the engine out of the truck, plopped it on a stand at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and preceded to take it apart and spread the bits and pieces out. Onlookers could closely examine each piece for wear and tear. The engine performed marvellously, showing little signs of wear besides a bit of carbon build-up (likely from the desert race it endured) and some superficial scoring marks on the crankshaft. For all the juicy details and pictures, visit PickupTrucks.com.