Photo: Ford
The most popular heavy-duty pickup truck in America is preparing to enter production. Before the assembly line starts to roll out the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty in the latter half of 2016, FoMoCo will invest $1.3 billion into the Kentucky Truck plant.
That mountain of greenback certainly boggles the mind. $1.3 billion just to adapt a plant for producing a pickup truck? You’ve heard that right. All those green dollar bills will go into building an all-new body shop, retooling, and numerous facility upgrades to build the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty. As a refresher, the new workhorse is unlike any other Super Duty before it.
To manufacture the military-grade aluminum body shell, the Blue Oval has to spend a lot of dough for the technologies, tools, and welding robots specialized in working with such an intricate material. Furthermore, the fully boxed frame that underpins the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty has more high-strength steel and it is up to 24 times stiffer than the former generation.
Two thousand new jobs will be created as part of the investment, which is good news for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the city of Louisville. Jimmy Settles, the UAW vice president of the National Ford Department, notes that “Adding new jobs and more investment at Kentucky Truck Plant not only secures a solid foundation for our UAW members, but also strengthens the communities in which they live, work and play.”
On the powertrain front, the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty will be available with two engines: a gasoline-fed 6.2-liter Flex Fuel V8 and a Power Stroke turbo diesel. The most Built Ford Tough of all pickup trucks produced by the Blue Oval will be offered in five trim levels: XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum. There’s no word on pricing at the time of writing, but do expect the F-250 XL to be approximately $34,500.
That’s a couple of grand pricier than the 2016MY because aluminum is a little more expensive than steel.
To manufacture the military-grade aluminum body shell, the Blue Oval has to spend a lot of dough for the technologies, tools, and welding robots specialized in working with such an intricate material. Furthermore, the fully boxed frame that underpins the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty has more high-strength steel and it is up to 24 times stiffer than the former generation.
Two thousand new jobs will be created as part of the investment, which is good news for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the city of Louisville. Jimmy Settles, the UAW vice president of the National Ford Department, notes that “Adding new jobs and more investment at Kentucky Truck Plant not only secures a solid foundation for our UAW members, but also strengthens the communities in which they live, work and play.”
On the powertrain front, the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty will be available with two engines: a gasoline-fed 6.2-liter Flex Fuel V8 and a Power Stroke turbo diesel. The most Built Ford Tough of all pickup trucks produced by the Blue Oval will be offered in five trim levels: XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum. There’s no word on pricing at the time of writing, but do expect the F-250 XL to be approximately $34,500.
That’s a couple of grand pricier than the 2016MY because aluminum is a little more expensive than steel.
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