By the vast majority of people, eco-engines were considered until recently bad for your ego, lazy, and why not the exclusive domain of Hollywood stars looking for a boost in image by dropping an M-Klasse and going for a Prius.
For the past two years or so that image and perception of such engines has changed. Ford for instance, renowned for its “Built Tough” idiom, has decided to go the green way and promises to bring EcoBosst engines into the majority of its vehicles in the years to come.
That includes the F-line of trucks, and one of the first models to get it is the F-150. The engine on it, a 3.5l unit, has already underwent what Ford likes to call “torture testing” in the lab. Now its time to test the engine in the great outdoors.
Ford took the F-150 EcoBoost into the forest, where it shot a series of Web-based documentaries about what the truck can do. Simply put, the F-150 was forced to pull some logs through the narrow roads of the forest, just to show that the 420 lb.-ft of torque are for real.
The truck pulled logs weighing from 4,000 to 9,000 pounds, heavy enough to kick into action the truck's great torque/rpm combination (420 lb.-ft. at 2,500 rpm). Did it manage to impress? Follow this link and see for yourselves.
“Each of these real-world tests demonstrates the durability and reliability that is designed, engineered and manufactured into our new EcoBoost truck engines – and all our truck engines,” said Eric Kuehn, chief engineer of the 2011 Ford F-150. “This work in particular demonstrates the outstanding low-end torque the EcoBoost truck engine delivers.”
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