Ford Motor Co. has initiated production of model-year 2014 F-150 trucks that can be optioned with a gaseous-prep package for compressed natural gas (CNG) and propane autogas conversions. The first truck was built at the company's plant in Kansas City.
Ford installs the prep packages on trucks with its 3.7-liter V-6 engine at its own factory. This $315 dealer option includes hardened valves, valve seats and pistons/rings, which readies the engine for a full CNG or propane conversion – which costs ‘approximately $6,000 to $9,500, depending on fuel tank capacity,’ the company says. Ford Qualified Vehicle Modifiers handle the alt-fuel vehicle conversions in order to preserve the factory warranty on the trucks.
Ford notes that when it is equipped with a bi-fuel CNG or autogas engine package, an F-150 can offer more than 750 miles of range on combined tanks of gasoline and CNG/LPG, depending on the tank sizes selected. The F-150 with the 3.7-liter powerplant has an EPA-estimated rating of 23 mpg highway and 19 mpg combined.
By mid-2014, Ford will be offering a total of eight commercial vehicles with a gaseous-prep option: the Transit Connect van and wagon; Transit van, wagon, cutaway and chassis cab; E-Series van, wagon, cutaway and stripped chassis; F-Series Super Duty pickup and F-350 chassis cab; F-Series Super Duty chassis cab (F-450, F-550); F-650 medium-duty truck; F53 and F59 stripped chassis; and 2014 F-150 light-duty pickup.
