Ford discontinues V8's by 2018

[Viktimize]

It's funny to see people already posting they're not buying anymore Fords due to this "article", man, are peeps that sheep like that they just read something and jump on it .

No kidding. Why does Ford having a V8 or not matter about buying one anyway? I wouldn't ever buy a Ford just because it is a royal piece of shit.

[v10enomous]

A V6 wouldn't stop me from buying the new GT if the car is attainable for me but I have to admit that I was excited about the whole flat plane crank V8 thing and was hoping to see that take off throughout the industry. I remember back in 2006 when they announced that the GT500 would be supercharged and people were going bonkers saying that it wasn't true to the spirit of the original and it should be big cubes and NA instead. I was one of those people

[Vprbite]

I actually like the idea of engineers saying to themselves "let's build the fastest, best car we can! Let's use every tool and tech we have at our disposal to make that happen." Now if that happens to be purely electric, then so be it. But I highly doubt it. I think we will have to reset the way we think of the word Hybrid. Right now, that word makes us think of a Prius or a Nissan Leaf, but that's not entirely fair. I believe the new porsche 918 spyder would not care to be compared to those 2 cars. If I say the term turbo, that doesn't mean only 1/4 mi Supras. Hell, I could be talking about a pickup truck. A turbo is a piece of engine technology and it is what we make of it. I think if we treat hybrid as a tool we have at our disposal, we could see good things. I hate the government making rules about how many cylanders can be in cars and it makes no sense that they would I feel the EPA would care more about displacement than cylanders. Couldn't I have a 16 cylinder 3L car?

There is no way ford has officially said they are dumping all v8s in a year and a half. In automotive design time, a year and a half is barely the blink of an eye. I could see them saying no more ground up big block V8 development for a while. Continue to build and improve what they have but no need to design from scratch a new V8. That makes more sense to me.

Remember though their job is to sell cars, not make you and I happy about how some things haven't changed. And a growing number of young people think my Viper is stupid because of the power it has and the fact that it isn't a wifi hotspot. Add the fact that it isn't self driving and as far as they are concerned I may as well be riding one of those old timey bicycles with the different size wheels.

Young people these days are all about electric cars because electricity is free. Many proponents of electric cars have never seen an electric bill and even if they did, they lack the understanding of the ugly, un-environmental stuff we do to get it.

I am all for better, faster cars that are more fun. Others may be for slower cars that drive themselves. I feel we should let the market deliver. People may buy what they like and the government can stay out of it. If the 2016 Viper had the same power but 3 times the MPG, I doubt we would bitch. And if they had the ability to crank one out at the appropriate price point, I bet they would. I just don't see the need for the government to be involved.

[Canuck]

Since FGT is the halo, this approach is a good way to raise sales of their Ecoboost and their V6. Ford is moving global. Having smaller displacements opens more global doors, it is tough to sell a V8 in ireland for example since the taxes are just punishing. It is unlikely for FGT to be profitable alone, but if the ecoboost v6 will likely increase sales of stablemates, the program will be kept afloat for at least a few years hopefully.

Can't knock the idea of having a feature from the halo placed on other vehicles too much, seeing as how the 1992 Viper's cross grill feature is still on a lot of the Dodge lineup 23 years later. Styling is helpful to bring goodwill from from the halo to the entry-level, but in the FGT case, the actual engine moving to other vehicles is even a stronger selling point.

Ford took a chapter from the Japanese hot hatches with the Fiesta, by making it fuel efficient, reducing region-specific variations to one that is the same-world over, and upselling options even on tiny cars (instead of having to get a giant SUV to be able to add upscale features).
Similarly, they are going to take the best strategy from global companies that successfully use their engine from halo car to move entry levels.

And even for styling of FGT, it was a good way to look at competitors prototypes, and just beat them by getting out the door first, and making it cheaper, more reliable, and better parts availability. In case you haven't reviewed for comparison:
Have a look at the vents ahead of the rear wheels of the Lambo Asterion cocept:
http://www.lamborghini.com/en/models...w/#!slide/6282
Or the rear end: teardrop taper of the cockpit and the empty gaps between that teardrop and rear wheels---all under the wing---of the Ferrari F80 concept:
http://hiconsumption.com/2014/08/fer...percar-concept

[Detlef]

Isn't Google providing us with the future of the automobile.
Well at least if you don't have to drive in the snow.
google-selfdrivingcar.jpg