Ad Watch, diesel, gadgets, news, novelties, f-series, ford, liftgate, super duty

Ad Watch: Ford's Super (Duty) Bowl Commercial Teasers Are Techie Porn

We've gotten our hands on some cool-to-watch and tech-heavy 15-second teaser ads for the Super Bowl ad campaign launch of the 2008 Ford F-Whatever Super Duty. The one above is a CAD-based build of the new 6.4L Power Stroke diesel engine with dual turbos and the second teaser commercial, in the same out-of-thin-air fashion, highlights all the little parts that make up the new (and useful) tailgate step. There's also a third teaser which is nothing more than a jarring drop of the big metal "Ford" badge dropped onto concrete. Although the third one's silly, the other two are cool as hell to watch. But the problem I've got is I'm not sure what they're going to do to sell the truck to the target pro-'merican demographic. Especially since earlier this week we heard that FoMoCo, despite losing $12.7 billion in 2006 and a turnaround plan forecasting a 2007 loss, plans no cuts in it's marketing budget. It's almost like the sell-it-on-TV team's gone to CEO Alan Mulally and said "Yeah boss, the ads aren't selling product, but whatevs — let's drop more money down that abyss while we've still got it!" I guess we'll have to wait for Super Bowl Sunday to find out for sure what the full 60-second ad will look like during the pre-game festivities, but for now we're just going to appreciate it for the techie coolness, and set our gnawing doubts on efficacy aside. In case you don't remember what the Super Duty is, we've got a gallery below as a reminder, and the second and third teaser commercials below the jump. – Ray Wert

9:35 PM on Fri Jan 26 2007
By Ray Wert
1,279 views
10 comments

Comments

smokyburnout at 10:19 PM on 01/26/07
Reply by Email
*

i could totally watch a whole truck get put together that way. at least ford still knows how to build trucks...
critical_matt at 10:47 PM on 01/26/07
Reply by Email
*

Too bad they don't know how to make money. They just reported a 12 billion $ loss.
grzydj at 11:10 PM on 01/26/07
Reply by Email
*

Ford might build a decent heavy duty truck, but Navistar still hasn't figured out how to build a reliable diesel engine.
tonsoffun at 01:28 AM on 01/27/07
Reply by Email
*

What is really interesting is that Ford's trucks like the F-650 use Cummins and Cat diesels. And I believe the 5.9L Cummins that you can get in the F-650 and 750 is the same one Dodge uses. From what I have seen, the 7.2L Cat diesel can produce up to 860lb-ft of torque. While they may not be so advanced as the new 6.4, I would take a 7.2L Cat diesel over it...
hermitizer at 08:57 AM on 01/27/07
Reply by Email
*

What is this "super bowl" everyone keeps talking about.

Something to do with commercials?
broman78 at 11:11 AM on 01/27/07
Reply by Email
*

Tonsoffun remeber horsepower is for speed and torque is for pulling. GM uses their Duramax in the 4500 & 5500. If you towing loads under 35M gross, I would go with the powerstroke. If your gross was to go over 35M, I would go with the 7.2 Cat. Remember the cat is prob. a 7000 option.
smokyburnout at 03:52 PM on 01/27/07
Reply by Email
*

well... they said that todays Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is the Super Bowl of sports car racing... the Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl of NASCAR... but i honestly cant tell you the origin of that saying...
garagegurrl at 08:04 PM on 01/27/07
Reply by Email
*

Hey Ray, I've got a nail appointment, can you wrap it up? Blah Blah Blah.
my favorite car is a... at 03:58 AM on 01/28/07
Reply by Email
*

broman78, double-check the equation for horsepower:

[ HP = (torque x rpm)/5252 ] where torque is given in ft-lb.

That's the way it is, period. The idea that "horsepower is for speed and torque is for pulling" shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how an engine accomplishes work, and how the gear ratios in your drivetrain make a critical difference in performance.

In general, for any vehicle, an engine with high peak torque at low RPM is NOT really what you want, but rather sufficient torque over a broad, flat RPM curve.

Plot this and you'll see that, ideally, steady torque translates to a linearly increasing horsepower curve. A high-rpm engine will do the job just like a high-displacement, low-speed "torque monster", especially now that modern transmissions are up to the task of converting high-rpm "speed" into stump-pulling power! The opposite is also true: a low-rpm diesel engine can set speed records or win the LeMans, as Audi did.

A diesel's main advantages compared to an equivalent horsepower gasoline engine are fuel economy and durability. That's why all heavy trucks choose diesel engines, despite the expense of weight, noise, and useable RPM range.

Bottom line: buy the right horsepower engine to match your job requirements. Buy diesel if you want to afford the fuel for it and drive it for 350k miles. Buy a Chevy truck if you want to spend less time fixing it.
Zanary at 04:05 PM on 02/02/07
Reply by Email
*

"Buy a Chevy truck if you want to spend less time fixing it."

All my years around the parts and repair industry make that statement hilarious!

Hell, the C/K series used up Idler and Pitman arms like candy...while the motors were on trial for "piston slap"...and the interior "set a new record for cheapness" (that last from Automobile magazine).