The 2015 Ford F150 Needs an 8-Speed Transmission to Keep Pace with Ram, GM

When buying a half ton pickup truck like the 2015 Ford F150, the Chevy Silverado or the Ram 1500, fuel economy usually isn’t all that high on the customer’s priorities. After all, these vehicles are among the least efficient consumer models in the industry and for good reason, as they are the biggest and the most capable consumer models. However, with the competition heating up between the Silverado/Sierra, the Ram and the F150, every little feature could sway a buyer so in addition to making sure that their top selling pickups can do as much as possible, automakers are working hard to help these pickups offer the best fuel economy possible.

The Ford F150 spent quite a bit of time leading the half ton truck segment in MPGs with the incredibly capable 3.5L EcoBoost, but new competition from around Detroit have pushed the bestselling vehicle in America down the chart a bit. A big part of that advantage for the Ram 1500 is their 8-speed automatic transmission – a few that the Blue Oval crew may need to consider in order to keep pace with the Chrysler trucks.

The Age of the 8-Speed Auto
General Motors has announced that the Chevrolet and GMC half ton lineup will soon benefit from a new 8-speed automatic transmission, joining the Ram 1500 in offering these 8-speed gearboxes while the Ford F150 continues to stick by their familiar 6-speed unit. Ford offers some of the most efficient engines in the half ton truck segment with the help of EcoBoost technology, but due to the combination of similarly efficient engines and an 8-speed transmission, the Ram 1500 is the segment leader in fuel economy with each of the top two options. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is the most efficient half ton truck sold in America, followed by the Ram 1500 pickups powered by the Pentastar V6. With the introduction of the new GM 8-speed transmission in the 201 Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 fitted with the 6.2L V8, we can expect that the General will soon have some sort of MPG claim to fame – leaving Ford behind.

Even with the new 2.7L EcoBoost V6 and the lightweight new body, the 2015 Ford F150 may fall short of the cross town competitors with the 6-speed automatic transmission. By going to the 8-speed transmission, the Ram 1500 benefits from stronger low end acceleration with less work by the engine while the numerically higher gears allow the various engines to run at lower RPMs at highway speeds. Shy of cost, there is really no downside to these 8-speed transmissions so it is hard to imagine why Ford Motor Company wouldn’t roll out an 8-speed of their own for the popular F150.

Ford Will Do Something to Put the F150 On Top
The Ford F Series pickup is the bestselling vehicle in America and it has been for more than three decades. The F150 is the top model among the F Series so with the introduction of the 2015 Ford F150, the Motor Company is under a great deal of pressure to improve the bestselling vehicle in the market. The company has already announced that this will be the lightest F150 ever due to the integration of new aluminum body panels and the introduction of the new 2.7L EcoBoost V6 should bring all new levels of fuel economy to the half ton F Series lineup. These changes – plus the addition of an ultra lightweight fuel efficient (SFE) model – could help put the 2015 F150 atop the half ton truck fuel economy charts.

However, if the official fuel economy figures for the 2015 Ford F150 fall short of the Ram EcoDiesel – or only beat the EcoDiesel by a small margin with the 6-speed transmission, Ford will most certainly have something in the works to push the F150 back to the head of the class. Keep in mind, Ford has worked in designing 9 and 10 speed automatic transmissions with General Motors…and either of those in an F150 would almost certainly give it the best fuel economy in the segment.