7Mary3

I have seen those. Basically a heavy duty F-100 with F-250 axles, front hubs, and wheels. Theory behind the F-130 was to address component shortages.

Ford seems to think their dealers shouldn't be able to fix their cars either.

Hey, F-650/750 sales are up slightly! But at the pace they are going they won't break 10k sales this year.

By the same token why would Peterbilt willingly sell products to a particular customer at a loss when other buyers will gladly pay more for their superior product? There may be a projected life-cycle cost factor at work here too. Or Peterbilt (PACCAR) wants to run Ford out of the class 6 and 7 truck market by going after one of their best customers aggresively.

That's a question- did Peterbilt underbid Ford or did they built U-Haul a 'dream' truck that U-Haul is willing to pay extra for? In this case there are 2 factors to consider. Of course a Peterbilt 536 is quite a bit more than the F-650, and the Cummins 'Octane' is not that much cheaper than a B6.7 diesel. Sure Peterbilt can squeeze the price a bit, but I don't see how Peterbilt can come close to Ford's price.

I know Ford puts Pro Elite dealers through the wringer, but they all seem to be doing well, at least around me. Maybe you are right, the owner wanted to sell out.

This is a ltlle distressing: https://fordauthority.com/2026/05/ford-dealer-declares-bankruptcy-after-expansion-efforts-stall-out/ A Ford Pro Elite dealer is supposed to be a license to print money.

Penske buys diesel class 6, U-Haul does not. Ford had a good customer in U-Haul, since GM dropped the gasoline TopKick/Kodiak Ford had U-Haul's class 6 sales all to themselves.

Hopefully offering the 650/750 in Mexico will make up for lost U-Haul sales. I remember when Dodge used to own medium duty in Mexico. Word is GM is taking a page from Ford's playbook and will reintroduce 'in house' built medium duty trucks in a couple of years.

This is not good news for the Ford F-650. U-Haul is one of the last major fleets that buy a lot of F-650's, and up to this point I thought U-Haul was a very safe customer for Ford as they were about the only gasoline class 6 truck on the market and were very competitive from a pricing standpoint. Now it would seem that U-Haul is willing to pay a hefty premium for this new gasoline powered Peterbilt. I wonder what is causing U-Haul to switch, did Peterbilt make them a great offer? Is U-Haul dissatisfied with the F-650? Does U-Haul know something? https://www.theautopian.com/u-haul-will-now-rent-you-a-43-foot-peterbilt-truck-and-it-comes-with-the-first-ever-cummins-gasoline-engine/

You have to remeber that Ford wanted to re-purpose KTP to build the upcoming new Super Duty pickups. KTP was FAR more profitable building Super Duty pickups than they ever were building heavy trucks. That article mentions that the new AeroMax had 50% more plastic in it that competing class 8 trucks. I believe that! It's amazing how fast those trucks vanished from the landscape. Early Louisvilles seemed to hang on forever, but HN80's seemed to disappear overnight. Also it was interesting to read Ford was planning an aluminum cab for the HN80.

https://www.theautopian.com/38-years-ago-ford-tried-to-make-trucking-23-percent-more-efficient-and-failed-so-hard-it-doesnt-make-semis-anymore/

Yes, and of course now just because Ford doesn't have to pay Shelby American the $800 per car royalty does not mean they have to lower the price $800 either!

'Heavy Truck' down another 17%.

I doubt the 6.8L costs much less to manufacture than the 7.3L does. The only component in the 6.8L that might cost less would likely be the cast iron (vs. forged) crankshaft. Also remember the Cummins 6.7L Octane is turbocharged and produces substantially more torque (660 ft. lbs.) than the Ford 7.3L. I think a 7.3L gasoline powered Ford F-650 will have a very substantial cost advange over a comparable Octane powered Freightliner or Kenworth.