Many private contractors and public fleet owners have been switching their truck fleets to gasoline lately due to the high upfront cost of diesel engines, reliability concerns and the ongoing hassle of maintaining the added emissions equipment. When diesel is not mission-critical to the job, gasoline makes a heck of a lot of sense.
Ford Motor Co. plans to cash in on that trend by offering gasoline power in its new medium-duty F-650, which just starting rolling off the assembly line in Escobedo, Mexico, on August 15. It eventually will move production to Avon Lake, Ohio, after it winds down its E-Series commercial vans to make way for Transit production in Claycomo, Mo., near Kansas City.