Photos by KGP Photography
Our spy shooters have caught this nondescript-looking Ford F-150 roaming around its Dearborn, Mich., headquarters, sporting a CNG (compressed natural gas) sticker on the tailgate.
To date, there are several companies that make retrofits for the F-150 CNG conversion, but none are certified as a top-tier converter by Ford (thus keeping the factory OE warranty intact). Of course, this is not true for the Super Duties, where several companies have relatively close or on-site representation at the Kentucky truck plant where the converters do their work on the F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 trucks as they come off, and then back onto, the production line.
This could mean Ford is looking to get more aggressive with an in-house CNG configuration on a new engine or to offer the package through dealerships for fleet or regular consumers. Depending on where you are in the country, you can find CNG (at equivalent gasoline) pricing per gallon anywhere from $1.70 to $3.00. Assuming the infrastructure and availability for CNG improves over the next several years, this type of alternative fuel could save some buyers a considerable amount of money over the life of their vehicles.
We should note that it is not unusual that a CNG-using engine to feel down a little on power and deliver less fuel economy (when compared to gasoline), but when supplementing a typical engine, the range-extending results can be impressive.
