Ford Goes Mainstream with Natural Gas

Carmakers in the U.S. have for years offered small numbers of commercial vehicles equipped to burn natural gas. But Ford Motor Co. aims to test a broader market this autumn by offering the option on America's best-selling vehicle: the F-150 large pickup truck.

This autumn Ford will debut a $315 package that modifies the F-150's 3.7-liter V-6 engine to run on compressed or liquid natural gas as well as conventional gasoline. The system is intended primarily for fleet operators.

Adding the F-150 option will bring to eight the number of commercial trucks Ford will offer with CNG/LPG capability next year. The company expects to sell 15,000 such vehicles this year, up from 12,000 in 2012.

Natural gas burns cleaner and is far less expensive than unleaded gasoline per equivalent gallon. Ford says a CNG-equipped 3.7-liter V-6 F-150 is capable of driving more than 750 miles on one tank of gas, depending on the tank size selected.

Equipping an engine with hardened valves, seals and piston rings to tolerate CNG/LPG fuel is relatively inexpensive. But buyers can expect to spend another $7,500-$9,500 to fit their trucks with a second set of tanks, lines and injectors to handle the fuel, according to Ford. The company also notes that CNG averages the equivalent of about $1.50 per gallon less than gasoline in the U.S.