#FordF-150Ecoboost

Since 2011, Ford has moved one million F-150s with turbocharged EcoBoost engines under the hood. 

Pickup trucks are tools that need to be durable, dependable, and most of all, useful.

In an effort to squeeze as much power from every car, while making them more fuel-friendly, automakers are increasingly switching their engines to use a technology that’s not exactly new and which isn’t typically associated with fuel economy – turbocharging.

What’s the best car of 2012? Who knows. Is a Porsche GT3 RS 4.0 better than a Ferrari 458 Italia? What about the Scion FR-S? Or a Prius Plug-in Hybrid? The past year has seen the launch of numerous excellent vehicles, including some we really didn’t expect to be any good. That said, we’ve put together our list of the top five surprisingly good cars of 2012, starting with the updated Mazda3.

As another calendar year draws to a close it’s time to take a look back at the top 10 biggest stories of the year in the auto industry. It’s been a busy 12 months, starting all the way back in March when the Fiat 500 officially went on sale, marking the return of the brand to America. The last time an Italian car was sold here that didn’t cost six figures (or close to it) was 27 years ago. Since then, Fiat has introduced the 500C convertible model and most recently the Fiat 500 Abarth, aimed at enthusiasts.

Ford is revising their forecast for F-150 Ecoboost sales, estimating that the turbocharged 6-cylinder pickup will comprise 45 percent of F-150 sales, versus original estimates of 40 percent. Ford now estimates that the Ecoboost will sell 100,000 units this year.

Ford has waged a public relations campaign to help promote its new EcoBoost F-150 pickup truck. The twin-turbocharged and direct-injection V6 engine might make excellent torque (and at diesel-like revs), but the Blue Oval knew it would face an uphill battle in convincing truck owners to down-size their engine – especially for something that’s relatively untested and fraught with the potential to be a disaster due to its complexity.

Ford‘s 3.5L V6 Ecoboost engine, a twin-turbo 6-cylinder engine that will go into the upcoming F-150 pickup, will put out 365 horsepower and a whopping 420 lb-ft of torque at 2500 rpm.

The 3.5L V6 may lack the outright grunt of Ford’s 6.2L V8, 90 percent of the power is available from 1,750 to 5,000 rpm, while being able to tow 11,300 pounds or carrying a payload of 3,060 pounds.

While Ford says that the Ecoboost will offer class leading fuel economy, mpg figures haven’t been released yet. We’ll keep you posted when they’re finally made public.

Hit the jump to read the official press release

[Source: Ford]

Ford‘s 2011 F-150 will do away with its current lineup of V8 engines in the F-150 in favor of new and more efficient powerplants, which will include a base V6, the Mustang GT’s 5.0-liter V8 and the company’s impressive EcoBoost V6.

If you were wondering which U.S. automaker was making the biggest strides toward next-generation powertrain technology, wonder no more.