Go BottomFord Pickup Electric Heater Coulda Shoulda Woulda been rich
 | hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3583 iowa 
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2007-11-16 148329
Just read an ad for the 08 Ford pickups in one of the farm magazines describing a new USEFUL gadget they are offering for a change. If I understand the ad correctly they have an electric heater in the supply stream of the cab's hot water heater that gets the cab warm soon as the engine starts till the engine warms up. I've wondered for years why someone didn't offer this. Think of all the tractors I could own by now had I invented this 25 yrs. ago. Frank.
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Add PhotoFord Pickup Electric Heater Coulda Shoulda Woulda been rich
 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-11-16 148336
Frank, as usual you're right on the money!! Both in terms of what it is & how it works.
There is an electric heater inside the fluid of the heater core, when the engine and outside air is cold, and the heater is set to full hot (or in his case the climate control is turned way up) the electric supplemental heat kicks in to boost cabin temps. I'll bet it also goes a long way to speeding the engine warm up too.
They've done a LOT of thinking on this truck, the rad is 1/3rd bigger than it used to be, and the water pump is HUGE, they say it moves 140 gallons a minute!!! It also has dual sequential turbos, one comes on at low RPM's and kicks it up. The other neat things they put on them is the big mirrors for trailering now not only telescope back in when not needed, but do so electrically, they are also heated for winter weather.
I just may have to trade 'ole Bubba in on a new truck this year.
Best of luck. ....
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| hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3583 iowa
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2007-11-16 148339
Murf; Thanks for the update, sounds like they are really out to get the pickup market. The last three pickups I've owned have been Chevy's 99% because of a great dealer, I used to drive Fords, all good pickups but the dealer sorta turned into a jerk, so see ya later. A little side note about the pickup market. While waiting for an oil change at the Chevy dealership a while back I was visiting with the owner about pickup sales. He was telling me that he and lots of other Chevy-GMC dealers are quite upset with GM for making their Onstar a standard feature of even the work truck series, Ford and Dodge are giving them a run for their money cost wise on fleet sales because of the built in extra cost of the standard equipmnt Onstar system that 90% of the fleet buyers don't want in the first place. If it hadn't been for the great dealer I speak of our last new car,(07 Trailblazer) would have been a Ford for the same reason, we basicly were forced to buy an Onstar system we didn't want, we have never turned it on, never turned it on in the last car either an 02 Venture. My vent for the day. Frank. ....
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Add PhotoFord Pickup Electric Heater Coulda Shoulda Woulda been rich
 | yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan 
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2007-11-16 148341
The new Super Duties do look good and tough. It will be a few years before making a change for me. My Big Blue is only an '02 with 76,000 miles.
The GM trucks are good also. I share in "what do I need Onstar for". I have a cell phone to make calls. If I lock myself out, I have the Ford Keypad on the outside to let me in. ....
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Add PhotoFord Pickup Electric Heater Coulda Shoulda Woulda been rich
 | kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2007-11-16 148342
I can't speak definitively about OnStar but those types of systems seem rife with privacy issues. On a similar vehicle tracking system we worked on in the early 90s the control system operators in LA spent their spare time poking around in the database to find celebrities (and all their info including addresses, drivers license numbers, phone numbers, etc) and then had fun tracking where they went. All the info a stalker needs. Myself, if my truck had OnStar it would get ripped out ASAP. Even if you don't turn it on it's probably actively communicating with spy headquarters. Not that I'm paranoid or anything.
Regarding the new Ford trucks, does anyone else find the words "SUPER DUTY" in the chrome grill surround really U-G-L-Y? ....
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Add PhotoFord Pickup Electric Heater Coulda Shoulda Woulda been rich
 | DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998 Posts: 2707 NorthWest NJ
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2007-11-16 148343
Ken I agree with you on the OnStar. Hey that is what a cell phone is for.
But now Ken..... where exactly is it that you are going that you don't want to be tracked ;)
Dennis ....
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| kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2007-11-16 148344
Dennis, if you knew my location at any given time I probably wouldn't care all that much. But if you were following me day and night I'd probably be a bit nervous :)
Seriously, if some minimum wage OnStar operator was in cahoots with burglars it wouldn't be all that hard to know which houses are empty and ripe for the picking.
....
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| yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2007-11-16 148345
Onstar tracks your every movement and location. There are only two needs that it fulfills (in my opinion) they can track its location if stolen and notifies 911 if the airbag deploys. ....
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Add PhotoFord Pickup Electric Heater Coulda Shoulda Woulda been rich
| Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-11-16 148352
I don't know if it's an urban myth or not, but I heard from a cop friend that some techno thieves have found a way to use a laptop and a small low power transmitter to gain access to the OnStar system.
If that is the case it sure would make stealing a car easy, open door, start engine, bye-bye.
If they have access to the OnStar system they could then also shut it off or make it transmit a false signal.
I know a GPS system is pretty easy to confuse or disable, sometimes unintentionally even. ;)
Best of luck. ....
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 | earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-11-16 148354
I agree that the new Superduty is U-g-l-y. And even more so are the new Ford E-series vans especially the blacked- out grilles. What freakin' abortions they are. But this is what happens when the automotive "bean counters" won't put money back into R&D and the designers. ....
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