Hank Hill would be proud.
Our good friends at Roush Performance have come up with a way-cool, green-friendly upgrade for new F-150s and F-250s: A propane injection kit that delivers equal power for less money and fewer emissions than pump gas. And, you get a $5,000 tax credit for buying one. What's not to like?
Press release follows . . . .
LAS VEGAS (January 22, 2009) - Hammering home their success in offering a propane-powered truck, ROUSH® Performance unveiled yesterday at the 2009 International Builders’ Show the next product in the lineup - the 2010 ROUSH Liquid Propane Injected F-250.
The ROUSH propane-powered F-250 immediately received considerable interest among the attendees who had been looking for a medium-duty truck that could offer both lower operating costs and greenhouse emissions.
According to research provided by the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC), propane is the most widely-used alternative fuel today, with more than 10 million vehicles around the world using it as a fuel. Operating costs typically range from five to 30 percent less than those of a gasoline-powered fleet, and on average create 20 percent less nitrous oxide, up to 60 percent less carbon monoxide and fewer particulate emissions.
“We have had tremendous interest in the ROUSH propane-powered F-150 and sold several hundred vehicles and conversion kits, but more than that we had people tell us that they would be much more interested if there was a medium-duty pickup available,” said Joe Thompson, vice-president and general manager of ROUSH Performance. “With that in mind, we went to PERC who has been our strong supporter in developing propane vehicles and took the next steps to expanding the ROUSH lineup with the F-250. It is gratifying to see that the response has already been so positive.”
With deliveries anticipated to start in the third quarter, ROUSH will make this product available in two forms; customers can choose either a complete ROUSH-assembled vehicle which will have a 3-year/36,000 mile warranty, or a conversion kit to fit existing trucks in the field which also carries the same warranty. The conversion kit will also fit 2009 F-250 pickups that may be in service.
The order banks for both the vehicle and the conversion kit, both of which are true OEM-quality in terms of engineering and materials, will open on January 26. Among the components changed are the fuel tank withmulti-valve fuel pump, stainless steel fuel lines, billet aluminum fuel rails, an upgraded custom ROUSH PCM calibration, and all necessary wiring, hardware and instructions.
The kits will have a retail price of $7,995, and quakifgied for a federal tax credit of $5,000. There are also a number of state, regional and local tax credits and rebates available for the purchase and implementation of alternative fuel vehicles. Additionally, propane prices per gallon are normally significantly much lower than gasoline ordiesel, and with the proper infrastructure in place a fleet user can qualify for a 50-cent tax credit per gallon used.
The ROUSH propane-powered F-250 will come standard with an in-bed tank offering 62-usable gallons of fuel. This will allow a range of approximately 500 miles depending on the chassis and driving habits. A under-bed propane tank will be available (with a range of approximately 250 miles) for users where range is not as important as bed capacity. There will be no loss of horsepower, torque or towing capacity on the ROUSH propane-powered F-250 as compared to the truck's gasoline-powered equivalent. The truck will have all federal, CARB and Canadian certifications.
Want to fnd out more? Click here for all the details.