Ford Diesel Pickups to Get Cleaner Engines

Ford Motor Co. said its 2008 Super Duty F-Series pickup trucks would feature a diesel engine with emission filters that, combined with low-sulfur diesel fuel for sale nationally beginning in October, would cut sooty emissions to gasoline engine levels. The trucks go on sale early next year.

Although more fuel efficient than gas engines, diesels have been far dirtier because of the high levels of unburned fuel, called particulates, in their exhaust.

The cleaner diesels are crucial for Ford, which has seen sales of its profitable F-Series light-duty pickups plummet as gasoline prices have soared. Ford sold more than 250,000 diesel pickups last year, or more than a quarter of F-Series volume.

-- John O’Dell