Swamp
The Short Run of the 6.8L
After four years of production, the engine my truck has – 6.8-liter V8 gas engine (often called the “Mini-Zilla”) has been discontinud – starting with the 2027 model year to reduce production complexity, streamline manufacturing, and capitalize on consumer demand for higher-performance powertrains.
- Reducing Assembly Complexity: Eliminating the 6.8L allows Ford to streamline operations at its Windsor, Ontario engine plant and the truck assembly lines. Handling fewer engine variants means fewer parts to stock and fewer assembly line variations.
- Shift to Standard Premium Powertrains: Heavy-duty truck consumers consistently favor more capable options. Ford chose to capitalize on this trend by making the larger, more powerful 7.3-liter “Godzilla” V8 the standard base gas engine across the entire 2027 Super Duty lineup.
- Financial Incentives: Merging the engine choices effectively rolls what used to be a premium, optional engine upgrade directly into the base price of the vehicle. Reports from automotive publications like Yahoo Autos highlight this industry pattern of consolidating around top-tier powertrains to increase base-model profit margins.
- Shared Architecture Efficiency: Because the 6.8L was essentially a shorter-stroke, cost-reduced version of the 7.3L, it made operational sense for Ford to focus strictly on the larger, more efficient variant.
![Untitled [Expires April 18 2026]](https://andyarthur.org//data/photo_019708_large.jpg)
Shep Meadow in Evening
Later in the Afternoon
Good things come to those who wait ⏳️
I am often reminded of back in 2009 and 2010 when I started looking at replacing my Ford Ranger with a bigger, newer truck. I decided to hold off a few more years and was able to get a nicer truck with more money saved, and relatively low prices due to do the recession. I had originally looked at getting a stripped down work truck or something used, but I decided to throw some more money at the Ford Ranger, and keep it on road for a few more years, despite pushing over 140k miles and needing more parts and repairs. But I ended up getting Big Red, and then lifting it with a 6-inch lift during the beginning of 2015.
I so want to buy a house, and I’ve been looking but I concede I don’t want to buy or build in New York State if I can avoid it due to the gun laws and burn ban. Plus most of the houses locally are your run of the mill, plastic-coated, vinyl-sided suburban houses with gas heat and grid-tied electricity on a tiny piece of land. There are a handful of rural houses that pop up on the market, but they are mostly a variation of the suburban house some in neighborhoods that smell like cow shit with a longer commute. But if I hold out for a bit longer until I’m 55, I know I can have something much better.
I’ve been watching how much battery, inverter and solar technology has improved over the past decade, and it’s truly remarkable. With advanced electronics and LiON batteries – it’s such a different world then old fashioned lead acid batteries and old-style MPPT controllers like Midnight Solar ones. It’s only going to get better and cheaper in the next decade. Combined with more money saved, I can build or rebuild really the ultimate off-grid homestead that I actually want, not some crap suburbanite-lite house with a big blue bin and grid-tied solar panels on the roof and Tesla Swastika-Car on driveway. I don’t have to stay in Albany or New York forever, if I don’t buy here but just focus making through age 55.