[tim60]

Personally I couldn't give a 4XXXX what name is on the camera as long as it's a quality product and takes my K-mount lenses.

At least someone is back on subject: in Queensland beer is called XXXX because they cannot spell - at least after drinking too much XXXX. (See how I come from the home of Coopers.)

[OrchidJulie]

It's still got less than 10K. I've obviously been babying mine, lol.

Hah! I misspoke... mine rolled over 138,000 this week. But I take good care of it (tires? it's on its third or fourth set of Eagles), service it regularly. I have a long-ish commute (about 55 miles a day) so the miles add up quickly.

[monochrome]

And when did GM start allowing them to put the Allison tranny in them?

• June 2007—GM announced that it was selling Allison Transmission to private equity firms The Carlyle Group and Onex Corporation, in a deal valued at $5.6 billion.[14] The transaction closed on August 7, 2007.
• 2008—Allison introduces on-board prognostics on model-year 2009 automatic transmissions
• 2009—Allison took an approximately 10% stake in U.K.-based Torotrak[15]
• 2010-Manufacturing plant opened in Chennai, India also establishing regional headquarters with executive,marketing and sales offices
• June 2010-Allison dedicates a new hybrid manufacturing plant in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• March 15, 2012 Allison Transmission began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ALSN.

[Racer X 69]

• June 2007—GM announced that it was selling Allison Transmission to private equity firms The Carlyle Group and Onex Corporation, in a deal valued at $5.6 billion.[14] The transaction closed on August 7, 2007.
• 2008—Allison introduces on-board prognostics on model-year 2009 automatic transmissions
• 2009—Allison took an approximately 10% stake in U.K.-based Torotrak[15]
• 2010-Manufacturing plant opened in Chennai, India also establishing regional headquarters with executive,marketing and sales offices
• June 2010-Allison dedicates a new hybrid manufacturing plant in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• March 15, 2012 Allison Transmission began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ALSN.

All that recent history of the Allison division is great but I don't see any mention of Ford Motor Company getting into using their competitor's transmissions in Ford pickups.

[Parallax]

using their competitor's transmissions in Ford pickups.

I don't know whether they are in Ford pickups or not, but Allison is not Ford's competitor anymore. Allison doesn't make pickups, nor are they owned by someone who does.
I don't think it was an issue even when GM owned them. In the 80s I drove a 2 1/2 ton armored car made by ford. Wanna guess who made the transmission?

[Racer X 69]

You can get the F650 and F750 with an ISB Cummins!

And a massive improvement over the Powerstroke, to be sure.

Having worked on every version of the Ford diesel pickups up to the 2007 model year all I can say is they never impressed me. One more point to make, take a look at all the Ford and Chevy pickup owners who have been swapping Cummins ISB engines into their pickups.

Gotta be a reason.

But a K3 is not one of them.

[VoiceOfReason]

I'm excited about the prospect of a Nissan Frontier with the ISF 2.8 4 cylinder with ~200hp/~350tq that may be upcoming. All I would want in one is a decent stereo, good AC, and comfortable seats. I think we could use a 30mpg pickup in the US.

[Racer X 69]

I don't know whether they are in Ford pickups or not, but Allison is not Ford's competitor anymore. Allison doesn't make pickups, nor are they owned by someone who does.

Allison never made pickups, but after GM finally came up with a decent diesel engine for pickups, i.e. the Duramax, they needed a transmission better than the automotive one that had seen service in the gasoline powered pickups. So they turned to the Allison transmission division to modify the medium duty automatic for use behind the Duramax.

It was a good move, to be sure, as Dodge had lots of trouble with the early ISB powered pickups with their automatic, as well as Ford.

I guess the consumers want a pickup that is more like a car than a pickup, and using a clutch and shift lever is too much bother. After all, they have power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, electric windows and power door locks, high end stereos and even heated leather seats.

So why would they want to be bothered with shifting?

(Me? I don't own a vehicle with an automatic. Autos are for girls and lazy people. )

I don't think it was an issue even when GM owned them. In the 80s I drove a 2 1/2 ton armored car made by ford. Wanna guess who made the transmission?

Commercial and military vehicles are custom built to the customer's specifications. Ford may have supplied the chassis, but the company that built those vehicles under the government contracts built the rest. The contract likely required the automatic tranny and since Allison was the only supplier in North America at the time, that is the transmission that was used.

Like VoiceOfReason mentioned, the F450 and F550 trucks can be had with an ISB. Those trucks fall into the medium duty class, and are generally built to order. Since the Cummins ISB is not built by Dodge (Chrysler, Fiat, Mercedes, or whoever owns them anymore, I really have a hard time keeping up), and because they are built to a customer's specification, and because the ISB is a far better engine that International (the Powerstroke is built by International for Ford) has to offer at the moment, is stands to reason that the ISB would be an option.

When you get into medium and heavy duty vehicles, many combinations are possible. The mount at the back of the engine comes in one of 5 sizes, and is called SAE Bell Housing. The bigger the housing, the smaller the number. The Medium duty Allison transmission (like the ones used in pickups, RV's and other vehicles like the 2 1/2 ton military rigs) uses the SAE 3 housing.

The heavy duty Allison transmissions fit an SAE 2 housing.

You will find Allison automatics in millions of medium and heavy duty vehicles. But to find one in the light duty offerings of GM's competitors has not been one of them.

[Parallax]

If manuals are so wonderful why is it that the towing capacity for every truck brand I've driven over the years is higher for the auto version than for the manual?
If manuals are so wonderful why does Ram programming tune the CTD to more torque output for the auto than the manual?
Hmmmmmmmmmm?

Are autos for sissys and lazy people, or or sticks for people who are afraid they might otherwise be perceived as such?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

[monochrome]

(Me? I don't own a vehicle with an automatic. Autos are for girls and lazy people. )

65% of the Corvettes sold have a slushbox - have for the last wto iterations. Might be because computers have allowed a smoother torque curve with an automatic transmission.

[stevebrot]

Autos are for girls and lazy people.

...and people stuck in daily commutes at 3-10 mph. I loved my Mazda 3 5-door, but was wearing out my left knee in traffic every day. The Nissan idles along quite nicely.


Steve

[Racer X 69]

If manuals are so wonderful why is it that the towing capacity for every truck brand I've driven over the years is higher for the auto version than for the manual?
If manuals are so wonderful why does Ram programming tune the CTD to more torque output for the auto than the manual?
Hmmmmmmmmmm?

Are autos for sissys and lazy people, or or sticks for people who are afraid they might otherwise be perceived as such?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

I do not know.

65% of the Corvettes sold have a slushbox - have for the last wto iterations. Might be because computers have allowed a smoother torque curve with an automatic transmission.

I used to really like the Corvette. But then I realized how many of them are an extension of a certain part of the male anatomy, and realized I don't require any such enhancement.

...and people stuck in daily commutes at 3-10 mph. I loved my Mazda 3 5-door, but was wearing out my left knee in traffic every day. The Nissan idles along quite nicely.


Steve

Try rush hour with 13 forward gears.

Of course, once it gets rolling, the clutch pedal sees zero use.

[monochrome]

I used to really like the Corvette. But then I realized how many of them are an extension of a certain part of the male anatomy, and realized I don't require any such enhancement.

One could say that of anything above a SMART CAR.

There are those in the world who might even say such of 2-piece vehicles rolling on 18 wheels.

Steering column paddles can shift the 8-speed quicker and more accurately than my left foot and right forearm every day of the week.

[dadipentak]

I've got 125k on my 2003 Ricoh Subaru Forester and it's still going strong.

[Parallax]

But then I realized how many of them are an extension of a certain part of the male anatomy, and realized I don't require any such enhancement.

There are those in the world who might even say such of 2-piece vehicles rolling on 18 wheels.

Or stick shifts.

(Hey, you started it, Racer. )