Ford/International honeymoon over?

[KCJackson]

This week's Automotive News has an important story regarding the relationship of Ford and International. Here are a few key excepts (can't put the whole article here, it's a paid subscription thing)
-----------------------------
Ford Motor Co.'s diesel engine supplier is fighting to keep its 22-year relationship with the automaker from going up in smoke.

Relations between International Truck and Engine Corp. and Ford are strained for two reasons.

First, Ford abruptly cancelled plans in 2002 for a V-6 diesel engine that was to have been used in the F-150 and some SUVs. International Truck sued, and Ford paid its supplier an undisclosed sum.

Next, the redesigned Powerstroke diesel V-8 suffered serious quality flaws when it was introduced last year. Ford was forced to repurchase trucks from angry customers. The timing could not have been worse. In the diesel truck segment, Ford is locked in a market-share battle with Dodge and General Motors.

...

International's three-step plan to keep Ford's business:

1. Strive to deliver bulletproof engines for the duration of its Ford contract, which runs until 2012. Executives at both companies say that upgraded fuel injectors and new software have eliminated the Powerstroke's bugs.

2. Continue development on a V-6 diesel engine for light-duty applications. Should Ford decide it wants a smaller diesel, International says it can deliver the engine quickly.

3. Invest heavily in emissions technology to meetstringent 2007 federal air quality regulations. International wants to avoid using an expensive adsorber, which removes most oxides of nitrogen from the exhaust. Pat Charbonneau, International's chief technical officer, says the company has delivered several test engines that meet the tougher standards.

...

But Ford dumps suppliers when it is not satisfied with cost or quality. And Ford powertrain boss Dave Szczupak says the automaker is considering other diesel suppliers such as Cummins Engine Co., Deere & Co. and Detroit Diesel.

Ford is not likely to dump International before it has a replacement for the Powerstroke. Doing so would take Ford out of the diesel truck market. And that would be costly - one quarter of Ford's highly profitable F-series pickups are sold with the Powerstroke engine
----------------------------------

It's clear Ford was stung by the 6.0 PSD's flawed launch. The F-series is their bread and butter, the money machine that lets them build other vehicles at a loss. When that moiney machine takes a hit, the Blue Oval gets very angry. And now, here's the Cummins 600 to rub salt in the wound again by being 50-state legal without EGR (the competing V8s have it).

Personally, I don't see Ford using Detroits. Detroit is of couse owned by DC - no sense in going to your direct competitor in the market for an engine. And Deere hasn't got the experience in this segment. That leaves Cummins... and Caterpillar. The only reason I don't see Ford going to Cummins is the signal it would send to their customers "ok, we admi it, Dodge always did use the better engine." The Cat C7 may just be the one for Ford.