The recent slide in oil prices—yielding sub-$3 a gallon gas nationally—won’t deter drivers from what they want most from their vehicles: fuel economy, Ford Motor CEO Mark Fields told CNBC Tuesday.

He appeared on “Squawk Box” as the first new, lighter aluminum F-Series pickups were rolling off the assembly line at the Ford Rouge Center in Dearborn, Michigan, where 850 jobs were added to support the effort.

“What you get by having 700 pounds out of the vehicle is more capability,” Fields said. “That’s what the truck customers what. They want more payload. They want more towing. And they want more fuel efficiency.”

Even years ago when gas prices were half what they are now, miles-per-gallon efficiency was the “biggest dissatisfier,” he said, noting that customers know oil and gas prices can go up as quickly as they’ve recently dropped…

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