I'm finally seeing the light on diesel engines and the US auto makers

[Ghettofab75]

So you want a light half ton truck that does the job of a 3/4ton truck and gets the mileage of a honda? Good luck!

Out of curiosity, if your trips are expensive now, what did you do 2.5 yrs ago when prices were $4.50 a gallon?

Hate to say it, but this is a pay to play hobby! The only question is, whats it worth to ya? To make you feel better, instead of looking at the overall doller cost you should look at the value per doller of these trips versus whatever else you do for fun.

Kevo

 

[ski3pin]

So you want a light half ton truck that does the job of a 3/4ton truck and gets the mileage of a honda?



That's exactly right.......we should be demanding this and not settle for anything less!

 

[Ghettofab75]

That's exactly right.......we should be demanding this and not settle for anything less!



Ok. I still want a couple million dollars while your at it.

My point was you can't make a half ton truck do the job of a 3/4 tonner, let alone get the mileage of a honda while its doing it. Its called physics. It takes a certain amount of power to move 10,000lbs at highway speeds, that requires a certain amount of fuel to make that power. Theres just no way around it. You could make the truck lighter that would help, but that cuts in to comfort and in extreme cases safety(a 3/4 and 1 ton is heftier for a reason).

I just got back from europe. Its neat, and there are some cool turbo diesels there, but I think they'd be i'll suited to our large trucks and the distances, grades we have out west.

On top of that your not likely to see much of anything new from any truck manufacturer as most auto companies are trying to shift there focus to small cars. Trucks were there bread and butter, until it got stale with high gas prices and a bad economy that almost folded two of the big three. They can't depend on trucks to carry them anymore.

I too would like to see some smaller diesel engine choices, I'm just not sure they'd work out in the long run the way you think they would.

Kevo

 

[DirtyDog]

So you want a light half ton truck that does the job of a 3/4ton truck and gets the mileage of a honda? Good luck!

Out of curiosity, if your trips are expensive now, what did you do 2.5 yrs ago when prices were $4.50 a gallon?

Hate to say it, but this is a pay to play hobby! The only question is, whats it worth to ya? To make you feel better, instead of looking at the overall doller cost you should look at the value per doller of these trips versus whatever else you do for fun.

Kevo


I'm sorry to have to tell ya but you are wrong. Small turbo diesels can do the job we need them to do at a fraction of the operating cost. Our big trucks have enormous engines designed to pull big trailers, boats, rv's etc. This is way overkill for the backcountry traveller that is just hauling a light camper. If you can tell me an actual reason that a truck like a Mahindra, with a 3/4 ton payload and a turbo diesel engine that has plenty of power to haul that payload, I'd love to hear it. But I haven't heard it thus far.

 

[DirtyDog]

I too would like to see some smaller diesel engine choices, I'm just not sure they'd work out in the long run the way you think they would.


There's already an example of a turbo-diesel utility vehicle performing admirably for many years in this country - the Sprinter vans.

 

[Ghettofab75]

Don't get me wrong, I too hope they bring the mahindra. Its allways good to have new options. Maybe it'll work for you, I don't know. I think its wishfull thinking to expect a heavy truck with a camper to get 30+mpg though.

I guess I'll believe it when I see it.

Kevo

 

[craig333]

I'm not sure who is looking for 30mpg. That is a bit optimistic. I have thought though about what I really need. Could I make my camper lighter? Sure could. Basically I want a place to sleep comfortably. That means the popup is required. Heater is required. Most everything else I could chuck and get by. I'm betting we could get a camper (ours or maybe even a new one) light enough something like the mahindra would do the job.

Things to think about.

 

[generubin]

If that Mahindra ever arrives, it will have a 2,950 payload! That will handle a FWC or ATC nicely. If they'd bring it in with a manual trans, well I might just buy one.

I had a 2006 Ford F250 4x4 gasser, 6sp manual= 10 to 12 MPG

I now have a 2006 Dodge Cummins 4x4 6sp. manual= 18 to 20 mpg. I have a friend with a Tacoma 4 cylinder 4x4. We do a lot of trips together. When we fuel, he uses the same gallons of gas, as I do of diesel. Meaning his little mini-truck gets no better mileage and he loses the comfort, safety and off-road ability of (What Jay calls) "a real truck". We both bought our trucks new in 2006. Mine a crew cab, his only an extra cab. Mine was only $3,000 more. His has been into for Toyota for warranty repairs several times. Mine has had no problems.

I used to be an import truck kinda' guy (Toyota pickups, Landcruisers, Nissan, Isuzu). I always used to think those guys with USA trucks were crazy, that only an import would be reliable. Now that I have switched over to a Cummins, I can't imagine how the Japanese companies can sell a single truck. My Dodge (maybe mine is an aberration) has been the most reliable truck I have ever had.

 

[chnlisle]

Before Gene bought the Ram we must have spent 200 hours MMing and endless weekends test driving every possible Japanese import. I had a T100 at the time and Gene just sold his F250. So after one of those marathon Sundays of driving the imports I said "lets go to the Dodge dealer and just try one." After 2 minutes I told him to do his self a favor and get a real truck. I bought one 3 months later. I've had lots of vehicles but this Ram is by far the best I've owned.

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

I've had lots of vehicles but this Ram is by far the best I've owned.


I agree...

 

[football]

Ford had a f 150 4cyl diesel that they developed and got 31 mph but couldn't meet US emissions standards. The tech part of it is out there.

 

[BillM]

We get an honest 18 mpg at 65 mph in our 08 frontier with the Eagle shell, sometimes we see 20 mph with a tail wind. I'd love to be able to buy a small diesel truck like we saw all over Australia a few years ago, the folks we talked to couldn't believe that Nissan and Toyota didn't sell them in the U.S. If I could get one I'd set it up to run waste Vege when I could get it. I converted a Mercedes 300 TD to Vege 5 years ago and it ran better on Vege than Diesel.

 

[the fisherman]

I'm pretty sure you will see this motor in an F150 despite what you hear, too much money was spent on r&d to let this thing sit on the shelf for too long, but I don't want one, I want the new 6.7 in an F250.

 

[Barko1]

I'm pretty sure you will see this motor in an F150 despite what you hear, too much money was spent on r&d to let this thing sit on the shelf for too long, but I don't want one, I want the new 6.7 in an F250.


I thought I posted this but???

A recent report says the 2011 Range Rover (in Europe at least) will be getting a new 4.4-liter V8 diesel engine with 308 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque to replace the current 3.6-liter V8 diesel. When the the current F-150 was launched back in 2008, Ford announced that it would add a diesel V8 to the powertrain lineup in mid-2010. That diesel V8 was rumored to displace about 4.4-liters and at that time, Ford still owned Land Rover and Jaguar. When the economy hit the skids and diesel prices skyrocketed, the diesel engine plan was shelved from the pickup. We haven't been able to get any comment from Land Rover, but a Ford official has confirmed that the new Land Rover diesel V8 is being supplied from Ford's Chihuahua engine plant which also produces the new 6.7-liter Scorpion diesel for the Super Duty pickups.

However, we were reminded that Ford never officially confirmed details of the planned diesel for the F-150, so this may not be the same engine. Given all the other information we have, it does seem to be a reasonable inference. We checked with truck expert Mike Levine at PickupTrucks.com who believes this is, in fact, the same oilburner.

The fact that it's being built for the luxury SUV means that it could potentially be revived for the pickup, although that now appears unlikely since Ford has decided to add the Ecoboost V6 to the F-150 instead. As the engine was once destined for the U.S. market – with all the emissions requirements in check – it could, at the very least, eventually appear in American Range Rovers. Given the success of diesels in German SUVs, that much certainly seems plausible.

 

[chnlisle]

I liked it better when way back when we called it foot-pounds.

 

[brett13]

That's exactly right.......we should be demanding this and not settle for anything less!

You know, they are almost there. I've posted before about the European Toyota Hilux not being available here: almost 30mpg on diesel and a payload of over 1800#. Compare that with the domestic version! How hard would it be to put the Landcruiser's Australian diesel into the Tundra? You'd be pretty close.

As for the Mahindra, well, I'd be seriously worried about reliability. Other Indian vehicles seem to burst into flames as the new owner drives off the lot.

 

[jmodge]

I have not been following this thread closely, so someone may have brought this up. We get trade news magazines popping up in the lunch room. One was a light to medium duty fleet truck mag. There was an article where Ford's CEO was asked about their plans to meet the long term emissions and economy goals set forth by our present administration, specifically about diesel. Without saying no, he said no. They plan on doing this with gasoline engines. He said they do not see enough customer interest in light diesels to warrant the R&D and consumer cost. Caterpillar has quit making over the road engines because of regulations. We have mufflers (that rust out!) that can cost over $3000. By the time they make one, and it is old enough for me to afford, I will be pushing up plants.

 

[EdoHart]

It seems Mahindra finally has regulatory approval to sell their trucks in the USA, but who may distribute it is still in doubt.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20100828/BUSINESS/8280343/1003/business

 

[Silvertip47]

If Ford put a small diesel in a Ranger I would be the first in line.

Not sure about Mahindra. Don't think there will be much for dealer support for a long long time, if it does take off.

 

[Barko1]

If Ford put a small diesel in a Ranger I would be the first in line.

Not sure about Mahindra. Don't think there will be much for dealer support for a long long time, if it does take off.



If they are already fighting with the distributor that's a bad sign.

Here is a Ranger from Australia, they come with a diesel option, and 4 full doors.