Ford's not the only one w/ a turbo v6 1/2 ton anymore...

Add mopar to the mix too now. And some might say they're doing it the right way to begin with.


Ram 1500 to get TD option by end of this year...

The Ram will be available with a 3.0L turbodiesel v6, sourced from VM motori, and backed by the new ZF licensed 8 speed automatic called for heritage purposes, the "Torqueflite 8"

This diesel is already available w/ this trans with the all-new 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. In that version it prodces 240hp/420 ft-lbs torque and w/ 2wd rated for 30mpg hwy and 28mpg hwy in AWD form. Will this engine/trans combo get the ram w/ 2wd to 30mpg??? Probably not...but one should note that both the 2wd ram and 2wd grand cherokee's using the gas v6/8speed combo's both achieve a 25mpg hwy rating...so it's not a stretch to think it's possible. My guess is it'll fall somewhere around 28mpg hwy for a 2wd, with not much, if any penalty going w/ 4wd, but no worse than 26mpg.

While getting 240hp/420ft-lbs of torque in the GC, the VM motori TD v6 is rated in other applications from anywhere from 220hp up to a high of 268hp. What it will be rated at for the truck is not yet certain. More about the engine can be found here: http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/1...diesel_engine/

The nice thing is that the premium to step up to a diesel in the half-ton will be well short of what it takes in the 3/4-1 ton market, where the cummins commands an 8 grand premium over a gas counterpart.

The benefits? Well, it's looking like it'll achieve the same tow ratings as v8/8speed equipped rams will have (11,500lbs max), yet exceed the gas mileage of the v6 equipped trucks (25mpg hwy) for not too a substantial price increase. And while it's gas mileage will exceed the base v6's, it's tow rating nearly doubles that of the base 6 (~6500lbs) and fuel mileage will significantly beat the v8's mileage (expected to be 22-23mpg when it's officially rated).

Too bad diesel is $4.20/gal and always rising slowly.
I can see it being useful when diesel was cheaper but I can't see giving up 100hp for nearly the same cost is fuel overall. And it's not like the towing and hauling ratings are better either. The 2013 ram is rated at 395hp and 407tq.
The way it looks now is that the diesel will have 3-4mpg better at best on the hwy but at the cost of more expensive diesel and lower horsepower.

That my opinion right now... Maybe it'll change when they actually come out. Who knows.

Heh... Jeep got it first!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lash

The way it looks now is that the diesel will have 3-4mpg better at best on the hwy but at the cost of more expensive diesel and lower horsepower.

---

Well, if we're saying "at best", 28-22 yields 5-4mpg over the 8, which isn't too shabby.

That said, diesel cost vary considerably state to state. Some states the difference isn't as broad; take KY where the price of diesel is usually the ~ same as premium gas...or a huge market like Texas, where at 3.48/gallon, it's pretty similar to premium gas, and only 12% more expensive than regular gas. So while it's less attractive here, it's not quite the same everywhere.

I mean, in the "best case" above, and in Texas, this means that true...while buying 12% more expensive fuel, you're offsetting it with 22% increased efficiency. That's a real gain...especially if you tow reasonably frequently.

And that's where I think this option will be popular: with the RV/trailering/boating crowd....will be able to buy a far less substantial and expensive truck that better suited to living with on a daily basis than many of the 3/4 tons diesels, and fuel mileage won't suffer as bad when towing like the higher end 1/2 ton gas engines out there now.