1/2 ton Diesel????

[gstlouis]

There has been a lot of talk about Nissan making a diesel Titan to compete with the F-250/2500 trucks. I think they should make a 1/2 ton diesel. Imagine if you could have decent towing capability and get 25-30 mpg. Chrysler is already making some Jeep SUVs diesel and I heard they plan to make the Ram 1500 available with a small diesel. I the price is reasonable they will sell like crazy (I think).

[MuskyHunter]

they plan to make the Ram 1500 available with a small diesel. I the price is reasonable they will sell like crazy (I think).

Dunno about that. The concept drawing shows one ugly truck.

[BK19702]

A diesel option if supposedly a done deal for the 2009 F-150 too (4.4 liter V6, something like that). I hope Nissan goes that route too with the 2009 or 2010 Titan. That would be perfect timing as it would be on the market 2 years and by the time I'm ready to get out of my old truck any bugs should be worked out. I also ready about the Dodge but agree the concept looks ugly. Dodge may have the fast track on the diesel department, since their new 6.7 Cummins already meets the 2010 emissions standards.

[KYDeepwater]

The Jeep Liberty had a diesel option, but Automobile tested it and only got 18 mpg in all around driving over a week. Pretty sad because the numbers suggested it should get in the mid to high 20's highway. I have always thought putting the 3.2 L Mercedes Turbo diesel in a Dakota would get the mid 20's and have plenty of power to pull a 6,000 pound boat. I doubt that they will ever do it. Seems every time a diesel comes out, they make them even bigger.
Too many racer boys on the road that think they need a huge engine to go to Lowe's and get those three bags of play sand every spring.
I guess if gas gets to $4.00 a gallon, then maybe some of the more ecomonical ideas will actually get brought to the market.

[dank78]

How much better mileage does a diesel engine get? I hear people talk about it, but I don't know how much better it is than gasoline. If people want a diesel for mileage purposes, I would think that it would have to get significantly better mileage, as the engine option is usually bongo bucks ($5000), and where I am, diesel fuel is almost .30 cents more per gallon.

[HudsonValleyTitan]

Originally Posted by gstlouis

There has been a lot of talk about Nissan making a diesel Titan to compete with the F-250/2500 trucks. I think they should make a 1/2 ton diesel. Imagine if you could have decent towing capability and get 25-30 mpg. Chrysler is already making some Jeep SUVs diesel and I heard they plan to make the Ram 1500 available with a small diesel. I the price is reasonable they will sell like crazy (I think).

Think about it...why a 1/2 ton Diesel? Makes no sense. The current Titan engine is MORE than enough to haul what a half ton truck is made to haul. You're not going to get 25 MPG towing a 10k LB anything with any truck so....it's all about towing capacity. You MAY be able to tow 9500 LBS with a Diesel and squeeze a few more MPG so if that's your point, ok but it won't be enough to overcome the Diesels initial cost. A Diesel would up the towing capacity true, but now you're getting into 3/4 and 1 ton territory anyhow.

[Tom Roper]

I had a diesel, 2500HD 4x4 reg cab longbed duramax with 6-spd manual. It did get 20+ in that lightest-in-class configuration, and got about the same in town as on the highway. And it would go 700+ miles on its 34 gallon tankful. Powerful too. But it was a constant worry, bad fuel, water in fuel, cold weather, 30,000 psi bosch injectors with known problems and located under the valve covers so when one leaked, your first clue is the waving motorists because your crankcase has emptied all the motor oil on the road, and is now full of diesel fuel. No thanks, I'm not going back to that worry.