Ford's 6 cylinder diesel for the F-150

[Crunch]

The AutoWeek article gives us the following:



http://autoweek.com/cat_print.mv?content_code=04255651

"Ford wants to be first on the market with a light-duty diesel truck. It wants to beat General Motors to this market segment to enhance the F-150's status as the world's best-selling vehicle. "



I like the idea of a diesel in a light duty, but is there any reason why dodge/DC couldn't beat them to the punch? The 5. 9 Cummins might be a bit heavy for the Ram 1500, but diesel they put in the Mercedes sounds like it could work--and there are no contractual problems, either.

 

[jgillott]

I read the article and I hate to tell Ford, but they wouldn't be the first to put a diesel in a light duty truck. GM had been doing it for years with the 6. 2/6. 5 in the 10 series trucks. I could be mistaking, but I believe that they continued this practice until the latest model change in the late 90's.





Justin

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

They may also be talking about a V-6, rather than an inline 6...

 

[jgillott]

I believe that Ford is looking to add the diesel to the F150 for several reasons. But probably the most important one (but what they will not tell you) is that they could apply the diesel motor to their current CAFE rating for the F150 since it is under #8600 GVW. A V6 diesel in a light truck should be able to average far better than their current engine offerings.



Justin

 

[jrobinson2]

I think the little Mercedes diesel in the Sprinter vans would make a good engine in a 1500.

Jared