As gasoline prices continue climb and recreational toys grow in size, truck buyers are increasingly drawn to the powerful, long-lasting, and relatively efficient diesel engines offered in heavy-duty, full-size pickups. Currently, only pickups with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or higher offer both diesel and gas engines. These heavy-duty trucks are commonly referred to as 3/4- or one-ton pickups. Light-duty, or 1/2-ton, pickups have GVWRs from 6,100 to 8,200 pounds, and all are powered by gasoline engines. Jeep offers the lone exception to this full-size pickup diesel dominance with the '05 Liberty SUV, available for the first time with a trail-ready 2.8-liter/160-horse I-4 with 295 lb-ft of torque and EPA mileage rated at 22 city/27 highway.
As testament to the diesel engine's popularity, Ford reports its 6.0-liter Power Stroke diesel was installed in 63 percent of F-250/F-350 Super Duty pickups sold through the first nine months of 2004. GM's 6.6-liter Duramax diesel made up 44 percent of GMC Sierra HD 2500/3500 sales in the same time period (up significantly from just 12 percent in 2000) and 41 percent of the Chevy Silverado HD 2500/3500 sales (up from 33 percent in 2002). It appears that the most devoted diesel fans drive the Dodge Ram 2500/3500, where the 5.9-liter Cummins engine was sold in 80 percent of the heavy-duty lineup through September 2004 (up from 69 percent in 2002.)
Did you know?
The diesel engine was invented by Rudolf Diesel, who patented the design in 1892. His primary model centered around a single 10-foot cylinder. He soon advanced his models, demonstrating a theoretical 75-percent efficiency from his sparkless combustion engine. He was a millionaire by 1898. |
Diesels don't have the same attraction in the U.S. passenger-car market, where they're just starting to gain showroom momentum following a high-profile but failed effort in the '80s. The 1973 and 1979 gas shortages prompted automakers to offer diesel engines, with their attractive fuel economy numbers, as a way to combat high gas prices. But diesels quickly developed a reputation for being noisy, dirty, smelly, difficult to start in cold weather, and sluggish to drive.
Haunted by the motors' unrefined past, American mainstream drivers have shunned diesels. Meanwhile, technology has improved in Europe, where some countries boast that diesel-powered cars make up more than 50 percent of 2004 new-vehicle sales. Currently only Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen offer diesel-powered cars in the U.S., and those models accounted for fewer than 30,000 total sales through the first eight months of 2004, according to J.D. Power & Associates. Meanwhile, Detroit sold nearly a quarter-million diesel pickup units in the same time period and should clear 400,000 units by year's end.