By Bruce W. Smith, Keith Burton
Behind the closed doors of laboratories, automotive engineers are working feverishly to change truck owners' lives. A look at the gas pumps should help explain why these engineers are racing to give our gas-guzzling trucks diesel power. It's going to happen--sooner than you think.
According to a report earlier this year from Schmidt's Automotive Industry Data (AID), a well-respected UK-based group of car-industry analysts, 2005-model SUVs are expected to be among the first of a new genre of powerful, fuel-efficient diesel cars and light-duty trucks.
The Jeep 2.8-liter I-4 makes almost 300 lb-ft of torque and will be mated to a five-speed auto.
AID says 2006 will mark the big awakening of the U.S. diesel market. It estimates three percent of all SUVs (approximately 117,600 vehicles) will be diesel-powered. By 2010, it predicts diesels will make up one-third (1.2 million) of all SUV sales.
Pickups won't be far behind. There are rumors that the F-150 will be one of the first of the new genre of sub-8500-pound GVWR pickups to get diesel power, the most likely engine of choice being a version of the new Navistar VT 275 4.5-liter V-6 turbodiesel.
The VT 275 is unusual in that it uses a twin-turbo setup instead of just one variable-vane turbocharger, as found in Navistar's Power Stroke V-8. One turbocharger is used for initial startup, while the second is used at high speeds, which the company says provides fast response from the moment the driver steps on the accelerator.