Ford Says "No" to F-150 Diesel, but Chrysler Says Ram 1500 Diesel Makes Sense | Edmunds.com
I don't think a diesel 1/2 ton is practical either.
I don't think a diesel 1/2 ton is practical either.
Ford is likely saying no because they do not have an immediate source of a diesel engine to use in a half-ton truck. VM Motori is building the Chrysler 6 cylinder diesel, they have been building this engine since 2012. It is interesting that VM Motori is owned by Fiat and GM, each have a 50% stake in the company.
I don't agree with Ford's assumption on pay-back. Typically, diesel fuel is $.50 more per gallon in my area, given the MPG delta between the gas RAM and the projected MPG of the diesel, pay-back could be seen as early as 45,000 miles.
I don't believe you could ever get a payback from the extra cost of a diesel in a less than 1 ton truck, at least not as long as diesel is higher priced than gasoline. NOT ONLY do you have the $4-5K premium in engine cost, but about 3 times the quantity of oil, more expensive fuel filters, air filters and lets not forget the DEF that is now on USA diesels. That more than makes up for the paltry amount of extra MPG that is claimed for diesels. Gasoline engines now rival the power and fuel economy of a diesel and are good for at least 200,000 miles before major engine problems might be encountered. Unless you are pulling a load and running a hotshot delivery service averaging 100K per year in mileage, diesels don't make a lot of sense here.I don't agree with Ford's assumption on pay-back. Typically, diesel fuel is $.50 more per gallon in my area, given the MPG delta between the gas RAM and the projected MPG of the diesel, pay-back could be seen as early as 45,000 miles.
That may be true comparison with Rams but Ford has big plans for the Eco Boost which is already doing 24 mpg in a 4x4 Crew Cab on 87 octane.
Chris
I predict this motor will sell as well as the Hemi. In Canada it will probably outsell it by quite a margin. I can almost gaurantee that fleets will buy this as the first choice.