not sure if this is on topic, but isn't there a limit to how much one can downsize a truck's weight and still be able to pull heavy loads?
Put a 500 hp engine in a Chevy Colorado, do you still want to pull a five ton trailer with it? 5000 pounds pulling 10,000 pounds. Hmmm.
I have a 7000+ pound truck that pulls a 9400 load. Wondering if there is an equation or percentage or agreed upon value that even with a weight
distributing hitch, one does not tow/exceed 1xx percentage of the towing vehicle?
The point of all this is that if everything becomes CAFE fuel economy driven, which is likely, will that absolutely require a smaller/lighter truck, similar to cars,
and is there a need or economic argument for diesels in smaller/lighter trucks?
No matter what, we will likely always have tractor trailers, ag tractors and other commercial vehicles that absolutely have to have really powerful engines, so the need for hp and torque
isn't going away, it's increasing if anything. I'm wondering if in my life time I'll see a tractor trailer whooshing by me pulling a trailer that is one third batteries driving the truck.
Electric motor drive is probably our future, what to power the generator with is the question. Or more correctly, what to power the batteries that feed the electric motors.
Let's see, used to pull eight rows. Now I can pull four, and the other half are solar panels...
Audi-VW-Porsche, BMW and MB all have powerful diesels in their car lineup, but MB is also a big truck maker. Would be interesting to see what MB engine would perfectly fit the bill in our favorite new truck.
The cost of course would be prohibitive. Cummins needs to get in gear here; they are missing a big opportunity for market growth by not making/marketing a small-medium commercially tough diesel for cars and trucks. They make them for a huge number of boats, why not for cars? Or tractors? They also have the distribution system in place and street cred due to their engines in Dodge trucks. It would be nice for them to step up before Fiat does. The Fiat Iveco engines have a lot of Cummins tech in them I believe, and Iveco could be another sourcing option. Or VW perhaps. VW has aggressive growth plans. Maybe making diesels for US trucks is in their future. We all knew the Duramax was an Isuzu, and as long as GM kept turning up the wick on that motor, making a remarkable amount of power now, everyone seemed to forget GM had to go overseas to partner with an engine builder. Perhaps when GM stopped selling those light duty diesels that could have bankrupted them on warranty claims they decided no more in house diesels for at least 50 years. I want my TechEco diesel, I'd like it to be built in North America, and it has to produce more than enough power for the appropriate application. Stick it in a cement truck and shame on you.
Stay tuned.
