1/2 ton DIESEL from RAM in 2014.

[Steve P.]

I only ever see 13 MPG unloaded on the highway. 

[Todd Wilson]

Well the facts are most Americans still want big vehicles and power/performance.  With the price of energy, MPG is starting to be important. Diesel engines are the only way to really do all this.

My stock 2005 2500 Cummins 2wd  depending on the roads traveled gets 20 to 22.5 mpg. I have massive amounts of power and comfort from the big truck.


Todd

[Homerr]

FWIW the last two times I was in Europe I saw diesel versions of these on the road: Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler Town & Country minivan, Honda CRV, Subaru Forester (it was named something else there iirc).  There were a few more, just can't remember them now.  This is, of course, in addition to all their domestic VW, Fiat, SEAT, Peugeot, Renaults, etc. that all have diesels available.

The Jeep and Chrysler left me feeling with 'why not in America?!' since the engineering is already done and doesn't Europe have more stringent diesel emissions standards.

I drove a 5-speed diesel Peugeot 307 (similar to a Golf) the first time for 5,000 km and when I converted to US mpg I got 62mpg over the trip with tons of city driving and some in the Alps.  Next time was a 5-speed diesel Citroen C3 (fine for 2 people, a little gutless in the Swiss Alps) for 2,000 km and with all the mountain driving we got US 57mpg.  In both cases it was cheaper per mile to pay the European $7-8/gallon with the higher mpg than it was to buy $3.50-4/gallon gas in the US and drive our 22mpg DD cars here.

[Pete in NH]

Yes, about 50% of the cars on the road in Europe are diesels. I think we don't see them here because American buyers equate diesels with noisy, smelly engines and think of those horrible gas engine conversion disasters GM came out with in the late 70's. It's really too bad it turned out this way. I think from an engineering point of view diesels make so much more sense than hybrids. Hybrids are overly complex with their two drive systems and all the complicated electronics to control it all. Not to mention the environmental impacts of producing and disposing of the batteries they use.

On the price of diesel, I think we are simply competing with the world price of diesel fuel. When I bought my 99 Ram Cummins, diesel was less than the price of regular gas, now it's more than premium. I don't think the pipeline explanation is really it. I think if we don't pay the world price of diesel our oil companies will simply ship it elsewhere. Diesel in the rest of the world is used everywhere.

I hope Chrysler does a better job with the diesel 1500 Ram than the Jeep Liberty diesel. Those Liberty diesels got really poor fuel milage for a diesel. Something around 18 MPG which was as bad as the gas versions. As I remember they didn't do too much better than my big Cummins, which didn't make any sense. I remember really looking into them at the time because unlike many others in this country I'm sold on diesel technology. You used to see one of those diesel Liberty's around from time to time, but I haven't seen one in quite a few years. They seem to have disappeared quickly.

[ACUDANUT]

Don't forget the price of diesel fuel is a buck more per gallon 6 months out of the year.

[Mike DC]

Hybrids are overly complex with their two drive systems and all the complicated electronics to control it all. Not to mention the environmental impacts of producing and disposing of the batteries they use.

It's not that hybrids are a bad idea. 
It's just a bad idea to build hybrids and keep the gasoline drivetrain as the primary one.   

Hybrids keep coming out looking impractical because the auto industry is so resistant to change that it has been mostly building them bass-ackwards.  They need to stop trying to build electrically-assisted gasoline drivetrains, and start building electric cars that use little gasoline engines just to charge the batteries.

[firefighter3931]

Let me know when you want to sell it! ha ha ha   Like those rust free trucks here in the rust belt.
My '98 is a 3 season truck too.  Last time I checked mileage it got 19 empty and 13 pulling a trailer with one 6500lb tractor.  Loaded like this the mileage may vary!

Hey Reed....nice looking truck ! My 3500 is silver as well 

The 2wd is useless in snow anyway so there's no reason to subject it to salt & crap so i don't bother. I have a Neon for daily duty that gets descent fuel economy but i really miss driving the big rig sometimes. 

I just lent it out to a co-worker who used it to tow his son's car to a show out of town. They drove 580 miles (there and back) on 3/4 of a tank with an open trailer and 3600lb car. Total weight car and trailer was close to 6000lbs. They couldn't believe how nice it drove and how little effort the Ram needed to accelerate and cruise with the load out back. 

Hopefully the new Ram has descent fuel economy and towing capacity....it won't be close to a 5.9 Cummins but it should be descent enough if sorted out properly.


Ron

[Steve P.]

Brazil is also loaded with Diesel powered cars and trucks. Not that they are all burning diesel!! Brazil is big on growing their fuel. 

They also have Dually crew cab S-10's powered by diesels.  I watched a show about Brazil's move toward freedom from fossil fuels and was shocked at some of the cars and trucks they have. Many of them built by the big 3!!!!!

How about a 4-door Ram Charger with duals?