Automotive Design & Production is the one media brand invested in delivering your message in print, online, via email, and in-person to the right automotive industry professionals at the right time.
Issue link: https://adp.epubxp.com/i/181113
AD&P; > October 2013 > FEATURE > Diesel Comes to Ram 1500 > Gary S. Vasilash > gsv@autofeldguide.com Diesel Comes to Half-ton pickups are undergoing signifcant changes under the hood, as OEMs address fuel efciency requirements without giving way in the capability arena. But no change of late is bigger than what Ram is doing: putting a diesel in the Ram 1500. Bob Hegbloom, director, Ram Truck Brand, says that for years, light-truck buyers have been asking for diesel engines. Hegbloom says that these people understand diesels, understand that they provide excellent fuel efciency and the kind of torque that is necessary for doing things like towing. But Hegbloom says that there has been a signifcant problem, one that has kept those engines out of light trucks like the Ram 1500: the price of gasoline to diesel fuel was such that it didn't make a heck of a lot of sense from an ROI perspective for the customers. So in the mean time, developments have been made in diesel technology, so diesels have become more efcient, smoother, quieter, and cleaner than their predecessors. What's more, because it is ofered with an eight-speed automatic transmission (the only eight-speed in the segment), the diesel can operate at a more efcient range than would be the case with a six-speed. In fact, Hegbloom says that with a six-speed, there wouldn't be much in the way of performance advantage for a diesel in the 1500. But now there is. So the 2014 Ram 1500 is the frst light44 duty full-size pickup to ofer a diesel in the U.S. market in this century. It is a 3.0-liter, 24-valve, dual-overheadcam turbocharged 60° V6. It provides 240 hp @ 3,600 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque @ 2,000 rpm. It is called the "EcoDiesel." When we talked with Hegbloom, the EPA fuel efciency numbers weren't set. But he explains that it will be better than 25 mpg highway, which is what the 3.6-liter, 60° V6 Pentastar provides—and he notes that that 25 mpg number is best-in-class. But the key thing with the diesel is that it provides the sort of performance characteristic of the 5.7-liter, 16-valve 90°, HEMI V8. That engine provides 395 hp @ 5,600 rpm and 410 lb-ft of torque @ 3,950 rpm. Note that the diesel provides a whole lot more torque. And it is also worth noting that the EPA fuel economy for the 1500 with the HEMI and a ZF 8HP70 automatic transmission—the same eight-speed transmission that is standard with the EcoDiesel—is 15/22 mpg, city/highway. And when it comes to towing, the in 2WD, two-door, long bed confguration, the EcoDiesel will tow up to 9,200 lb. A comparable truck with the V8 is 10,450 lb. The 3.0-liter diesel is also being deployed by the Jeep Grand Cherokee, where its estimated fuel efciency is 30 mpg highway. Hegbloom says that the Ram's number will be less than that, given the diferences in mass and aero profles of the two vehicles. As mentioned, the 3.6liter V6 is the base engine. To go from that to the 5.7liter V8 there is a price increase of $1,650. To go from the base to the 3.0-liter diesel, the price increase is $4,500. Yet Hegbloom says that the ROI for someone who drives ~15,000 miles per year would be within that year. The source of the diesel engine is VM Motori of Cento, Italy. Not surprisingly, 50% of VM Motori is owned by Fiat Powertrain. Surprisingly, the other half was owned by . . . General Motors.