Future of the American pickup

In order to meet new CAFE standards for lightduty trucks, full-size pickups will probably have to get lighter (which might mean becoming a little less "full-size"). Diesel engines in 1/2-tons are another option for squeezing more mpg's. It will probably take a combination of the two.

4.7 PowerTech V8

When I pop the hood on my '05 Ram 1500 it actually says 4.7L Magnum V8 instead of PowerTech. It was rated at around 240 hp and 300 lbs of torque. I have yet to do better than 18 mpg on the highway, or worse than 11 mpg in town running the heater. It's really fun to drive, though, and feels like it can handle anything I'm likely to ask it to do.

1/2-ton Diesel

In order to meet future CAFE standards in light-duty trucks, Chrysler will probably replace the standard 3.7 V6 it currently uses with the new 3.6 Pentastar V6 (hopefully with a six or eight-speed transmission). However, in order to meet the performance expectations of truck buyers while still improving fuel economy, I think they will eventually have to offer a diesel engine in the Ram 1500. Whether this engine comes from Cummins or Fiat, it would be desireable to have close to 250 hp with at least 350 lbs of torque and fuel mileage in the high-teens in town and mid-twenties on the highway. Cummins was working on a 4.6 V6 for the Ram 1500 that fell by the wayside when Chrysler went through bankruptcy. I wonder what kind of performance could be had with a turbocharged 2.5 I4 or 4.0 I6 design?

3.7 Duratec V6

In the Mustang this engine gets an impressive 31 mpg while cranking out 302 hp and 276 ft. lbs. of torque. Estimates are around 23 mpg when it becomes the new base engine for Ford's F-150. Indistinguishable on the exterior from the previous model year, the 2011 models have four new engines, all mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. My '05 4.7 PowerTech V8 puts out 235 hp and 295 ft. lbs. of torque (in 2007 they added two sparkplugs per cylinder to increase output to 302 hp and 329 ft. lbs. of torque). The EPA estimated mpg for 2005 was 14/21, but my experience has been more around 12/17, so an average of 15 mpg is probably more realistic. It will be interesting to see what the real world figure is for this V6 engine in a half-ton pickup.

'87 (I think) Mazda B2000

Can't remember the year for sure. Bought it used and the fuel gauge was already broke (it wouldn't start working until you were under 1/2 a tank). It had a 5-speed stick and we finally sold it when our son got too big to sit in the middle between me and my wife. Nobody makes a true mini-pickup like this for the American market anymore.

'81 Jeep Scrambler

My old Scrambler looked almost exactly like the one on the brochure. It had the 4-cylinder "Iron Duke" engine and a 5-speed stick. The hardtop and doors weren't watertight and the floors were prone to rusting out. Had to have a steel plate welded onto the passenger side. The cab was real cozy, but it didn't take long to heat-up and defrost in winter. It didn't have A/C, but you could always take the top and doors off (even fold the windshield down) in the summer. The only 4x4 I ever owned.

Ride along in the truck

It's a special treat for my dogs to get to ride along in my truck...