Looks like Toyota is jumping on the diesel train along with Nissan. There should be some nice options in years to come. A full size truck that gets high 20s MPG. That's pretty amazing.

Toyota Tundra Does a Titan Move: Turns to Cummins for a Diesel V-8

Tick through the list of engines available for Toyota’s Tundra full-size pickup and you’ll note they come in three sizes: 5.7-, 4.6-, and 4.0-liters, all gas-fired. But that’s not for long, according to WardsAuto.

Come 2016, the option list for the next-gen Tundra will include a Cummins 5.0-liter turbo diesel. That oil-burner is predicted to be rated at 300+ horsepower and, in true diesel form, more than 500 lb-ft of torque. This should make Nissan product planners sit up and mumble “rats,” as this appears to be the same engine being developed for the redesigned Titan, which debuts next year.

Toyota had been creating a similar diesel V-8, likely with its truck subsidiary, Hino, but scrapped the plan during the world economic meltdown a half decade ago. It’s suggested that if the Cummins diesel-powered Tundra proves popular, the Toyota/Hino program could get a restart.



Why would automakers care about light-duty diesel pickups? Come 2025, all automakers are up against the wall, a 54.5-mpg CAFE fleet mileage regulation that will have them scrambling for more miles per gallon. While there are several heavy-duty diesel pickups from Detroit, the only current light-duty model offered in half-ton pickups is the new 3.0-liter turbocharged EcoDiesel V-6. That engine, developed by Fiat-affiliate VM Motori and offered in the Ram 1500 full-size pickup, makes 240 horsepower, 420 lb-ft of torque, and is EPA-rated at 20-mpg city/28-mpg highway. There will most certainly be more to come.

Full article - HERE

 

Guess it finally got through to the idiots that manage light truck programs that people want diesels in their 1/2 ton pickups. Ford still hasn't figured it out, even though they were ready to drop a 4.5L V6 into the F150 a decade ago before their beancounters changed their mind.

 

Didn't Ford and Chevy both have light-duty diesels in the works but scrapped them when gas went sky high and people stopped buying trucks and SUVs for a few years?

 

I don't know about Chevy, but Navistar built an engine plant in Alabama to make 4.5L V6 (basically 3/4 of the 6L powerstroke) for the F150 (and SUV equivalents) circa 2003. Just after the plant was finished Ford backed out of the deal, and Ford & Navistar designed their LCF trucks that came out in 2005 or so to utilize the engine plant. Don't think either sold very well, the Isuzu and Fuso were both cheaper. There were numerous lawsuits involved with that whole mess (which started with the 6L powerstroke being a POS thanks to Ford's injector supplier).

Ford insisted the whole time that nobody would buy a diesel F150 anyway, even though a comfortable, reasonably sized vehicle that got 20-22mpg and could pull a good sized trailer seems like a no brainer to me.

 

I have a Tundra - but this doesn't appeal to me. I'm more interested in the 3L diesel from Ram personally. I don't need to haul a gooseneck trailer or a house, so a smaller displacement diesel would be ideal for me.

 

I have a 2013 tundra. It pulls a car on a tandem 18' trailer like it's not there. I had 2 diesels before it. I would not go back. Granted, one was a 6.0L Powerjoke, but the other was a LMM duramax. The maintenance, repair, and increased fuel cost for diesel made them unreasonable unless they were truly needed. I don't haul enough to justify the need. I do not see an advantage to adding diesels to half ton trucks if fuel does not shift back to diesel being the same or cheaper than gasoline (as it should be). It seems like there would be a really limited market for people only needing a half ton truck but wanting the pulling power of a diesel.

That doesn't even touch on the problems with running a diesel in a cold-weather state. Most of the guys I know in the midwest don't bother bringing the diesel out for a couple months during the winter.

 

My experiences towing with gas pickups was usually:

- meager acceleration
- horrible hill climbing
- horrible gas mileage

Obviously there are costs incurred with using diesel; one of the big upsides of that 4.5L powerstroke was that it would have gotten better mileage under all circumstances when compared to the 5.4L V8, as well as having a bit better power (200hp/440tq when it was finalized). A small diesel does seem like a small market, but even if it was only 10%, that's something like 70k Fseries per year.

 

They save these motors for when a new regulation comes. They might have a truck that gets 40mpg right now, but they wouldn't release it. They'll save it for a new EPA reg that comes in 20 years. If they release a 40mpg truck now, EPA will want a 42mpg truck by 2017. Gotta hedge your technology!

 

That's pretty much the dumbest thing I've ever heard.