Autoblog recently did video interviewing Ford's Powertrain boss, Dan Kapp, on diesels and their future at Ford. What I found interesting is where Kapp compares diesel to gasoline engines, some of which I already knew, but some of which I didn't.



Full story here

Nissan is reportedly going to show their light commercial vehicle (or vehicles), otherwise known as LCV(s), at the next Detroit auto show in January. As has been reported, Nissan plans on introducing three LCVs in the United States within the next few years. One is expected to be a van, quite possibly based on their Primastar van (pictured), which is sold in many other markets worldwide. If so, it's most direct competitor here would the the Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter vans, which have proven so popular with delivery services and tradesmen.

As to the other two LCVs? Nothing certain has been announced to date, but there's certainly a lot of speculating going on. One such speculation centers around a heavy duty pickup (Nissan truck news), which I think is a pretty safe bet. The big question is, will it be a Detroit-style pickup, fashioned along the lines of the very successful Ford Duper Duty? Or will it be more of an "international style" of truck? By that I mean a vehicle that is totally unlike that coming from the domestic truckmakers. Perhaps something like the Primastar, but with a pickup bed and/or dump body instead? That leaves the third truck up for grabs. A small box van perhaps? Almost certainly these trucks will be diesel-powered.

Here's AutoObserver's take: Nissan Reveals Light-Commercial Direction at Next Detroit Auto Show

Recently Straightline confirmed that the next Titan and Dodge Ram are going to be kiss'n cousins. Now we have some more info on that model, as well as some new info on the yet-to-be-seen HD Nissan pickup.

As to the Titan, the doors and roof panels will be shared by the Titan. Other exterior body panels will be unique. Like the current Titan, it will only be offered in extended cab and crew cab versions. One good feature coming over from the Ram is the lockable in-fender storage compartments.  Also, as per the Ram 1500, a new Cummins diesel is in the cards.

One piece of news I'm not happy about hearing is that it will likely get the Dodge Hemi engine. Now before everyone jumps all over me here, my feeling the equally good (and arguably better) Titan 5.6 engine would clearly set it apart from the Ram—which I think is very important. The Titan will likely also share other Ram 1500 engines. Good news, however, is the (next-generation) Nissan 5.6 engine will live on in future Amardas and Infiniti SUVs.

Now as to the heavy duty Nissan pickup, it will not be Ram-based, but instead will be a 100% Nissan effort. It will be offered in both single-rear wheel and dual-rear wheel configurations. A concept version of this truck is expected to be shown at next year's Detroit auto show next January.

Full story here.

In talking with Mike Levine of PickupTruck.com yesterday about the F-150 diesel, some interesting tidbits—actually nothing more than rumors at this point—came to light about Toyota's upcoming diesel plans.

As I'm sure you're aware, Toyota recently introduced a new DOHC 4V 4.5L V8 twin-turbo diesel in Australia in the Land Cruiser 200 (here). Well that engine, or a variation of it, is coming here. That's not a surprise. What is a surprise is that it likely will be offered with three transmission choices.

The current 6-speed automatic is pretty much a given, that's tranny # 1. Tranny # 2 is likely a 6-speed manual. The big question is what is tranny #3? We're guessing it's a CVT, and likely based on the very powerful Lexus LS 600h, which uses a CVT—but beefed up for truck-duty.

So, if the Tundra gets this diesel I think it's safe to assume that it will also find a home in the Toyota Sequoia, Land Cruiser and the Lexus LX560 (probably to be re-named the LX450d).

Again, this is all rumor and speculation at this point—but check back in a year or two, and see if we're right!

Mike Levine over at PickupTruck.com has some images of test mules of the upcoming F-150 4.4L diesel up on his site. As you can see in the link, there are a couple of test trucks, one of which uses a 2010 front end clip. Straightline posted about this engine not too long ago (Ford's 4.4 diesel news leaked).

How do we know it's diesel? Check out the dual exhaust, which is a Powerstroke diesel trademark.

Also note that it has the 7-lug wheels, which currently come only with the HD F-150, which has a GVW of 8200 pounds. So I would expect big payloads and big towing as well. One more thing to note is that this HD package is shown on the 4-door Super Crew—which is not currently available in that body configuration.

Mike and I were chatting about this truck, and his feeling is that once it debuts, it could well put a hurting on the F-250 Super Duty. Sure, when push-comes-to-shove the Super Duty will likely win out for the really heavy chores. However, I bet for most customers that this F-150 diesel will be the better choice, as it has a far more up-to-date cab and chassis than the older Super Duty.

For those who still prefer the Super Duty, but like this engine, it will be available. The question is on which models? Mike seems to think it might be limited to the lighter-duty F-250, and he could be right, as it might be a bit small for F-350 or larger type of work.

Full story here.

While Honda and others are reaping the benefits from selling loads of smaller cars, the makers of big trucks an SUVs are taking it it on the chin. In it's latest move GM will cutting one shift in all four of their factories that make full-size pickups and SUVs. The cuts will occur at Pontiac, Flint, MI;  Janesville, Wis; and Oshawa, Ontario.

States GM North America President Troy Clarke: “With rising fuel prices, a softening economy and a downward trend on current and future market demand for full-sized trucks, a significant adjustment was needed to align our production with market realities.”

Full story here and here.

Dodge Ram hurting too
AutoObserver points out that Chrysler LLC is spending more than anyone on truck incentives in order to move Ram trucks off dealer lots.

Dodge Ram: Spending Most for Incentives

Same with Toyota
High inventories of Tundras and Sequoias are hurting the "Big T."

Image: Patricia Beck / Detroit Free Press

There are much clearer pictures of the upcoming VW Robust pickup now up on the Net, thanks to Brenda Priddy and her gang of photo sleuths.

This time a crew cab version was caught with only the front and rear masked. It appears to be mid-sized, and hints a bit ,from the profile of the Chevy Colorado. The Robust will come in both 2WD and 4WD versions. As to cab choices, beyond the crew cab pictured here, it's rumored that there will be a regular cab as well.

Complete images and more info can be found here.

PickupTruck.com has a story up on how the upcoming 2009 Dodge Ram came to be. I find these kinds of stories fascinating because of my interest in both vehicles and design. As you would expect it shows many preliminary design studies and goes into the thinking behind what they did and why they did it.

Full story here.

Looks like the rumors have proved true. The next Nissan Titan will be built by Dodge in their Saltillo, Mexico plant.

No word yet on the specifics, but it's safe to assume it will be merely a Dodge Ram with Nissan styling cues. Think Nissan Frontier/ Suzuki Equador, and you pretty much have the picture.

And from my perspective, it's not a pretty picture. Oh, I have absolutely nothing against the new Ram. In fact I'm pretty impressed with what I've seen so far of it. I just HATE badge-engineered vehicles, and that's what this will be. So in a nutshell, Nissan is packing it in, and will let Dodge do the heavy lifting (pun intended) from here on in.

The vehicle will go into production in 2011. No word yet as to whether Dodge will supply heavy duty versions, but my guess is that's part of the plan.

With this announcement you have to wonder what's next for Nissan's and Infiniti full-size SUVs, as they shared many components from the current Titan? Will they now also become Ram-based?

Full story here. The press release issued by Nissan can be found here.

Here's AutoObserver's take: Chrysler, Nissan Link to Share Models

A couple of images pertaining to the upcoming Ford 4.4L V8 diesel have made their way to the Net—with Ford's Internet police quickly chasing them down, and having them removed (here and here). Besides Straightline, they're (still as of this posting) up here, and probably elsewhere too. As the saying goes, once the genie is out of the bottle, you can't put it back in...

Here's the deal: This engine will first show up on the 2010.5 F-150. After that, it will show up on the Ford Expedition, Super Duty, Econoline, and the Lincoln Navigator. The placard shows a comparison of this engine against the 5.4L gas V8, and the diesel looks to be a great alternative to that engine. Acceleration is about the same, yet it yields a 20% increase in fuel mileage. In addition, power is up 9% and torque is up 15%.

Finally, this engine uses aqueous urea to make it a clean diesel. Ford is recommending replenishing the urea at each oil change. The urea fill port will be inside the fuel filler door. There will also be dash warnings as to when this needs to be refilled.

Update: The pics are back up over at the PickupTruck.com link (above). Interesting. Maybe Ford just caved in?

Here's Inside Line's take: Leaked: Ford 4.4-Liter Diesel Engine Specs