Is a compact pick-up with a diesel engine.
In the '70s and '80s, you could buy a little truck with a diesel engine that got 40-plus MPGs and would last for 20 years. Yeah, they were slow. So is my gas-powered Nissan Frontier - and while it's a great little truck, the best it can do, mileage-wise, is about 27 on the highway. And though it's still running well with appx. 121k on the clock, I am realistic about it and know it's not going to make it to 300k without a rebuild or major work. But a diesel could get there, no worries.
In my opinion, the near-absence of compact pick-ups (only Ford still sells one) and the total absence of a diesel-powered compact pick-up is a huge, unexploited potential market niche.
Maybe someone out there's listening....
Don't hold your breath.
I think the Diesel manufacturers are too busy trying to come up with engines that don't need urea, and work out the logistical/ marketing/ technical difficulties associated with the ones that do.
The world is filled with unlimited opportunites disguised as insoluble problems.
Some of the disguises are very good...
It wouldn't take a lot of work on the manufacturers part to get compact diesel trucks to North America. Toyota, Nissan, and others sell diesel compact trucks in many other countries.
Maybe someday Mahindra will bring theirs to the US.....I'm not holding my breath.
Mahindra is either actually selling or very close to selling its diesel pick-up (see here: http://www.dfwmahindra.com/ ) but it's closer to mid-sized, and is pretty heavily "contented" - that is, loaded with features and targeted at a higher-end market. It has a base price around $26k, I think.Originally Posted by dieseleverything
That won't work for me.
What I'd like to see is something along the lines of the old Chevy Luv diesel; just a simple, basic little truck with a high-mileage diesel that would sell for about $15,000.
Otherwise, why bother?
I bought both my Nissan Frontiers (the old model, compact-sized; one a '98 the other a 2002) for about $7,000 with 69k (the '98) and 59k (the '02) on them. They'll each go for another 100,000 miles and probably I could still get $2,000 or so for them at that point, making my net cost about $5,000 for appx. 8-10 years of service.
That is pretty hard to beat, even if I'm only getting 20-27 mpgs!
Turbocharged Mahindra clean diesels provide a power-packed 30 miles per gallon creating benefits beyond any other vehicle in its class.Only 30mpg? I'll take an old school diesel, thank you very much.Our new generation of clean-burning diesels emit 97 percent fewer sulfur emissions than old-school diesels and virtually no sooty particulates.
Yeah, it's pretty week; only a few MPGs better than my gas-burning Frontier.
Also, check the low tow capability...
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