Ram 1500 To Gain First-Ever Turbodiesel Engine Option

Ram has dropped a major bomb on the half-ton pickup market with the announcement today that it will be offering a diesel-powered Ram 1500 full-size truck this coming summer.  The Ram 1500 will be the only light truck offered with a diesel engine in North America, and it will in fact be the first diesel-powered pickup in quite a long time available outside of the heavy-duty, three-quarter-ton-and-above segment.

For years Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler have resisted porting their turbodiesel technology over to half-ton trucks, citing cost and weight concerns along with the perception that diesel motors were only coveted by the hardcore hauling crowd or commercial buyers.  With U.S. federal fuel economy regulations tightening significantly over the course of the next ten years, however, the appeal of efficient turbodiesel drivetrains in a wider variety of truck applications has become much more evident.

Ram has yet to release technical specifications concerning the output of the unit that will take up residence under the hood of the Ram 1500, but the company has said that the engine will be essentially identical to the 3.0-liter V6 offered with the current Jeep Grand Cherokee.  In the Jeep, it offers up 240 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque and is matched with an eight-speed automatic transmission.  Fuel economy should show as the most impressive in the entire Ram lineup due to the efficiencies associated with diesel drivetrains.

There is no question that a diesel-powered Ram 1500 will attract a significant number of new customers to the brand, even with the expectation that the truck builder will price the turbodiesel edition of the vehicle thousands of dollars higher than the V8 model.  It remains to be seen whether GM or Ford will follow suit with their own diesel announcements over the course of the coming months.