Found this while looking around last night:

GM And Ford To Announce "PowerMax" Diesel Partnership - PickupTrucks.com News

I called BS on the second comment down at the bottom of the page as "powerstroke65". Good one though.

 

I read that and almost believed it....hmm sighh an F150 with a diesel is only a dream I suppose.

 

Yeah. I had the same take on it until I read a little further into it and realized what day it was. I guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed. If any of the big three do it, I'd say it will be Ford.

 

Yeah I'd say Ford is probably the only one that could afford it right now. I'm guessing engineering a diesel engine is the last thing GM and Chrysler are worry about right now.

 

Hmm, whats sad is, it wouldn't be the first time GM and Ford went into something together... You know those 6 speed automatics that GM and Ford are both pushing right? Well yeah, they co-developed them lol.

 

“An 8 percent increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for 2011, lower national prices for diesel fuel and leveraging economies of scale make this the right time for GM and Ford to build this fuel-efficient, clean engine,” said PMAX Ltd. spokesperson April Fursten.

That was a huge clue. LOL

 

I'm thinkin' Toyota might be the first one to put a diesel in a half ton pickup. They already have small diesels in trucks abroad, and they are the makers of the Yanmar diesels, so they already have a large selection of engine size options. I'm wondering if they might test the waters first.

 

Yeah but remember that GM also uses Isuzu for its Duramax engines and those guys are right at the front when it comes to diesel truck engines, including light trucks... So GM doesnt really have an excuse not to have the technology available....

 

Good point. However my line of thought was that since Toyota sells so many vehicles around the world that they could probably justify building whatever minimum number of diesel pickups needed to make it worthwhile via economy of scale and then kinda cherry pick different markets around the entire globe where they would like to test the viability of the half ton diesel pickup market. That way they would get a good read on what markets would consume the product and which ones to avoid. By the way, I read somewhere that GM was not in bed with Isuzu any more and that GM owned the design rights to the Duramax now. But you know how much of what you read is BS these days, kinda like the old Ford owns Cummins rumor.

 

You know, I really dont see smaller diesels as too far off. European countries have been running diesel as much as possible for years, and the US is I think finally starting to catch on to the whole "diesel actualy works better" thing.

That... And the improvements being made that are making diesels lighter, stronger, and more freely rev-able than they have been will probably open it up even further...

 

I've heard that diesels are just about all they run in Europe. I'm not sure if they have all the emission equip ours run since they don't have as many cars per capita. If they don't that would mean that they don't cost as much to maintain. It's expensive to own and operate a diesel in the USA and becoming more expensive all the time. Maybe as they get better at designing and building emission compliant diesels they will become more economical to operate like the gassers eventually did.

 

Fandini you made good sense on Toy beieng in a good possition to "experiment" more than most especially regarding the exploration in the halfton diesel category.
Also, i do beleive that in Europe the emmision laws are as strict as in the US. Think "politics" mostly keeps this from happening in the states...
Have also heard rumours of GM breaking ties with Isuzu and Toy owning a minority share in Isuzu aswell. In some countries like here in S/Africa and OZ, GM (Holden in OZ) theyr still together.

 

For a while now i have been following leads on a rumour that ford may use a "new" 3.2l 5 cyl diesel in the 2012 "world" Ranger. Finally got hold of such as they are using it in the full size Transit bus in Europe. Apparently its good for 200hp and 350ft/lbs. In aperfect world that would've been a great light duty engine in the F150 i think.

 

"There’s also another advantage: Cost. The 4.5-liter V-8’s breakthrough design eliminated the intake and exhaust manifolds and other related components, saving weight, reducing size and lowering costs by up to an estimated $600 per engine versus a conventional diesel."

Hahahaha.
Bet it runs great with no manifolds.lol

 

Actualy, it doesn't technically have manifolds. I was reading about it a year ago, and thinking to myself that it was, well, bs, but it's true, no manifolds...

2010 4.5L Duramax Diesel has Shockingly Brilliant Design - 2010 Duramx - Jalopnik

There's plenty of info on it, just google it.