Ram EcoDiesel Cruises 1000 Miles On A Single Fuel Fill

Early on in Dave Goldberg's February HotCars story he makes the statement, "Imagine driving from New York City with a full fuel tank and only having to stop twice to refill your vehicle on a journey to Los Angeles." When I try to imagine it, I can't help but think of all the times we'll need to stop for bathroom breaks and a bite to eat.

Naturally, he's highlighting the major feature of the 2021 Ram EcoDiesel. Fuel economy is what this year's Ram has been touting, and when you consider the size and Iron Man power, it's actually quite an achievement. The numbers speak for themselves. 33 miles to the gallon.

The Ram 1500 Tradesman HFE EcoDiesel pickup isn't on the road yet. Ram Trucks unveiled what's coming in February so as to whet our appetites, much like a restaurant that allows its aromas to waft through the atmosphere to increase our hunger before a sumptuous meal.

The rating of 33 mpg is a pretty healthy stretch so that when its larger-than-passenger-car tanks are full, the range of 1,000 miles is easily attained. To sink home its message, the trucks will wear the HFE badge. 

For the record, 33 mpg is more than double what the Ram TRX supertruck can give you, which is rated at 14 mpg, which is still two miles per gallon better than a '72 Ford station wagon I used to own.

For what it's worth, the Tradesman HFE EcoDiesel has a rating of 23 mpg for city driving, which gives it a blended 26 mpg rating. Compared to its competitors the Ram is equal to Chev's 2021 Silverado 3.0L Duramax on the highway mpg and surpasses the Ford F150 Power Stroke 4x2 diesel by four mpg. Neither of these other two can provide the 1,000-mile range that Ram is touting.

The Tradesman is a rear wheel drive truck with a crew cab body. The bed is 5 foot 7 inches. The 20-inch aluminum rims contribute to the truck's effectiveness. Like the keys on most keyboards, your color options are limited to ebony and ivory, or as Ram puts it, Bright White Clear Coat or Diamond Black Crystal. Yes, there are more styling features you can get, but they will all be extra. Here's your MSRP: $42,240. Additional charges may apply depending on where it is being delivered.

We live in a time where energy efficiency is increasingly valued. You can see it in the efforts manufacturers are taking to continuously improve on the work that has been done these past three decades. 

Read the full story here:

Ram EcoDiesel Pickup Promises 1,000-Mile Range

Related Story:

Two Diesel Stories About Ram Fuel Efficiency

A Diesel Jeep Gladiator Just for Texans?

That we live in an age of personalization is well known. We've especially become accustomed to it in online advertising where Google and Facebook serve us ads based on our purported interests drawn from personal behavior on the web. Amazon suggests books we might like based on books we have looked at or purchased.

In recent years we've seen automakers follow suit, giving buyers an increasing variety of options to make our cars or trucks our own. We've come a long ways since Henry Ford said we could have a Model T in any color we wanted as long as it was black. 

This past week the news spread all across the web regarding a new kind of personalization. The 2021 Jeep Gladiator now has a special edition just for Texans called the Gladiator Texas Trail. I first read about it at Car and Driver, but it wasn't long before the news was turning up at other automotive sites like Mopar Insiders and Autoblog.

In addition to decals that say Texas Trail, this Gladiator features black 17-inch wheels on 32-inch mud-terrain tires. 

According to Car and Driver the Texas Trail isn't a Texan Jeep in name only. It has some additional features to reinforce it's connections to the Lone Star State. First, it incorporated the year 1836 into the badge, which is the year Texas became a state. Also, they provide you access to the Jeep Badge of Honor Program, designed specifically for off-roaders eager to get off the beaten path. Though the Badge of Honor app helps off-roaders find trails all over the country, 2021 Texas Trail Gladiator owners will find two new trails marked specifically for Texans.

As for engine options, you can choose the 285-hp 3.6-liter V-6 or the diesel 3.0-liter V6. Naturally we prefer the muscle-bound Ecodiesel. According to Car and Driver it's been built by VW Motori, an Italian subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler now in its third generation. Features include "a compacted-grpahite-iron block, aluminum cylinder heads, and a variable-geometry turbocharger that produces up to 31.9 pounds of boost."

In short, the whole package sounds fun. Texas, here I come.

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Do you have diesel news you want to share. Send it here so we can spread the word: blueflame1952@gmail.com

Truck Trend Pinpoints the Most Powerful Pickups of 2021

A look under the hood of the potent 2021 Jeep Gladiator Ecodiesel

They say it's the sizzle that sells the steak. When it comes to pickup trucks, the sizzles most truck owners are looking for are horsepower and torque. That is what Jason Gonderman's "Most Powerful Pickups of 2021" focuses on in an article that appeared last week on the Truck Trend website.

In the Powerful Pickups of 2021 his opening salvo pretty much sums up where this article is going. "Power may not be the only thing when it comes to pickups, but it affects everything." It certainly does. You want to drive a vehicle with "giddyup and go," not a lame, limping lunker. When you don't have power, it really limits some of the fun of owning and driving a truck. 

Yes, there are other factors that weigh on a decision as regards your next truck purchase. Drivability, fuel economy, towing and hauling capacity, off-road performance all have a say, but at the end of the day power is the first thing on the list that truck buyers look for.

With this mindset serving as the lens through which the contenders are measured, Gonderman runs through the potential heroes of 2021. I've listed below all the winning trucks in each category, but the article includes the second and third place contenders as well. I don't want to steal their thunder by sharing everything. A link at the end will take you to the complete coverage.

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Midsize Truck with the Most Horsepower

Winner: 2021 Nissan Frontier - 3.8L V-6 - 310 hp
(The author did not list competitors with diesel in this category.)

Midsize Truck with the Most Torque

Winner: 2021 Jeep Gladiator - 3.0L EcoDiesel V-6 - 442 lb-ft

Half Ton Trucks with the Most Horsepower

Gas
Winner: 2021 Ram 1500 TRX - 6.2L Supercharged V-8 - 702 hp

Diesel
Winner: 2021 Chevrolet Silverado - 3.0L Duramax I-6 - 277 hp (tie)
Winner: 2021 GMC Sierra - 3.0L Duramax I-6 - 277 hp (tie)

Half Ton Trucks with the Most Torque

Gas
Winner: 2021 Ram 1500 TRX - 6.2L Supercharged V-8 - 650 lb-ft

Diesel
Winner: 2021 Ram 1500 - 3.0L EcoDiesel V-6 - 480 lb-ft

Heavy-Duty Trucks with the Most Horsepower

Gas
Winner: 2021 Ford F-250/F350 Super Duty - 7.3L V-8 - 430 hp

Diesel
Winner: 2021 Ford F-250/350/450 - 6.7L Power Stroke V-8 - 475 hp

Heavy-Duty Trucks with the Most Torque

Gas
Winner: 2021 Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty - 7.3L V-8 - 475 lb-ft

Diesel
Winner: 2021 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty - 6.7L Cummins I-6 High-Output - 1,075 lb-ft

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The article at Truck Trend includes much more than data. There are also videos and photos of our 2021 crop of pickups in action. To check it out, click here.
Or visit http://www.trucktrend.com/features/most-powerful-pickup-trucks-for-2021

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Jason Gonderman has been interested in trucks ever since his childhood days in Southern California. Over the years he's held various roles with The Enthusiast Network (TEN) including online editor for Four Wheeler and feature editor at Diesel Power. Today he is editor at Truck Trend. His wife, on staff there with TEN, is also into trucks. 

  

Two Diesel Stories About Ram Fuel Efficiency and the 2021 EcoDiesels

Last week CNET published a story about a Ram 1500 EcoDiesel HFE that gets 33 miles per gallon on the highway. That is an eye-opening number, especially when compared to the gas guzzlers we used to drive in the 60s and 70s. My '72 Ford only got 12 mpg if I remember correctly. 

The story by Antuan Goodwin, reviews editor for Roadshow, begins by comparing the two ends of the 2021 Ram 1500 spectrum.

At one end of the 2021 Ram trucks lineup is the 1500 TRX, a 702-horsepower beast that guzzles fuel like the apex predator that it is. At the other end of the spectrum, however, is the newly announced Ram 1500 Tradesman HFE EcoDiesel. Returning an estimated 33 highway miles per gallon, it's currently the most fuel-efficient member of the 1500 family, beating even the automaker's eTorque mild-hybrid models.

The target buyer appears to be building contractors.

The Goodwin piece details very specific comparisons between the different Ram offerings, giving high marks to the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 for not only its fuel efficiency but also its 480 pound-feet of torque that enables it to tow more than 6 tons of mass.

After celebrating the features of the Ram HFE EcoDiesel, the author takes a detour to remind us that the Chev 2021 Silverado matches the same 33 mpg as the most fuel efficient Ram, and the Ford F-150 with its PowerStroke isn't far behind.

MEANWHILE, Motor Trend's story on these trucks has a similar take, though less flattering to the Ford in this round of comparisons.

Greg Fink's account of these mid-sized offerings was also published on February 10, as if the automakers wanted a coordinated release for the info these media channels were permitted. The Motor Trend piece is embroidered with the same amount  of detail about engines, fuel economy, power output and the like, but sums up the real difference with this comparison:

While the HFE EcoDiesel may not fit as much junk in its cargo box as the regular HFE, it does offer a more comfortable rear-seating space and can travel further on a gallon of fuel.

Before drawing to a close, Fink suggests that the benefits of the EcoDiesel's fuel economy may not be that noteworthy when compared to the cost of diesel fuel vs. gasoline right now.  

Here are links to the two articles. Both are rich with detail and have insights that will help you make your own decision if you're looking for a 2021 at this time.

2021 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel HFE sips fuel at 33 higway mpg
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2021-ram-1500-ecodiesel-hfe-33-higway-mpg/

Special 2021 Ram 1500 Diesel Model Dominates F-150 for Top MPG, Ties Chevy

The 33-mpg Ram and the F-150 aren't even close, but GM's diesels are right there.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2021-ram-1500-hfe-ecodiesel-price/

Things Change: Ford Scraps Bi-Turbo Ecodiesel Engine for U.S. Ford Transit

It's been an unusual year all around, what with the global pandemic and a variety of other upheavals. When things get challenging, it's nice to have other things to look forward to, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

For some, what gets them jazzed about auto shows is watching the future get unveiled. New styles, new technologies, and even new engine designs. Last year Ford announced that it would be offering its 2.0L EcoBlue Bi-Turbo diesel engine in the U.S. market late this year. It was to be a big development for its Ford Transit cargo vans. 

According to a story at Ford Authority, this new development has been scrapped. It's simply not to be.

Personally, I liked the idea of Blue Flame diesel oil in an EcoBlue Bi-Turbo diesel engine. I was thinking of the visual harmonics generated by the blue oil and cool blue power plant.  

Ford spokesperson Elizabeth Kraft specifically cited the coronavirus as culprit in the delays that kept Ford from achieving its introduction deadlines. Once the delays became extensive, Ford execs decided there was insufficient market demand to complete the project. 

For what its worth, this is the same engine used in the Ford Ranger Raptor, and European Transit. 

The gasoline-powered Transits will have various conversion options. They will be assembled in Ford's Kansas City plant in Claycomo, Missouri. You can see photos and read more details here.

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Impressive Engineering: The 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon Ecodiesel

Earlier this month Motor1.com published a story by Chris Bruce about the 2021 Jeep Gladiator with an EcoDiesel engine that gets 28 miles to the gallon highway driving. The headline highlights this feature regarding MPG, but the beast has many other attributes that make the gladiator a real fighter.

It's noteworthy that when the Gladiator was introduced at the L.A. Auto Show last year Jeep used the theme soundtrack from the film Gladiator starring Russell Crowe. 

The Gladiator brand was actually introduced in 1962, continuing through to 1988. None of those vehicles had a dashboard like today's Gladiator that you see here.

There's a certain nostalgia associated with the name, but Bruce notes that the new Gladiator with its EcoDiesel powerplant has taken the machine to a whole new level. He writes, "The 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 produces 260 horsepower (194 kilowatts) and 442 pound-feet (600 Newton-meters) and comes exclusively with an eight-speed automatic in the Gladiator and Wrangler. Models with this powerplant get tougher Dana 44 axles at the front and rear that are generally for the Rubicon grade of the gas-fueled examples."

The story includes 68 photos of the Gladiator in action. You' can find the Bruce story here: https://www.motor1.com/news/442131/2021-jeep-gladiator-fuel-economy/

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