[Allpar News System]

The Ram Truck brand announced that the new 2014 Ram 1500 will be offered with an optional 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel engine, making Ram the only brand to offer a light-duty diesel pickup.

Rated at 240HP and 420TQ and backed by the TorqueFlite 8HP70 8-speed automatic, the 3.0L VM Motori EcoDiesel is said to offer best-in-class fuel economy. Going with the EcoDiesel versus a standard 5.7L Hemi V8 adds only $2850 to the price of the truck.

The EcoDiesel is equipped with a diesel oxidation catalyst, particulate filter, and selective catalyst reduction and will be emissions-compliant in all 50 states. The addition of the EcoDiesel makes Ram the only brand in the US to offer diesel, gasoline, and flex-fuel engines in the light-duty pickup class.

View the original, full post

 

[jerseyjoe]

I'm sure this will make the Diesel fans happy. With 420 ft lbs torque it should be able to tow a bunch.

 

[GLHS60]

Is it just me or is the name a huge turn off??


Thanks

Randy

 

[Stratuscaster]

Were you hoping for something like "StumpPuller(TM)"? :huh:

 

[GLHS60]

I don't think Ford or GM have used StumpPuller so I would have liked that better.

Thanks
Randy

Were you hoping for something like "StumpPuller(TM)"? :huh:

 

[D0dgeRam1500]

I like the fact that the 1500 is getting a diesel. I agree the name is lame but i bet you will be able to make it a beast once tuning companies break the codes. Maybe someone can make a badge that says EcoBeast. lol

 

[dana44]

EcoDiesel is as lame as Prius, but that aside (the badge can be peeled off, by the way), but what is this great gas mileage they talk about? That is more important than worrying about damaging the paint removing the lame nametag.

 

[ImperialCrown]

I am impressed with the 50-state light-truck emission certification. ULSD and DEF will make this all possible.
The early BlueTec diesels did have EGR and soot-to-ash regeneration issues. Hopefully the regen software is right. It was tricky.
Another problem was folks using Bio-diesel to try and save money. Used cooking oil and agricultural-grade diesel also caused problems.
I would like to see clean diesel succeed. City and school buses around here are being converted to clean diesel and the horrible exhaust odor is gone. They now smell almost like popcorn.

 

[Stratuscaster]

Funny - the EcoDiesel branding seems to be perfectly acceptable for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but not for the Ram 1500. For the same engine. And pretty much for the same purpose and intent. :huh:

Folks don't seem to mind that "EcoBoost" branding on the Ford F-150 Tremor...

Or is it just the "Eco = tree-hugger" connotation that's upsetting people?

 

[D0dgeRam1500]

I don't like it on the Grand Cherokee either. I feel that the diesel should have a name like the big diesels do but not EcoDiesel. The whole EcoBoost thing is a joke. It offers the same mileage as a Hemi Ram 8 speed. Also they are currently having an issue when it rains. The truck loses power in the rain. I think all of these companies need to get rid of the whole "Eco" thing in the names. I doubt someone who doesn't likes trucks will suddenly like them because it says Eco on the side.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Jeep engines used to be called Hurricanes, but that may have a negative connotation for anyone who has lost lives or property in one. Eco might be for 'economy' more than 'ecology'. It is a smart diesel management technology that can pass emission certification and reach high fuel efficiency and lower operating costs. That's the bottom line.
Past Dodge truck engines were called Magnum and PowerTech. I'm sure that marketing thinks that an engine name is an important consideration.
It's the Flexfuel badge that has an image of tree leaves, but the color green can be for money saved too.

 

[Stratuscaster]

I don't like it on the Grand Cherokee either. I feel that the diesel should have a name like the big diesels do but not EcoDiesel. The whole EcoBoost thing is a joke. It offers the same mileage as a Hemi Ram 8 speed. Also they are currently having an issue when it rains. The truck loses power in the rain. I think all of these companies need to get rid of the whole "Eco" thing in the names. I doubt someone who doesn't likes trucks will suddenly like them because it says Eco on the side.

I don't think that's the point, but to each his own.

It's pretty much like the folks that see a TURBO badge and think "OMG MOAR POWER! VRRRROOOOMMM PSSSSHHHHHHHHTTTTT!", when in many applications the turbo is to improve economy and efficiency.

 

[dak4x4]

EcoDiesel is as lame as Prius, but that aside (the badge can be peeled off, by the way), but what is this great gas mileage they talk about? That is more important than worrying about damaging the paint removing the lame nametag.

+1,
And it's lamer still since Ford went Eco crazy.

 

[AllanC]

The name Eco Diesel or Eco Boost or Eco < fill in the blank > doesn't seem very meaningful to me. But it will probably impress a few folks. The marketing whiz kids are at it again!

It is interesting to note that Ram is claiming to be the first light duty diesel. Well GM brought out a light duty diesel in its 1/2 ton pickup trucks 36 years ago (fall of 1977). The Chevy C10 and GMC C1500 got the ill-fated Oldsmobile 5.7 / 350 diesel. It had 120 hp and 220 ft·lb torque. It was an abominable engine and self-destructed as I nursed one along for 13 years before giving up on it. In 1982 GM placed a new Detroit Diesel designed V8 into their 1/2 ton pickups. That engine was also used in the military humvee and had decent reliability and that same design is still used today in military vehicles. Probably no one wants to remember that horrible Olds diesel engine.

I am sure the VM Motori 3.0 liter diesel is a much better engine. It has to be or Chrysler will go the way of Olds.

 

[JTE]

Well, I have two cents in my pocket, the engine would be called the Torque Master. Since Chrysler already has the Torqueflite and Pro Master.

Eco this and Eco that is only used to placate the people who think everything should be hybrid electric and that diesels stink.

This is all just IM not so HO.


"It is interesting to note that Ram is claiming to be the first light duty diesel."

Per the article,

"Ram: Industry’s Only Light-Duty Diesel Pickup"

They never claimed to invent the LD Diesel pick up.

 

[moparmuscle]

Is it just me or is the name a huge turn off??


Thanks

Randy

Hi Randy, you've read my mind. I think this engine is a great option but I'm more than tired of hearing "eco" this and "green" that just because the guy in the Whitehouse is a zealot. I've already decided to avoid anything with eco, sky, or green in the name and if I can't I'll rip the badges off.

Were you hoping for something like "StumpPuller(TM)"? :huh:

Works for me!

I am impressed with the 50-state light-truck emission certification. ULSD and DEF will make this all possible.
The early BlueTec diesels did have EGR and soot-to-ash regeneration issues. Hopefully the regen software is right. It was tricky.
Another problem was folks using Bio-diesel to try and save money. Used cooking oil and agricultural-grade diesel also caused problems.
I would like to see clean diesel succeed. City and school buses around here are being converted to clean diesel and the horrible exhaust odor is gone. They now smell almost like popcorn.

Absolutely correct on the regen. We had issues with that on fire truck designs. Some of it was getting it right with Cummins and some was just plain customer/user confusion.

 

[Stratuscaster]

It is interesting to note that Ram is claiming to be the first light duty diesel.

They aren't.

The claim is that they offer - in the US market - the ONLY light-duty diesel pickup truck.

I think this engine is a great option but I'm more than tired of hearing "eco" this and "green" that just because the guy in the Whitehouse is a zealot. I've already decided to avoid anything with eco, sky, or green in the name and if I can't I'll rip the badges off.

Last I checked, Mr. Obama was not on the marketing staff at Chrysler Group LLC.

Even think that - just perhaps - there are more than a few consumers - potential buyers of the product - that might be more in tune with that "Eco" marketing?

If you are already a diesel fan or aficionado then you aren't the consumer being marketed to - you already know what it's all about.

 

[MoparNorm]

+1,
And it's lamer still since Ford went Eco crazy.

I received a lot of flack when I referred to it as Eco-Hype, but Americans do, for the most part, like style over substance.

 

[Stratuscaster]

Well, in my ears, EcoBoost is "the power of a larger engine with the economy of a smaller one." For a daily driver, that's great. For a work truck...maybe not.

 

[LtjimT]

The big questions to be answered (for me) are its mileage rating, payload, and tow capacity. It should provide very good mileage, particularily on the highway. It may have a negative effect on payload as an article in one of the mags indicated about 100 lb increase for exhaust tx and def system (over hemi/8spd). When the 2014 owners manual was on line briefly I believe the max tow number was lower than hemi/ 8-speed. Will 3.92 rearend ratio be available? Hopefull this information will be available soon. Name doesn't bother me. :thumbsup: