Ford lost as #2 to Toyota
Champion
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 4,119
Likes: 5
From: Sycamore, Illinois (displaced to Arkansas)
RE: Ford lost as #2 to Toyota
ORIGINAL: DevilsReject
The Dakota suffers horribly from being a fullsize built truck in a midsize built body..... They need a better motor in the Dakota. Any moron who says they're running around getting 20+ mpg in city is full of crap. I've owned 2 Dakotas (One V6, one V8)...and the best I ever got was about 20 mpg even on a highway road trip....but I also ran cruise all the way and had nothing in the truck. This was in a Reg. Cab V6... The Dakota V8 is getting 14-16 mpg at best....and that's depending on how you drive it...and what kind of load you have...and that's real world in city driving.
Personally, the small CRD in the Liberty could be put in the Dakota....and beefed up....and would deliver better MPG's and better overall performance....
Just my .02
The Dakota suffers horribly from being a fullsize built truck in a midsize built body..... They need a better motor in the Dakota. Any moron who says they're running around getting 20+ mpg in city is full of crap. I've owned 2 Dakotas (One V6, one V8)...and the best I ever got was about 20 mpg even on a highway road trip....but I also ran cruise all the way and had nothing in the truck. This was in a Reg. Cab V6... The Dakota V8 is getting 14-16 mpg at best....and that's depending on how you drive it...and what kind of load you have...and that's real world in city driving.
Personally, the small CRD in the Liberty could be put in the Dakota....and beefed up....and would deliver better MPG's and better overall performance....
Just my .02
Unfortunatly, we will never see the CRD from the Liberty again, thanks to the EPA. I do, however, think they could have gotten better MPG's out of the Libertys CRD (they claim 22c/26h), I've read over in the Ram Cummins section people getting up to 20MPG unloaded (they seem to average around 18highway), so something much smaller and lighter than the Ram should get better mileage than that.
The same applies to the upcoming Grand Cherokee diesel, I think they can do better.
But you are correct, if Cummins supplied a diesel in a Jap mid-size, American companies can kiss their butts good-bye, as I, and many other people, would seriously consider buying one (remember, I said "I will never want to buy a Jap car" not that I would never buy one, but if they offer a disel while GM/Ford/Chrysler are not, it only makes sense).
Noob Assassin
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 9,447
Likes: 0
RE: Ford lost as #2 to Toyota
ORIGINAL: Flyhalf
Any moron who says they're running around getting 20+ mpg in city is full of crap.
I don't think that was pointed at me...but, in case it was, I commute 126 miles/day. 95% highway and am getting very close to the 22 mpg that is estimated by the EPA. Between my last fill up and the fill up before, I had more mixed driving than usual. In that case, I averaged 19.4 mpg.
Any moron who says they're running around getting 20+ mpg in city is full of crap.
Highway driving is a totally different animal...and you can get 20-23 mpg in a Dakota V6 on the highway...but it also has to factor in gearing, tires, model of Dakota, and how well maintained your vehicle is.
As for the Cummins in a Japanese truck....it would most likely be the full size Nissan Titan that gets it...not a midsize truck. However, I would buy a midsize diesel truck in a heartbeat...
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 322
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Ford lost as #2 to Toyota
Thanks for straightening me out on the mileage. I guess I better get a new calculator and better eye glasses for reading the gas pump because my '05 4.7 regularly gets 17+ combined city and freeway and 21 on the highway. It's mostly flat in Texas so I don't have an average for hilly roads.
Just in case you haven't figured it out yet, the best mileage improving device is your right foot.
Just in case you haven't figured it out yet, the best mileage improving device is your right foot.