Feature: Powertrain Dilema

It was only three short years ago, when the last big fuel price inflation made the full-size truck the most feared vehicle on the market. Well the summer of 2011 is here, and with it comes sky-rocketing fuel prices once again. So, those of you who rushed out and purchased a full-size truck once the prices stabilized last year, did you think ahead? Are you currently in need of a full-size pickup, but don’t want to take a shellacking when regular pops up over $1.50/Litre?

In an ever-increasing battle to produce the most fuel-efficient trucks on the market, there has been a rash of new powertrain options out there to make the most of the fuel you put into them, all in different ways. Certain power options help those who may not drive their trucks much at all, some help those who have to deal with urban environments, and some get those who need to cover great distances with heavy loads the best bang for their gas station buck.

So what works best for you? It all depends what you plan to do with your truck. Here is a rundown of the advances the manufactures have made in the fuel efficiency of their full-size trucks, and how they best serve potential owners.

Efficient Gasoline

Ford has been making the most of the most popular fuel on the planet for well over one hundred years now, and guess what? They are still finding ways to get even better efficiency out of the same old 87-octane that’s been sold at the corner gas station for nearly as long. A jump in fuel efficiency technology in the last few years has rewarded most manufacturers with incredibly thrifty fuel sippers. The implementation of direct fuel injection, variable valve timing, new lighter materials and turbo technology has allowed some truck makers to get the same power from a six-cylinder that was previously only found in V-8’s only a few short years ago, while increasing efficiency by as much as a third in some cases.

Chryslers new six-piston darling, the 3.5L Pentastar V-6 has replaced the old 3.0L CRD diesel engine in the Jeep Grand Cherokee because it gets better fuel mileage. Likewise, Fords equally touted EcoBoost 3.5L V-6 Turbo has given F-150 owners V-8 power in the form of a V6, while also increasing fuel efficiency by 20%. These numbers are impressive, however where these vehicles excel is in the cost of these upgrades. In terms of the Jeep, the Pentastar powered Grand Cherokee is the base spec vehicle, so you literally pay nothing for the increase in efficiency. Ford on the other hand have not released the cost of their new EcoBoost at the time of writing, but word has it the turbo 3.5L will be an option fetching somewhere around the order of $2,000. So, if you are buying a large truck and you may not be using it as a daily driver, but still want to save at the pump, a high efficiency gasoline powered unit will likely be the most economical choice.

Hybrid

Now this is a bit of an odd one. In terms of the timeline of light trucks, the hybrid is still in its primordial ooze stage of life. As of right now, there is only one company offering a hybrid pickup on the market, and that’s the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid along with its GMC twin, the Sierra 1500 Hybrid. Sporting a full-size chassis and a 6.0L FlexFuel V8, one would legitimately question the use of a Hybrid drivetrain on such a vehicle. The fact is, it works, and works quite well, as this full-size truck gets mid-sized car fuel efficiency. GM rates the Silverado Hybrid at 10.1L/100km in the city and 8.4L/100km on the highway. In testing I confirmed these numbers, which made my Volvo look more like a Hummer.

The beauty of a Hybrid is that its delivery of electrical power means this vehicle is at its best in the urban environment, and if you happen to live near one of two FlexFuel stations in Canada, the extra low Co2 emissions of this vehicle will also kick up your environmental karma. The downfall of this powertrain option is undoubtedly the cost of the technology. Hybrid technology is complicated and still in its pioneering form of R&D. As such, cost of fuel savings in the Silverado is huge, requiring an investment of nearly $20,000 over the base Silverado’s MSRP. At that cost, you will want to be sure that you keep it for a good long time to make up those extra costs.

As mentioned, the only hybrid pickup available in the North American market at present is the Silverado Hybrid. However, Ram are currently field testing their own hybrid product that will likely hit showrooms in a little over a years time.

Diesel

Finally we come to diesel, my favourite fuel, at least when it comes to trucks. For the most part, here in Canada, diesel is cheaper than gasoline when you get to the pump, and once you have it in your tank, it does a hell of a lot more for you. Diesel not only stretches out your range and fuel efficiency numbers, but it also gives you added torque for hauling large loads. Unfortunately, the only trucks currently offering diesel engines are domestic Heavy Duty trucks. Elsewhere in the world, it’s the compact turbo diesel pickup that reigns king, however, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Ford have chosen to keep the efficient little four bangers out of the mid-sized truck market here in Canada. However, there is hope, as Cummins is working on a highly-efficient four-cylinder that is likely to be inserted into both the Ram and Nissan Titan 1500’s.

However, here and now, it’s the 6.6L Duramax, the 6.7L Power  Stroke and 6.7L Cummins that are the only available units, found in the Silverado/Sierra, F-250/350 and Ram Heavy Duties respectably. Due to the sheer size and weight of these vehicles, you would think any benefits of diesel power have long since been offset. However, with new regulations governing these vehicles and demand to create more efficient Heavy Duties for small businesses, these big guzzlers have seen quite a bit of headway in this department. Unfortunately, these same regulations say that any vehicle with a GVW higher than 8,000 lbs does not legally have to post the vehicles fuel-efficiency numbers, however, in a recent test of Chevrolet’s contender, the 6.6L equipped Silverado, I saw efficiency numbers of 12.2L/100km on the highway, and 15.3L/100km in the city, and that’s with a load in the back.

Where the diesels fall down a bit is the cost to equip each truck with the diesel option is still quite large. Expect to dish out $9,670 extra for the GM, $9,950 extra for the Ford and $7,975 for the Ram; not hybrid money, but still a good chunk of cash to make your full tank last a little longer.  As such, you’ll want to make sure that you are getting good use out of the vehicle to make up for the added expense. So, if you need a truck to haul large loads for long distances, the diesel will likely be you best choice.

History: Military Ruggedness for the Average Man

Last year, when Dodge invited me to Moab, Utah, for the Jeep Safari, they also let have a go in the current iteration of the Power Wagon. The Ram based 2500 was a particularly stout off-roader despite it’s size, featuring solid lockable axles at both ends, disconnecting sway-bars, full underbody protection and a winch as standard. The good folks at Dodge took us on a run up into the mountains surrounding Moab, on washed out old mining roads that were most likely built, maintained and used by Power Wagons back in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s when Moab was a uranium boom town.

Many a Power Wagon there were up in those mountains, when the apatite for weapons grade uranium was at its peak. In fact, the two began life around the same time. Around the time the American’s were testing their newfound mass-destructive powers, Dodge were working on the latest version of their quarter, half and three quarter ton military 4x4. Dodge had been building 4x4’s for the military since 1934, so they had a pretty good sense of what worked and what didn’t. In 1945, initial photo’s of a prototype vehicle based on the extremely effective military platform with a civilian cab were first released. Initially called the Battle Wagon, the Power Wagon’s basic goal was to fulfill the military needs for a small, fast, powerful, and rugged vehicle, capable of traveling well on road, and equally as well off road, and supply a vehicle of equal quality to the civilian population.

Like the venerable Jeep, veterans who were now returning home to their farms, or construction and mining jobs began to swamp Dodge with requests for the extremely capable machinery they were privy too while in the service. With the market crying out, Dodge would have been foolish not to make use of designs, tooling and a massive collection of spares, and build a civilian version of their military vehicles. Especially when the government financed all those resources.

In 1946, Dodge introduced the Power Wagon to showrooms for the first time, giving the public access to rugged wartime machinery. Based on the 126-inch wheelbase, three-quarter ton military chassis, the civilian Power Wagon featured a purpose built 8-foot all-steel welded box with high 20-inch tall sides for maximum cargo carrying ability. It featured a 230 cubic-inch flat head six cylinder engine rated at a massive 78 hp, however, for those who owned them, the flathead was tough, cheap to fix and lasted forever. Mated to the 230 was a 4-speed gearbox and 2-speed transfer case with an interior shift lever. The military driveline was carried over to the Power Wagon, using the transfer case from the WC 63 6x6, however the low range gearing was changed from 1.5 to 1.96. Like many military based vehicles, the Power Wagon had a Power Take Off (PTO) feature that directed engine power to the front and rear bumpers, capable of powering auxiliary equipment. A big plus with farmers, miners and forestry men. The one-ton rated Power Wagon's maximum GVW rating was 8,700 pounds. Its maximum payload was 3,000-pounds, but more important to owners was its 2,000-pound limit for off-road conditions. The truck also featured military non-directional tires, as there were no other high traction tires available at that time.

The fenders were flat one-piece military style fenders, instead of the usual teardrop styled fenders used on most trucks of that time. The teardrops would get clogged up with mud in the field, so most military trucks used flat fenders that would not catch mud as easily. As Dodge new the majority of Power Wagon owners would be buying the vehicle for its off-road prowess, they kept the military style fenders.

Most manufacturers would do a complete redesign once the current model was starting to get old in the tooth. The Power Wagon was so good at what it did, that Dodge engineers merely evolved the vehicle through the application of bigger and more robust parts, raiding the Chrysler parts bin to see what could be made to work better. Changes would be as small as replacing a 4-blade radiator fan with 6-blade unites. However, in ’49, the transmission was changed to a heavy-duty spur gear four speed. Then in ’51, 1,600-pound capacity front springs and 3,000-pound rear springs were available as an option increasing rear axle capacity from 5,500-pounds to 6,500-pounds and the front axle from 3,500 to 3,750. Then in 1961 the 230 was replaced with the 251 cubic-inch flat head six, which was joined with the optional 383 big block V-8 in ’67.

Safety and emissions rules finally killed the Power Wagon in the States in 1968 as it was deemed too expensive to reverse-engineer the Slant 6 into the engine bay. A total of 95,145 WDX-WM300 Power Wagons were sold between 1945-1968. Domestic production would shut down, although exports continued to roll out until 1978. However, that would not be the end of the Power Wagon story. The truck was so popular and such a success that the name would live on in several versions of Dodges 4x4 pickups.

The first of which came in 1957, and really didn’t share much in common with the original military styled vehicle. They were merely 4x4 versions of the W100 and W200 pickups. These trucks featured conventional cabs, front sheet metal and the cargo boxes used on the 2WD models. The next year, a one-ton W300 would also join the lineup. Later in 1966, a W200 Crew Cab was added, followed by the two-ton W500 Power Wagon in ’77. However, these were merely glorified 4WD versions of regular Dodge pickups, and lacked the charisma of the old school, take no prisoners, military based originals.

However, in 1981, the Power Wagon name came to an end all together, when Dodge redesigned the entire pickup fleet. Although, they did use the “Power Ram” name on 4WD models, the name would not resurface until 2005, when a special off-road version of the Ram received the historic designation. Today the Power Wagon lives on in the current generation Ram, which as I described above, is a very resourceful vehicle. However, as good of a truck the modern Power Wagon is, there is no replacing the kick ass cool factor of the original old warhorse.