Fiberglass: gas vs diesels

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Frank,
Your 3rd premise is not necessarily true any longer. I was discussing this with my Toyota tech sons. They brought up a very interesting point. They have not experienced any worn-out engines on Tundras yet. Considering that they first appeared on the market in 1999 with the 2000 model year, there are some pretty high mileage trucks out there. My own is a case-in-point. With just shy of 200,000 miles. I would not hesitate towing our Casita cross-country and around the U.S.A. It may well be the last pick-up I own. There are many cases of them with well over 300,000 miles.
I have to admit, that better mileage would be "icing on the cake".
Another side to the coin is longevity of everything else on the vehicle. So far our Tundra is holding up well in that department as well.

Kurt & Ann K.

[Dave Van Vugt]

If you can wait a few years, your problem may be solved. There's a wave of turbodiesel engines a-comin', wrapped up in small SUVs, too. Subaru has designed one, and VW is preparing a smaller, cheaper SUV with their excellent TDI engine (for less than half the price of the $70,000, 10-cylinder Touareg). One of those will probably replace my current "big car," AKA "gas hog," a Forester. It gets 25mpg alone and 18mpg under tow.

Jeep already has one, in the Liberty CRD - 2.8-Liter Turbo Diesel, still available in 2006 models but not 2007 it appears. It sports 160 HP and 300 lb-ft of torque.

"New" EPA fuel economy is 19 City / 23 Hwy / 21 Combined.

3.7L gas V6 (210 HP) is 15 City / 20 Hwy / 17 Combined.

Just thought I'd mention it, it seems to be the only Diesel vehicle in it's class.

Dave

[Brian B-P]

Dave, I'm not sure where you draw the lines on the Liberty's "class", but in a larger Jeep SUV you can get a Grand Cherokee with a 3.0 L turbodiesel (the 3.0 CRD). The Liberty's 2.8 (an entirely different engine) does not meet 2007 U.S. emission standards for diesel engines.