Adding computer controls to the engines reinvigorated the popularity of diesels
while almost killing them at the same time. The complexity of some of them is
utterly amazing, for a principle that can be so simple. And the complexity
lead to reliability problems, difficult to diagnose, expensive to fix. I'm
talking about the Ford engines mostly because those are the ones that we have
had the most experience with. All of them have electronic controls though.
The ability to reprogram the computer and make a lot more power has made
diesels a lot more popular, and that wasn't possible when they used direct
mechanical injection.
I think if you need to tow heavy stuff then the diesels make good sense. If
you don't need heavy towing then a good gasoline engine is OK. Of course a lot
of people buy pickups that don't need them. If you need a pickup to do a
pickup's job then you certainly don't need a Japanese pickup, but if you think
you need a pickup to carry a bag of fertilizer home from the grocery store than
a Japanese truck might be OK for that.
Dodge pickups were totally reborn in the early 1990's and they are now very
popular. They are good trucks although the bodies will self destruct around
the powertrain well before the other brands will. The Dodge powertrains are
good, and the other brands are good too. I have my suspicions about the new
ecoboost Fords but time will tell.
> I like Diesels, though the new ones get terrible mileage compared to
> the ones from a few years ago.
>
> I'm a Ford guy but I would look hard at
> the Duramax, Cummins, and then the Ford offerings.
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