Vehicle

[Dakotazeb]

I've got a '04 Ford Expedition 4x4 with the 5.4L engine. Gas mileage has always kind of sucked. 15-16 on the highway. but I've only got 68,000 miles on it and it's in excellent shape. To trade for something that gets 25+ mpg would probably cost me at least $10-25,000 depending on the vehicle to trade. Then I would sacrifice a lot of room and comfort. For the price difference I can put a lot of gas in the Expedition for quite a few years. To help I installed a K&N air filter and went with synthetic oil. I have also slowed down and try to keep all my highway driving 60-65 mph. Now if I keep the speed in that range I'm getting 19-20 mpg.

[chiendog]

I'm looking at the Ridgeline as well. Seems like just the ticket. What kind of cap do you have on the back Jay?

[Tom Healy]

I swore off this goofy forum like a bad habit.....sometimes vices die hard.

4 dogs (one rode shotgun), 2 deer (one quartered), a pile of birds, 3 guns, tools, dirty clothes and a bbq grille by the time it was all loaded. 350 miles to the shack from home. 38 mpg - 4x4....What more do you need? (I realize D&B, that short little stretch between the Meadowlands and the Great Plains might get a little long in this rig.)

[Jay]

I'm looking at the Ridgeline as well. Seems like just the ticket. What kind of cap do you have on the back Jay?

I have the Leer 100. It works pretty well. It took a little bit of time to gain confidence in it as it has no front end to it, it's just a big gasket that seals it to the truck cab so the slider window can still open via remote. I got mine from Overland in St Andrews just north of Winnipeg. They gave great service.

[NDDD]

I swore off this goofy forum like a bad habit.....sometimes vices die hard.

4 dogs (one rode shotgun), 2 deer (one quartered), a pile of birds, 3 guns, tools, dirty clothes and a bbq grille by the time it was all loaded. 350 miles to the shack from home. 38 mpg - 4x4....What more do you need? (I realize D&B, that short little stretch between the Meadowlands and the Great Plains might get a little long in this rig.)

What is the model of that vehicle?

[Tom Healy]

What is the model of that vehicle?

Its a Subaru KS4 - aka the "Sambar." Most of the Japanese or Korean manufacturers have made a variant of it over the years and several parts are interchangeable. Brought in "Grey Market" as used vehicles. The nice thing about the Subaru is most of them are 4 cylinders (instead of 3) so they've got more a bit more pep and will go 70 mph.

[blue04]

Wow. I'm not sure I'd have the guts to run that thing at 70 mph down the interstate.

[DrahtsundBraats]

D&B, for your needs I would give the Ford Transit Connect a look. I have seen a few on the road and they look ideal for transporting four crates and easy to hunt out of. One person works out of the side the other out the back. I didn`t look to see if you can get them in a diesel or all wheel drive.

vman,
Would you believe that this is available in Europe with diesel and all-wheel? 30+ mpg and better power/acceleration then the anemic 4 banger.

After reading all the responses, guess I'll stay with the Cummins...until someone wakes up and gets us some efficient small/medium diesel engines. The VW Touran I rented last time in Germany got 34mpg over 10 days and half of the time I was thrashing it at 90-100 mph on the autobahn (you don't want to buy the car I rented!!!).

[DDGUY]

GM had plans 2 or 3 years ago to put a smaller diesel engine in a 1/2 ton pickup. I don't know what happened to that plan, (price of gas went down) but that's what we need. Diesel trucks now are made for pulling 12,000 pound trailers. That's good if you need it, but most of them seldom if ever haul anywhere near that much. $4 a gallon gas should start the creative engineering juices flowing again in Detroit.

[orhunter]

Tom: That is one cool huntin' rig. I'm surprised we don't see lots of them.

[vman]

Wow. I'm not sure I'd have the guts to run that thing at 70 mph down the interstate.

Obviously you are not form Montana!

We had a local guy that sold those vehicles here but hey were not street legal. I was thinking of buying one at one time. One quarter of the price of a J.D. Gator diesel. They are cool for sure. You can get them Camo`d out also.

Would you believe that this is available in Europe with diesel and all-wheel? 30+ mpg and better power/acceleration then the anemic 4 banger

Of course I can believe it Way too bad.

Maybe check with Chrysler/White. I will look at their website. Seems like I seen one of those. That would be powered by Mercedes.

[Steve Anker]

- COOL RIG....'cept the driver is sittin in the wrong seat,

-kinda tough to pull into the FATBURGER drive thru, ain't it?
-might be tricky come TOLL BOOTH time?
-do ya find yourself driving on the wrong side of the road?
- might be great for your newspaper route.
- whats the truck look like when it grows up?
-3 cylinder? Can we swap out the motor and stuff in a small block?

The farmer down the road has a couple of the SUZUKI 4Xtrucks like this, he uses them on the farm with farm plates. They look like a ATV on steroids.

[walt501]

The redesigned 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee will be fitted with a diesel engine. It should be available in the first quarter of 2013.

Jeep is planning an upgraded Grand Cherokee for the 2014 model year, and since the automaker is anxious to get the freshened model out to customers, the popular sport utility will have a shortened 2013 model year. According to Automotive News, dealers are just now ordering the 2013 models, and they are scheduled to start production in August.

The biggest change for 2014 will be the availability of a 3.0-liter diesel V6, which we previewed just over one year ago. In the European Grand Cherokee, this engine produces 241 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque – seriously good power numbers for Jeep's stalwart utility vehicle.

Additionally, Automotive News reports that a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic is on deck for 2014. Details are scarce right now, but this transmission will likely be paired with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, just like in the 2013 Ram 1500 and the current Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger.

The 2014 Grand Cherokee is slated to debut in January, likely at the Detroit Auto Show, with sales to start shortly thereafter.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/25/jeep-grand-cherokee-to-have-short-2013-model-year-ahead-of-major/

[seank]

There's a company in OK that assembles bigger Asian 'mini-trucks' with diesel motors from imported kits. They have a standard cab with an 8' bed and a crew cab with a 6.5' bed. Both have payloads in the range of 3500lb and reportedly get 37mpg. They go for $12-18k, new. The catch is that they are not street legal in most states and thy cannot pass strict US safety regulations. As a result the company sells them with 25 mph governors installed. They apparently sell a lot of them to Universities as utility and maintenance vehicles. I've even seen a few tooling around the local campus. They appear to be handy, utilitarian 4x4s, albeit ugly as a mud fence. However, they are not something I want to trust my wife and daughter's safety in. It would be nice to see someone here build an Americanized street legal version. US Car manufacturers have pretty much given up on the idea of utility 4x4 vehicles, and especially smaller and more efficient ones.

Sean

[JohNIN]

Im looking to replace my 1995 Tahoe (331,000 miles) Still runs great but at 14 mpg and need to face the facts after replacing rusted gas, brake lines and get this, a rusted trough differential cover. I have never had a full size pick-up truck (just full size Broncos and Tahoe) and am contemplating a Chevy Silverado 4x4 extended cab / 21 mpg now that the kids are all grown up. I would not want to put a cap on the back because I just feel it takes away from all that a truck can be used for. I love the Tahoe as the 3 dogs can stay inside but I am wondering if anyone has fitted up a full size American Made extended cab pick-up truck, possibly removed the back seats entirely and fabricated up a dog crate / hunting gear compartment? If so pictures would be appreciated.