RAM 1500 Diesel Could be in the Works

In today’s pickup truck market, you can only get a diesel engine if you step past the half-tons and get into a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck, but that won’t be the case for long as RAM may be testing out a small diesel option for its 1500 pickup.

A photo of a Ram prototype was taken somewhere in the Detroit area, and in it you can see a large black stain on the bumper right behind the exhaust. This is a tell-tale sign that the engine is a diesel, as the black stain is caused by certain particulates released by diesel burning engines.

With the announcement of a Grand-Cherokee diesel for 2013, the move to mount the 1500 with the same diesel engine would be easy, as the research and development has already been done. The real road-block in the situation has to do with customer perception, and whether or not a 1500 diesel would sell. As diesel engines have long been associated with large trucks, there may still be too much of a stigma to make the jump to the 1500 smoothly.

When asked about a diesel 1500, a Chrysler spokesman responded, “[We are] looking at putting a diesel in a light-duty pickup.”

[Source: Automotive News]