I have asked the question "Where is Ford's light-duty diesel?" of some people who would know that answer.
According to them, the business case is not there long-term. As emissions standards tighten over the next few years, that business case will not improve.
VM makes this class of diesel for distribution world-wide. The one in the Dodge will obviously have the best of tech, but I would suspect they amortize the tooling across several lower-tech (and lower-cost) models being sold in countries where emissions are not an issue. Yet. Even the Middle East and Africa are under pressure to curb CO2. While I am sure several of these 3.0 VM powered Dodges will be tested in every way imaginable and torn down to nuts and bolts over the next few months. Ford and GM will find out how they are making the numbers work.
Or not.
The Dodges ARE really nice! I will admit they have caught up to the Ford. No real surprise there, since they have been hiring away Ford engineers for several years! The entire industry, and the non-commercial truck market in particular, are in for MAJOR changes over the next 10 years. The days of people buying a truck capable of towing 10K so they can haul a few flats of petunias home for the wife will go away. THAT business case, like that of supplying a $40K truck for $300 a month will go the way of $2.00 gas. There is no way on earth that Chrysler can be making money on that truck. It's not sustainable. Someone else mentioned that's why they went from Chrysler, to Daimler, to Cerberus, to Chrysler, to bankrupt, to Fiat. Pushing these sweet lease deals is down that same old path.
