Ya, no reason we all need to be worried. We'll still have our torquey inlines...but I'd love a smaller engine for the light duty vehicles...the world would be so much better!

 

Good news: Cummins stated a couple of months ago that they were developing a "family" of diesel engines.

Bad news: Isn't 2010 the year even more strict emissions laws go into effect or is it 2012? Who knows what that will bring.

 

Just think how much Ford must be kicking themselves for killing their 1/2 ton diesel they were working on about 4 years ago.

 

The automotive industry, DC included, has for decades been trying to brain wash and motivate the motoring public toward V configuration engines, and for the majority of vehicle owners the deceptive industry is sucessful. GM brought back a 4.2 L I-6 gasoline engine in their Chevrolet Trail Blazer, but they put a V8 diesel in their HD pickups. VW has still I-4 diesels engines in their light duty automobiles. BMW still has automobiles with I-6 gasoline engines and I suppose in Europe their diesel equipped cars have I-6 diesel engines. DC has a I-4 gasoline engine available in a Jeep model and other models possibly. DC has gone increasingly away from inline engines. I think Mercedes is making a mistake because their cars used to have inline engines.

The vehicle builders can more readily suck money out of the gulible motoring public, who see two extra cylinders while they are blind to the fact that the bottom end of V configuration engines are weaker. Inline engines are also somewhat more fuel efficient and the I-6 is naturally balanced. There is more money to be made by feeding the buyers an inferior product while they think they are getting a superior product. It is sad, but dishonesty seems to be the name of the game. When something good is invented it lasts too long and the manufacturers do not make enough repeat purchasing business. Also inferior products provide the service industy with income.

 

The motor you are refering to is the 4.5l v6 baby brother to the 6.0. Both are made on the same assembly lines and have the same internals. The only difference is the rear two cyliders don't exist and it also has twin turbos. Ford uses it in the new cabover Chassis cabs they are building. The reason they didn't use it is beacuse it was too heavy for the F-150 and Explorer trucks and for didn't have the money to redesgin the suspension. When ford dropped the program they had to pay International a large breech of contract fee.

 

I didn't know about the weight issue. I suspect in retrospect, they still wish they'd gone with it.