Posted by Paul Cook in Kempner, Texas on Saturday, April 07, 2007 at 11:40:26 :
In Reply to: It Was A Factory Option In The Late 70s posted by CREEPING DEATH on Saturday, April 07, 2007 at 01:03:49 :
It's amazing that Dodge (Chrysler) would offer the GM affiliated ISUZU diesel at the same time they had offered the Chrysler affiliated Mitsubishi diesel.
As reported by "Pickup, Van, and Four Wheel Drive" magazine, (A great publication before Peterson Publishing took it over) there had been a test fleet of Dodge pickups with the Mitsu diesel and they worked very well.
Based on that article, I placed an order for a 1976(memory test) Dodge van with the Mitsu Diesel but my order was cancelled when Dodge made a last minute decision to not build any diesels.
Instead of using the successful diesel engine from the fleet test, the diesel they chose for the regular Dodge production was a smaller - and under powered Mitsu engine. Initial tests of that engine suggested limited or no acceptance by the buying public.
Thirteen years later, I bought the first Cummins Turbo Diesel that same dealer received - and it was worth the wait.
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