Almost all of the major diesel engine makers are either rolling out new platforms or making changes to current products across a range of displacements for this year as well as for 2018. Makeovers include weight reductions and combustion system redesigns, among other improvements, largely to help them meet federal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets. Those targets are ostensibly about reducing carbon dioxide emissions, yet in terms of real-world impact, they translate into mandates for lower fuel consumption.
Thus, diesel truck engines not only must generate the same if not more horsepower and torque as before, they must also burn less fuel. That’s no easy feat for engines being tasked with pushing fully loaded pickup trucks through the mud or hauling 80,000 lbs. of freight at highway speeds.
And not all of the new engines in the diesel segment are fully revealed yet, as Ford Motor plans to introduce a new 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel engine by the end of this year. The engine will be paired with its 10-speed automatic transmission. This platform is earmarked to be the first-ever diesel engine offering for its F-150 pickup family.
This section is by no means fully comprehensive. More changes are in store for the diesel engine landscape as a second round of GHG mandates remains poised to impact trucks and their related components for the 2021 through 2027 model years. These are interesting times for diesel engine designers.
To see all of this year's featured engines, visit our special gallery below:
About the Author
Sean Kilcarr
Editor in Chief
Sean Kilcarr is a former longtime FleetOwner senior editor who wrote for the publication from 2000 to 2018. He served as editor-in-chief from 2017 to 2018.