Question for everyone out there. Why doesn't ford put a cat diesel in their super duty trucks? I drive a gas F350 just because I did not want to spend the extra cash on a diesel and also because I use the truck to pull a horse or quad trailer, never more that 6k. If ford did put a cat diesel in there, I would probably pony up and buy one. It seems like a no brainer to me. I'm sure there is a reason they don't do it, and i'm hoping someone out there knows what it is.

 

Didn't Cat leave the On-Highway market due to emissions compliance issues?

 

Yeah, the EPA came out with regulations and CAT could suck up to it soon enough... at least, that's what I heard. It's kinda sad... CAT makes a nice-sounding motor. I talked to a guy who owns a HEAVY MOVING company (Premay in Canada) and he said the only motor that holds up is a Cummins. He said they run them at about 85% power ALL the time... when they did that to a CAT, he said they had issues with the blocks twisting up. I find that hard to believe, but I know the guy doesn't spin tales so my dad and I are kinda confused. My dad's company has always run CATs in their trucks and haven't had an issue with them. But then again, they don't run them at 85% power ALL the time either. But yeah, a CAT in a Ford would be the way to go.

And to the OP... even if you're not pulling alot, a diesel blows the gas outta the water with economy as well as reliability and longevity. Plus, the low-end torque allows for the peak HP and torque ranges to be at lower RPMs (under 3K) which is ALOT better than the gassers I have seen. But I don't wanna start another gas vs. diesel war... it's not going ANYWHERE and probably never will.

 

Yep, they announced back in 2008 that they would contract with Navistar for some severe duty truck applications (2008 and 2009 stories below), and most recently (June this year) announced their first joint venture into heavy duty trucks for the China markets.

But, all in all, it looks like they've exited the road/EPA-compliant engine business for good.

News:

2008 - Caterpillar Inc. won’t be rolling out a 2010 compliant engine. Instead, look for a Cat-branded truck thanks to a new agreement with Navistar International Corp.
Caterpillar and Navistar officials announced Thursday, June 12, that the companies signed an agreement to collaborate in on-highway truck and engine business.
In a press release, Caterpillar officials also announced their company would not supply EPA 2010-compliant engines to truck and other on-highway original equipment manufacturers.
The pair of companies will focus on global truck opportunities and more specifically on severe service construction trucks in North America.
Through the alliance, Cat officials said they plan a 2010 introduction of a North American Cat branded heavy-duty truck for severe service applications, such as road construction, large infrastructure projects and oil and petroleum development.
“This new truck – targeted for 2010 – will incorporate the legendary quality of Caterpillar’s construction and mining machines and provide construction customers a one-stop solution,” said Douglas R. Oberhelman, Caterpillar Group president.
While Caterpillar won’t be coming out with a 2010-compliant engine, Caterpillar and Navistar plan to cooperate on development of mid-range engines, incorporating technology from both companies.
Company officials from Caterpillar and Navistar also plan to expand their existing remanufacturing agreement to include Navistar’s recently introduced MaxxForce on-highway engines.
Caterpillar dealers will also continue to provide product support and service beyond 2010 for all Caterpillar on-highway engines regardless of truck brand.

April 2009 - Caterpillar, Navistar set late-2010 launch for heavy-duty truck model.
A definitive agreement between Caterpillar and Navistar calls for development of heavy-duty, on-off highway vehicles under a banner, Cat Vocational Truck Line, and sold through Caterpillar’s North American dealer network. With an eye toward a late-2010 initial model roll out, the manufacturers will co-develop the trucks, which Navistar will assemble--alongside its construction-geared PayStar (5000 series) and WorkStar (7600 series) vehicles--in Garland, Texas.
<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P>"The heavy-duty vocational trucks will be purpose-built to complement Caterpillar's existing product line and give dealers [the] ability to support customer needs from [materials] extraction through delivery," said Caterpillar Global On-Highway Department Director George Taylor. </O:P>
<O:P>Announced April 6, the definitive agreement formalizes a memorandum of understanding Caterpillar and Navistar reached in mid-2008. At the time, Caterpillar announced its intention to abandon outside sales of on-highway trucks. Concurrent with the agreement supporting the Caterpillar Vocational Truck Line, the manufacturers announced a 50/50 joint venture to pursue global commercial truck opportunities outside North America.
</O:P>

 

 

Cat got out of the on-highway side because they are losing their tails in warranty problems with the 2007+ on-highway motors. I drive one every day because my fleet manager got swindled by the sales guy at Kenworth. The first 3 2007 trucks we got just got sold off early because they were too unreliable. The one I had laiyed down on me at 700 miles. yep. 700 miles was the first tow for my c15 accert

 

Warranty concerns are an issue for engine builders regardless of on-highway use or severe duty industrial use.

Cat got out of the on-highway side due to the ever increasing cost of EPA compliance testing.

 

EPA sucks...

 

Cost is a huge issue, any CAT product is expensive. Ford is probably better off doing what they are now with the new 6.7l. This way they can design and engine to work with their components and vise versa.