The interesting thing that will come out will be whether or not RAM or Nissan made the right move. That 5.0 was originally designed for RAM, however since Fiat bought out Chrysler, they now had access to the A630 engine. This motor was originally designed for Cadillac Europe operations and Fiat operations as well. GM was a 50% partner in VM Motori.
RAM's rationale is that it is cheaper for them to offer the A630/Ecodiesel versus the Cummins since it's in-house, along with saying that it gets better fuel economy than the 5.0 Cummins. Once some real-world testing happens, we'll see if there is a real fuel economy difference between the two. I'm sure the Nissan would be able to gulp more fuel if everyone kept their foot in the throttle, but I'm not sure if that's going to be the case when it comes down to just highway cruising and city driving.
Power wise, I'm sure Nissan will walk away with it, but fuel economy and price wise, we'll see who is right. I also have a feeling that Nissan may make a heavy half-ton or 3/4 ton version of the Titan with that motor. They already have an HD chassis for the NV series vans.
Another interesting thing I found out about the A630 motor is that it doesn't use Piezo electric injectors. It uses solenoids which are far cheaper per injector. I also believe the fuel pump is a CP3 which is what the ISB currently uses. I think that VM Motori had a goal of making this motor as cheap as possible to service. Again we'll see what happens in reality in the coming years.
