GM is going to offer a small truck diesel!

ksss wrote:
Where there is a fight for who has the biggest towing numbers in the HD market, I think this half ton diesel market will be a MPG race with towing capacity being less important. If they cant create significant mpg separation from the LD and HD pickups, their going to have a harder time selling them, even if they are cheaper.

Yep, this is kind of where I see things headed. Looking at the "typical" 1/2 ton series user (not the rv.net user), I don't believe towing is a priority, it just has to be a possibility.

That is certainly the case for us and our 1500 Suburban. It gets used for a lot of jobs, from school bus to scout transport vehicle to road trip hauler to my wife's daily driver to towing the TT. It is at its max towing capacity only a few days and 500-1000 miles a year, as we do not take long trips anymore -- just a half dozen 2-3 night trips that are usually within 200 miles of home. So a 2500 (which would get worse mpg and ride rougher) didn't make sense for the 90% of the time when max towing isn't needed. But better mpg (although, in all honesty, I'm pretty happy with the current mpg of our 2010, particularly on freeway trips), with still the capacity to tow 7500-8500 lbs on occasion, would be a welcome development.

It seems to me that the great majority of 1/2 ton owners are in a similar situation as we are, at least the ones I know. So I think that increased mpg with similar/current tow ratings would be just the ticket.