By todays standard a Willys Jeep isn't fuel efficient but in its day, late 30s to very early 40s, when gas was a few cents a gallon, it was pretty competitive. I'm really not suggesting anyone get a Willys Jeep. Rather I'm suggesting that the concept of the original Jeep, a small and strong all-terrain vehicle, something Jeep forgot as their design got bloated and complex, is the right idea.
Also, while American auto companies, seemingly always behind the curve, insist that diesels only show up in large vehicles you may want to look toward small diesels, from Yanmar or Kabota perhaps, to fit into an existing small vehicle or look at something like the small end of Isuzu's light and commercial truck line as they are available with a diesel. The Elf, a light-duty commercial truck with a very good reputation for durability, is a big large by my thinking but it is a truly international truck so parts are going to be available for a very long time. Find one used and rebuilding might be the way to go.
I was looking at building up a nice small truck fora while, cummins 4b engine in an s10, etc. But it would have taken a long time to find and assemble all the parts then if I ever did need parts more hunting around to find them. Those Yanmar, Kobota, Isuzu your going to have the same problem, parts will be special order.
I found the American trucks with their gas mileage rivaling a small diesel were ahead of the curve enough and available everywhere with supplies and parts everywhere so I could have a working BOV now rather than sometime in the future when I could finish building it. I spent many hours just on R&D trying to make a comparable small truck, now I can concentrate on other survival supplies.
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