Originally Posted By: Mark_M
Originally Posted By: Eugene
I think they are right that no one would buy it. The cost between a smaller truck and full size truck isn't that much anymore,if you ad the cost of a diesel to a smaller truck then its cost will be more than a full size.

Take a look at the newer, high-efficiency diesel engines from Volkswagen and others. Even coupled with low-ratio gears and less slipstreamed form factor of a small 4WD pickup or SUV and you could probably still get much better MPG's than any gasoline powered models. They are not big on HP, but then again, 4-cylinder SUV's like the Jeep Wrangler and Suzuki Samari still make capable off-road vehicles in most conditions you would want to deal with in a survival situation.

I'd love to own a Sportsmobile. But for the same $120k I could get a pretty nice diesel-pusher RV. Not as flexible in an emergency escape situation, but great range and long-term capabilities.

Probably the ultimate survival vehicle is a dual-purpose motorcycle with full luggage options. Good range, decent carrying capability, on/off-road capable, can easily weave around most obstacles. Only room for two, you would have to sleep in tents, and be subjected to cold/rain. But if I had to escape a sudden disaster in my area, probably my only chance at rapid evacuation will be on a bike, as the roads will be hopelessly clogged with other escapees.

Plus they are just fun to ride. grin


I'm in the USA though so those small high efficient diesels are not available from Volkswagen and others as they just can;t sell enough to make it worth their while to import them. Sure its nice to have an idea of what would be ideal but I needed somehting availbale now for while I dreamed about ideal so I chose what was the best available then wait to see what happens.

Dual purpose motorcycle won;t work yet with a family of 4 which is one of the reasons I went with the extended cab truck, has enough seat space for 4, the unfortunate issue with the small trucks to be able to put child seats in the rear you need the ful quad/4 door cab which means the short 4.5' bed (Nissan attemped a quad cab with 6' bed but forgot to make the frame strong enough for the extra length). Some of the newer smaller extended cab trucks do have forward facing rear seats but those didn't fit car seats well (larger safer ones like Britax) and can't fit a person in between them (we load up 6 people in my truck when we go out with the grandparents).

Cost is another thing, the few Diesels that companies like VW do import into the us are priced way above the cost of a comparable vehicle and are coupled to a "luxury" SUV where you can buy a pickup truck, diesel or gas, for much less price, and without a bunch of leather, cupholders and dvd players.