Ron, are you saying the 10 mpg is good? I know you were towing but that doesn't seem good to me. When I tow with my 2005 Nissan I get 19 mpg with a 6xxx lbs trailer attached and loaded with family and boating stuff. And thats our twisty little roads! When towing the miata I easily get 30+ mpg as the tow car doesn't know its there really and when not towing we recently drove up north and back avergaing 37 mpg.
Knock 10 or 12% off these numbers as our gallons are bigger than yours but still these are good numbers. And this from a 2.4 litre four pot diesel tubo with only 175 bhp. May not do a 1/4 mile in 10 seconds like your truck did though.....
Yep, 10.X in a gasser with a 8000+ lbs enclosed trailer is pretty good. The key part is enclosed trailer, with the large flat surface area. That’s a big difference over an open trailer and has far more drag. I suspect that your truck would be down in the same range hooked up to my trailer and drinking US gallons.
I’ve written about your truck on other forums as it is not offered in the US. I think there should be a small diesel option for SUV’s and trucks (Dodge is to offer a 3L diesel in their 1500 RAM truck) as it makes good sense. However, the typical diesel truck in the US doesn’t have a significant MPG advantage over a gasser (diesel fanbois are gonna hate) when
real fuel economy is discussed. My racer friends that have them, Jeff and Mike, acknowledge that their diesels don't generate efficiency to offset the diesel fuel cost (it's higher than gas in the US), they just like having a big diesel truck.
The current diesel trucks offered in the US are large, heavy, and have engines that are overkill for a hobby racer (current Ford/RAM/Chevy are like 400hp/800tq). They can certainly tow more effortlessly than most any gasser, no doubt there, but you pay for it with a ponderous truck, as if there was a non-ponderous truck in the US. Buta 3L diesel in a 150/1500 truck, that might be just the ticket.
Yep, the old Lightning was a good truck. It's still around but mine couldn't hit any 10s 1/4 times. It was capable of 12s though, probably have that timeslip, as well as the window sticker, brochures, sales stuff, SVT materials, and so on. My dad has it down at his house keeping it for awhile so that I can sort out what to do with it.
Or actually, sort out what to do with cars in general. I have thoughts from time to time of making some changes in the stable. I could go back to towing with the Lightning, and then get a kick ass Mustang to drive daily and to run car pool with. Or, I could sell the Lightning, and maybe the Torino, and get a really kick ass Mustang to do the same.