Diesel Frontier?

Nissan's Cummins tie-up bears first fruit with Frontier Diesel Runner concept

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The 2014 Chicago Auto Show is proving to be a surprisingly big show for alternative fuels. The Chevrolet Silverado HD pickups are getting a compressed natural gas option and the refreshed BMW X3 is receiving a diesel engine, as is the German automaker's 7 Series. You can add one more oil burner to the mix, at least in concept form: Nissan has released its Frontier Diesel Runner Powered by Cummins with a 2.8-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission from ZF.

While Nissan calls the Cummins-powered Frontier a concept, it's really just a Frontier DesertRunner 4x2 with a diesel engine replacing the standard 4.0-liter V6, and it's meant to gauge consumer interest for a diesel option in the next-generation Frontier. Nissan has clearly noticed that Chevrolet will be offering a diesel in its new Colorado and wants to see how buyers will react to a mid-size alt-fuel pickup from a Japanese brand.

Exterior modifications to the concept are minor. To show off the engine, there is a transparent hood insert and the pickup has been painted in a two-tone finish of high-gloss red and matte silver edged in carbon fiber trim. The interior gets the same combo of red, silver and carbon fiber to match the outside.

Nissan promises that the Cummins diesel produces nearly 200 horsepower and more than 350 pound-feet of torque, and fuel economy could improve by as much as 35 percent over the V6, which would equate to around about 22 miles per gallon city and 30 mpg highway. Payload and towing capacity would be roughly identical to the existing V6, says Nissan.

If it gets built, the Frontier with a Cummins diesel is still several years away. Nissan says that the engine and transmission combo will not fit in the current pickup without modification, and frankly, the current model is getting on in years. The company's current focus is launching the next-generation, full-size Titan pickup in 2015 with a 5.0-liter Cummins diesel V8 as an option.

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I wonder what the MPG would be if all these new diesels weren't bogged and chocked with the emissions equipment that is forced on them?

A bit of discrepancy regarding the output of this baby Cummins with CarScoops.com claiming it only has 200 horsepower and just above 350 lb-ft of torque.