The 5.0 Cummins turbo diesel we're waiting for in the 2015 Nissan Titan is likely to show up in a competitor's truck as well— the 2016 Toyota Tundra.
While we've been getting all excited about Nissan's Cummins power announcements for the Titan and Frontier, it appears Toyota has been working with the Big C in parallel. Cummins diesel pickup consumers may suddenly have quite a range of options.
WardsAuto is suggesting that a Cummins engine could be a placeholder for Toyota, after prohibitively high development costs forced them to shelve a pickup diesel powerplant they were developing themselves in collaboration with their heavy-truck brand Hino.
An outsourced engine would be an easier way for Toyota to test the waters on demand for a Tundra diesel without making quite as aggressive of an investment. Some say CAFE fuel economy standards will make a diesel option a necessity for the Tundra. Cars.com puts Toyota behind Subaru, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Honda, BMW, and Nissan in light truck average fuel economy at 25.6 MPG.
Diesel's suddenly getting all kinds of traction in the light-duty US pickup market. Between Ram's EcoDiesel, GM's Colorado and Canyon diesels in the pipeline, Nissan's new offerings, and now the possibility of Cummins Tundra, it's never been a better time to be an oil-burner!