Before 1999 (I think), diesel was cheaper than gas, so big-rig truckers were willing to pay the premium for a diesel engine that would rarely get cold. It was virtually impossible to buy a gas-engined trailer-tractor. That appeal started to spill over to the consumer market.

Now with the severe (some would say excessive) limit on sulphur in the fuel (costly to extract, making diesel around the same price as gas -- and not quite as good for the engine), and with diesel rigs being driven less (due to rest-period regulations as well as the economy), the break-even point (not in fuel savings any more, but in lower maintenance and replacement costs) is too remote for the extra engine cost, and new diesels are giving way to new gas ones.

Ford is not the only maker concerned about the current decreased appeal of diesel engines in North America. However, the weakening sales of diesel engines are now lowering the demand and therefore the relative cost of diesel fuel, so the pendulum may be swinging back.

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