Can the Dodge Power Wagon Power Chrysler to Success?

Okay, I full realize that there are some people out there who need heavy duty pickups for their businesses, or for their do-it-yourself projects, or for other sorts of big-time towing or payload situations. And there are probably even some customers who need to combine that kind of functionality with the ability to go off road.

That's why Dodge has just announced it will continue to sell the Power Wagon as a 2010 model. The Power Wagon is essentially a Dodge Ram 2500 heavy duty pickup with four-wheel drive, a crew cab, 32-inch off-road tires, a custom 12,000-lb. winch and a whole bunch of similar goodies (a stock Ram 2500 is pictured here). Oh, it also comes with an anecdotal fuel-economy rating of about 14-15 mpg, with the occasional dip into single figures when loaded up. (I'd normally give the EPA rating here, but the Power Wagon, like the big offerings from Chevrolet and Ford, lives up to its "heavy duty" billing by being exempt from the standard government fuel-efficiency rules and regulations.)

Now, the fact that Chrysler continues to pour money into models like this, instead of working to coax more than 31 mpg highway out of its current fuel-efficiency leader — the Dodge Caliber — says a lot about the state of the industry. But I'm going to try to stay on the sunny side of the street today and point out that most other companies are at least working both sides of said street.

For example, certainly no one can accuse General Motors of ignoring President Obama's mandate to start building more fuel-efficient vehicles. Through Chevrolet, the General offers a full range of cars and crossovers that can top 30 mpg highway, including the Chevrolet HHR (32 mpg), Chevrolet Equinox (32 mpg), Chevrolet Malibu (33 mpg), Chevrolet Aveo (35 mpg), and Chevrolet Cobalt XFE (37 mpg).

In fact, it turns out the entire Chevrolet car lineup can do at least 29 mpg highway except for the Chevrolet Corvette, and that can attain 26 mpg on the freeway.

When I weigh those numbers — and, of course, the Chevrolet Volt — against rumors of a Ford Raptor rival from Chevrolet, I have to say the scales are still tipping toward the fuel-efficiency side of things. And speaking of the Raptor, I have to give Ford some credit, too.

Yes, the Ford Raptor is, per the Blue Oval, "a purpose-built, high-speed off-road truck that's ready for adventure," and, yes, it will also be ready for plenty of trips to the gas station to keep its soon-to-be available 620-hp V-8 running.

But Ford can also point to its successful hybrid lineup, including its Ford Fusion / Mercury Milan siblings and the Ford Escape / Mercury Mariner SUVs. Ford is also nearing the launch of its global Fiesta and Focus cars, which put the focus on fuel efficiency, and now it looks like the European Ford Kuga small SUV will be coming our way as well.

The Kuga does well in Europe with an average fuel consumption rating of 44 mpg on the European cycle, along with best-in-class emissions. Assuming that recent Ford-UAW conflicts don't hold things up, the SUV would go into production in FoMoCo's Louisville plant in time for it to be sold as a 2011 replacement for the Ford Escape.

Coincidentally, this type of ongoing fuel-efficiency vs. performance battle is producing some skirmishes at the Tokyo Motor Show. The story goes like this: Just before Toyota gave the green light to its Lexus LFA supercar, which will pack a V-10 engine, Honda's CEO, Takanobu Ito, made sure to get out ahead of the news by slamming the whole idea of using "old-fashioned" engine technology in a modern sports car. In some widely publicized quotes from Reuters, Ito essentially called out Toyota for building another go-fast gas guzzler and claimed that, when the time was right — economically speaking — Honda would come out with a proper "green" supercar.

Of course, I'm sure the implosion of Honda's own V-10 project, an Acura NSX replacement, might have swayed Ito's thinking.

But sour grapes aside, Toyota still has some time left on the free pass it's been using for the Prius. The Tokyo show, for one, named the latest Toyota Prius it's Japan Car of the Year, and the current U.S. model is an impressive example of continuous improvement in action. Plus, other Toyota entries at Tokyo, including the sporty Toyota FT-86 coupe (built with Subaru) and FT-EV II concept (a Smart-sized electric city car) show the company is still riding the crest of the fuel-efficiency wave.

In other words, maybe the industry's glass is half full after all.

Select photos via Chrysler