When they laid out their future product plan in a 12-hour press conference in Detroit two months ago, Chrysler-Fiat officials said the alliance would start selling a diesel Jeep Wrangler with an auto start/stop feature in the fourth quarter of 2010. Little did we know they were talking about Europe. Not the U.S. At a press conference in Detroit. Oh, right. Of course not. We should have known.
Kudos to the Toledo Blade (and Autoblog) for getting the clarification on this detail from Michael Manley, president of the Jeep brand.
As compensation, the Wrangler will possibly, apparently get a version of the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 later this summer.
Toledo Blade via Autoblog
stephen987 says:
02:58 PM, 01/14/10
Too bad. A diesel might actually make the Wrangler borderline sensible.
estreka says:
03:13 PM, 01/14/10
Shame. A diesel Wrangler would quiet a lot of the critics.
bankerdanny says:
03:26 PM, 01/14/10
Typical short-sighted thinking.
I understand that the US is still not big market for diesels. I rarely see a Toureg diesel, for example.
But the Wrangler/CJ has always occupied a unique niche in the US auto market and a well engineered diesel would be almost 100% positive. Great low end torque, likely nominal impact on acceleration, and a substantial improvement in fuel economy.
The Wrangler is the perfect candidate for a diesel.
firstwagon says:
06:21 PM, 01/14/10
The US may not be big on diesels but Canada is. Send it here.
I'd buy one.
festus67 says:
07:06 PM, 01/14/10
Gas is too cheap. Bring on the gas tax!
notabigdeal says:
07:15 PM, 01/14/10
I have longed for a Diesel Jeep Wrangler for... I donno a decade? In fact I am hoping that one day there will be a under 30k Diesel SUV of any sort... I don't really care at this point.
sgude says:
07:25 PM, 01/14/10
A diesel Wrangler makes complete sense, which is why Chrysler won't do it.
cr_driver says:
09:34 AM, 01/15/10
The real question, is why not?
jeepsrt says:
09:45 AM, 01/15/10
festus67 says
Gas is too cheap. Bring on the gas tax!
You are joking right?
roar02ram says:
10:38 AM, 01/15/10
The 3.6?? 280 hp in a short-wheelbase Wrangler? That'll be a rocket! Putting it in the Wrangler also suggests that Chrysler has a manual transmission lying around that'll work with that engine...which hints at a V-6 manual Challenger, perhaps?
desmolicious says:
01:52 PM, 01/15/10
I love my 02 Wrangler and was waiting for the diesel to replace it. That they are not going to introduce the diesel makes no sense whatsoever.
The current Rubicon (my brother just bought one) is a complete slug on the road in 4 door form. A diesel would not only have perked it up, but made it much more practical with a greater fuel range.
With business decisions like this Chrysler deserves to fail. I want my bailout money back...
;)
rochester6886 says:
07:59 PM, 03/20/10
jeep diesel powered sales outside the north american market are very strong.the the 2.8 liter diesel in the liberty/wrangler only gets approx 25 mpg,the euro after market has software/hardware that claims 30 mpg. If they built it people cant afford not to buy.. if you had a driving range of 600 miles.how much less fuel would you need and save per year.how can we afford not to have the same fueling options as the rest of the world?Its amazing that we dont have diesel or bi fueled vehicles on a large scale. Check out western euro new and used vehicles with diesel and other fuel options to see how common it is elsewhere. Jeeps are sent all over the world as clean quieter power for these iconic vehicles in large numbers compared to other us manufactures. look from the uk to japan. everone has them except the usa....
1arb says:
01:38 PM, 11/ 2/10
I have a 2003 Rubicon. I worked there when I bought it and remember clearly how Dieter Zetsche had to fight with the VP's it get a diesel Jeep here. They treated him like a little boy. "Now now Dieter, we'll let you try and sell 5,000 Jeep Liberties in the USA in 2005 and 2006. The first 2 months they sold 11,000 and VM Motori could not supply more engines. They left 50,000 requests on the table the first year.
So, before the bail out, Mopar said they would sell the 2.8L VM (It was a division of Detroit Diesel at the time) as a crate engine that would bolt to the manual trans in my Rubi... again, no joy.
For the past 2 years I have tired of Ford saying the economics of a diesel does not make sense here as it is 15% higher than gas and people only drive 12,000 miles a year. And for the past 2 years across the country diesel is between the cost of 89 and 91 octane gas. And I drive 36,000 miles a year in a Jeep that gets 12 mpg. For me, the 20+ mpg the very same Jeep gets with the 2.8L diesel in the rest of the world makes more than economic sense.
Please write letters to
Michael Manley
Chrysler Group LLC
PO Box 21-8004
Auburn Hills, MI 48321-8004