Autoblog

Click above to enlarge this picture of the Jeep J8

Who doesn't get the Jeep J8? Um, that would be the United States, Home of Jeep. Hardly seems fair... considering that pretty much every other country in the world gets a crack at the ultra-Wrangler, which comes equipped with a 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel with 158-horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque mated to a five-speed automatic transmission. Memo to Chrysler: The Wranger is screaming out for a small displacement diesel engine. No? Fine. We can understand the fact that this engine isn't certified for sale in the States and it would be expensive to make happen. At least the Pentastar brand could offer the J8's nearly 3,000-pound payload capacity via rear leaf springs and reinforced frame in its home market. Still no dice? Could we at least get the pickup bed as an option on the Unlimited chassis? Not likely, would be our best guess. Oh well, we can wish.


[Source: Allpar]

Chrysler LLC should be credited with making a strong push for diesels in the U.S., having sold oil burners like the last-gen Jeep Liberty CRD and current Grand Cherokee CRD for the past few years already. People who prefer crawling rocks to carrying kids, however, are clamoring for a diesel motor in the Wrangler. Though Jeep has no plans of which we're aware on offering a diesel Wrangler in showrooms, Jeep Performance, a division of Mopar, is reportedly working on an engine swap kit that would allow owners to install the 2.8L diesel four-cylinder from the last-gen Liberty CRD in their Wranglers. The 2.8L four-cylinder produces 160 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, and while it was good for 21 mpg city/26 mpg highway in the Liberty, Wrangler owners are probably more interested in its prodigious torque that's well-suited for off-road excursions than its frugality with fuel. Jeep is throwing an excursion of its own for the media in Moab, Utah while we'll be covering the New York Auto Show next week, but more information is promised by the source of this info, 4Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine, afterwards. Thanks for the tip, Robert!

[Source: 4wdandsportutility via JeepNewsNow]