Chrysler's diesel vehicles - why can't we get them here?

Click the Jeep for a high-res gallery of the Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD
Currently, every Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep vehicle, with the exception of the Dodge Viper, is being sold in Europe with a diesel engine option. What's more, half of them are able to hit the 35 mile per gallon mark in combined driving. In what may seem like the ultimate slap in the face, they are all built right here in America, but we cannot buy them. All of this information is available here, which is a popular article circulating on Digg. The writer of the article makes the aforementioned points as an argument as to why Chrysler should be able to sell their diesel vehicles here in the states. At this time, only one of Chrysler's diesels, the Grand Cherokee, is being sold here.

One problem stands in the way of the rest of the diesels being sold stateside, and it's a big one: emissions. This is a much bigger problem than the article seems to contend. There is more to the greening of our fleet of vehicles than fuel mileage, and emissions are a very important part of the puzzle. Diesel engines can be made to meet the emissions requirements in the U.S., but they add to the cost of the vehicle. When we add in the rising price of diesel fuel, diesel vehicles can become a tough sell. In the coming years, it is likely that manufacturers will introduce more diesel engines here in the U.S., and the hope remains that as they do, the price of the technology will go down.

[Source: MPGOmatic]