Jeep Liberty News **Diesel version axed (page 1)**
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Moderator Alumnus
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From: Washington DC (NOVA)
Jeep Liberty News **High demand for diesel option (page 1)**
Demand for Jeep Liberty diesel overwhelms supply - - By Greg Bowens - - Source: Automotive News / August 05, 2005
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- The Chrysler group has built more than 8,300 Jeep Liberty SUVs with diesel engines and expects production to hit 10,000 units this calendar year – double the amount it originally predicted. More than 60,000 consumers have expressed interest in the vehicle.
That success is helping Chrysler be bullish on diesel-powered vehicles in the American market, said Frank Klegon, vice president of product development process and components, at the Management Briefing Seminars on Friday.
The limit on building more diesel Liberty SUVs is constraints on engine production at supplier VM Motori in Cento, Italy. That factory supplies the 2.8-liter diesel used in the Liberty and diesel engines used in Chrysler group vehicles sold in Europe.
Chrysler is considering using diesels in other North American products. Jeep Grand Cherokees and Chrysler 300 sedans sold in Europe are fitted with diesels. Klegon said all new Chrysler products that will be sold in Europe are being engineered to accept a diesel powertrain.
But despite that success, Klegon admitted that he still has some concerns about the future of diesels in North America.
“You would think it would be a slam dunk to bring more passenger cars with diesel to the American market,” he said. “However, we still need a strong business case in order to justify an expanded diesel offering.”
Those concerns range from anticipating the needs of the consumer to the quality of diesel fuel. Europeans expect their diesels to be tailored for high-speed driving, while American consumers value low-end torque and towing capabilities.
Klegon said one of the bright spots in diesel fuel is the development of bio-diesel, a combination of diesel and fuel made from renewable resources, such as soybeans. Chrysler is engineering its diesel vehicles to run on B5, which is diesel fuel with a 5-percent concentration of soybean oil.
Senior Writer Dale Jewett contributed to this report.
That success is helping Chrysler be bullish on diesel-powered vehicles in the American market, said Frank Klegon, vice president of product development process and components, at the Management Briefing Seminars on Friday.
The limit on building more diesel Liberty SUVs is constraints on engine production at supplier VM Motori in Cento, Italy. That factory supplies the 2.8-liter diesel used in the Liberty and diesel engines used in Chrysler group vehicles sold in Europe.
Chrysler is considering using diesels in other North American products. Jeep Grand Cherokees and Chrysler 300 sedans sold in Europe are fitted with diesels. Klegon said all new Chrysler products that will be sold in Europe are being engineered to accept a diesel powertrain.
But despite that success, Klegon admitted that he still has some concerns about the future of diesels in North America.
“You would think it would be a slam dunk to bring more passenger cars with diesel to the American market,” he said. “However, we still need a strong business case in order to justify an expanded diesel offering.”
Those concerns range from anticipating the needs of the consumer to the quality of diesel fuel. Europeans expect their diesels to be tailored for high-speed driving, while American consumers value low-end torque and towing capabilities.
Klegon said one of the bright spots in diesel fuel is the development of bio-diesel, a combination of diesel and fuel made from renewable resources, such as soybeans. Chrysler is engineering its diesel vehicles to run on B5, which is diesel fuel with a 5-percent concentration of soybean oil.
Senior Writer Dale Jewett contributed to this report.
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Moderator Alumnus
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From: Washington DC (NOVA)
More than 60,000 consumers have expressed interest in the vehicle.
Very encouraging for the future of diesel optioned vehicles in the USA for the future.
Also:
The limit on building more diesel Liberty SUVs is constraints on engine production at supplier VM Motori in Cento, Italy.
Kabachitare!
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From: Bay Area
Jeep kills diesel Liberty in U.S.
Jeep kills diesel Liberty in U.S.
Tougher emission regulations cited as reason popular version of compact SUV is going extinct.
Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News
While DaimlerChrysler's Jeep brand is touting its plan to build a Grand Cherokee with a fuel-efficient diesel engine, the automaker quietly ended production of a successful diesel version of its Jeep Liberty SUV for the U.S. market.
The reason? The engine for the compact SUV doesn't meet tougher federal emissions standards that go into effect next year, and Chrysler said it wasn't cost-effective to the replace the engine with a more modern version.
"The emission standards are becoming very stringent, and we weren't able to make a credible business case for a limited production vehicle," Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez told The Detroit News.
Chrysler's move to stop selling the Liberty in the United States comes despite its success. Liberty sales more than doubled expectations of 5,000 units last year.
In addition, Chrysler has strongly supported diesel engines as a more fuel-efficient option for U.S. drivers. Last week, Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda touted diesel technology at a meeting of Michigan political, business and civic leaders on Mackinac Island.
LaSorda announced Chrysler will roll out a diesel-powered Grand Cherokee SUV in 2007. Mercedes, Chrysler's sibling division in DaimlerChrysler AG, will make the Grand Cherokee engine.
"This doesn't mean that since we're discontinuing the Jeep Liberty diesel that we're not committed to diesel," Gutierrez said.
She declined to say whether Chrysler will eventually market the Liberty with a more modern diesel engine. For 2007, at least, the Liberty will be available only with a gasoline engine.
The diesel Liberty, which is built in Toledo, will still be sold in Europe, where diesels are far more popular and emission regulations are less stringent.
"Our goal was to test (U.S.) consumer interest in a diesel-powered vehicle and, based on the Liberty diesel, it obviously exceeded our expectations," Gutierrez said.
Dealers are eager to get the diesel Grand Cherokee.
Alan Helfman of River Oaks Chrysler-Jeep in Houston sold 30 to 40 Liberty diesels last year.
"It was a good little seller," Helfman said. "But the Grand Cherokee will sell even better. The diesel in the Grand Cherokee will be utopia, especially since it's a Mercedes diesel."
Italy's VM Motori makes the diesel engine for the Liberty.
Chrysler's decision to end diesel Liberty sales in the United States makes sense given the regulatory environment, said Casey Selecman, an automotive analyst with Farmington Hills-based CSM Worldwide Inc.
Volkswagen will temporarily discontinue diesels in the United States and come back with versions that meet the new emissions standards, Selecman said.
"Everybody's waiting for the diesel fuel quality to change over so that they're able to use future emissions equipment that they can't use right now," he said.
Diesel vehicles account for a small portion of U.S. auto sales, but are expected to grow as high gas prices stoke demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles.
In April, J.D. Power and Associates said light-vehicle diesel sales are projected to grow from 3.2 percent of U.S. auto sales in 2005 to more than 10 percent by 2015.
You can reach Josee Valcourt at (313) 222-2300 or jmvalcourt@detnews.com.
Tougher emission regulations cited as reason popular version of compact SUV is going extinct.
Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News
While DaimlerChrysler's Jeep brand is touting its plan to build a Grand Cherokee with a fuel-efficient diesel engine, the automaker quietly ended production of a successful diesel version of its Jeep Liberty SUV for the U.S. market.
The reason? The engine for the compact SUV doesn't meet tougher federal emissions standards that go into effect next year, and Chrysler said it wasn't cost-effective to the replace the engine with a more modern version.
"The emission standards are becoming very stringent, and we weren't able to make a credible business case for a limited production vehicle," Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez told The Detroit News.
Chrysler's move to stop selling the Liberty in the United States comes despite its success. Liberty sales more than doubled expectations of 5,000 units last year.
In addition, Chrysler has strongly supported diesel engines as a more fuel-efficient option for U.S. drivers. Last week, Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda touted diesel technology at a meeting of Michigan political, business and civic leaders on Mackinac Island.
LaSorda announced Chrysler will roll out a diesel-powered Grand Cherokee SUV in 2007. Mercedes, Chrysler's sibling division in DaimlerChrysler AG, will make the Grand Cherokee engine.
"This doesn't mean that since we're discontinuing the Jeep Liberty diesel that we're not committed to diesel," Gutierrez said.
She declined to say whether Chrysler will eventually market the Liberty with a more modern diesel engine. For 2007, at least, the Liberty will be available only with a gasoline engine.
The diesel Liberty, which is built in Toledo, will still be sold in Europe, where diesels are far more popular and emission regulations are less stringent.
"Our goal was to test (U.S.) consumer interest in a diesel-powered vehicle and, based on the Liberty diesel, it obviously exceeded our expectations," Gutierrez said.
Dealers are eager to get the diesel Grand Cherokee.
Alan Helfman of River Oaks Chrysler-Jeep in Houston sold 30 to 40 Liberty diesels last year.
"It was a good little seller," Helfman said. "But the Grand Cherokee will sell even better. The diesel in the Grand Cherokee will be utopia, especially since it's a Mercedes diesel."
Italy's VM Motori makes the diesel engine for the Liberty.
Chrysler's decision to end diesel Liberty sales in the United States makes sense given the regulatory environment, said Casey Selecman, an automotive analyst with Farmington Hills-based CSM Worldwide Inc.
Volkswagen will temporarily discontinue diesels in the United States and come back with versions that meet the new emissions standards, Selecman said.
"Everybody's waiting for the diesel fuel quality to change over so that they're able to use future emissions equipment that they can't use right now," he said.
Diesel vehicles account for a small portion of U.S. auto sales, but are expected to grow as high gas prices stoke demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles.
In April, J.D. Power and Associates said light-vehicle diesel sales are projected to grow from 3.2 percent of U.S. auto sales in 2005 to more than 10 percent by 2015.
You can reach Josee Valcourt at (313) 222-2300 or jmvalcourt@detnews.com.
Suzuka Master
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 6,034
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From: Outside Houston
We're polluting the same damn world all those Euro's are. Let us have are damn 5,000 cars a year.
BTW, does anyone have any more info on the Grand Cherokee that will have a diesel? I may look into it as a replacement.
BTW, does anyone have any more info on the Grand Cherokee that will have a diesel? I may look into it as a replacement.
go like hell
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 5,154
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From: Anna,OH(home of the honda/acura motors)
Originally Posted by biker
Tree huggers got their way again 
whatever pickup i get It's gonna be a diesel. the thing that gets me is if you go over to Europe A TON of cars a diesels and no one raising hell.
Benz is coming out with a new diesel called Bluetec(it will be offered in 2008 i believe) it's suppose to be as clean or cleaner than most gas motors. Jeep will come back with a Bluetec diesel.
Bluetec 50 state emmission approved.
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From: NY
Diesel sales would grow even more if people had more options to choose from. As unfortunate as this is for the Liberty, it still got dismal gas mileage. Maybe Chrysler's next diesel engine will get better mileage. I wish Honda offered diesels in some of their cars.
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Originally Posted by Ashburner
BTW, does anyone have any more info on the Grand Cherokee that will have a diesel? I may look into it as a replacement.
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...=121613&page=3
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No big deal. I think what's gonna happen here is Jeep will wait for a BlueTec version of that engine to be out from MB and the LIberty will once again be Diesel-ed.
Aaaarrrggghhhh!
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,087
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From: Way up here ^
What kind of power is the diesel they may put into the Grand Cherokee going to produce?
I just got rid of 2 of our cars yesterday and picked up a new Grand Cherokee Limited with the 5.7L and it rocks(couldn't wait for an SRT-8...) ..
Will the planned diesel (in the GC) be as powerful and smooth as the Hemi?.. or is it just to offer an alternative to regular gas?
EDIT: I'm an idiot.. just read the link gavriil posted above about that diesel.. good link. Thanks.
I just got rid of 2 of our cars yesterday and picked up a new Grand Cherokee Limited with the 5.7L and it rocks(couldn't wait for an SRT-8...) ..
Will the planned diesel (in the GC) be as powerful and smooth as the Hemi?.. or is it just to offer an alternative to regular gas?
EDIT: I'm an idiot.. just read the link gavriil posted above about that diesel.. good link. Thanks.
Last edited by Scribesoft; Jun 5, 2006 at 08:04 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 14,433
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From: Orlando, Fl
Originally Posted by Water-S
Benz is coming out with a new diesel called Bluetec(it will be offered in 2008 i believe) it's suppose to be as clean or cleaner than most gas motors. Jeep will come back with a Bluetec diesel. Bluetec 50 state emmission approved.
Bluetec 50 state emmission approved.ULSD mandate started on 6/1 and should be at at stations in 2 months. I guess the timing was not in time for makers to introduce them with the 07 models. So models like the Liberty and a few others got cought out. Even VW has to redo its diesel line up to change engines to use the new ULSD. I expect a lot of 08 models to offer clean diesel engines.
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