More Mopar Diesels - HA!

GoghUA · **Posted:** Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:28 am

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... LATESTNEWS

Quote:

More Mopar Diesels?
Chrysler seeks new applications for diesel engines

By BRADFORD WERNLE | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

AutoWeek | Published 06/21/07, 2:39 pm et

CHELSEA, Mich. -- The Chrysler group is looking for new applications for the 3.0-liter six-cylinder diesel engine developed by Mercedes-Benz, its top product development executive says.

Speaking at a press event here, Frank Klegon, executive vice president for product development, did not specify what those new applications might be. Chrysler now uses the diesel only on the 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The automaker also wants to add a four-cylinder diesel to its North American product offerings, Klegon said.

Chrysler already offers four-cylinder diesels in Europe on the Grand Voyager minivan, Dodge Caliber hatchback and several Jeep models. The minivan is powered by a four-cylinder VM Motori diesel made in Italy. Chrysler buys a diesel engine from Volkswagen for the Caliber.

In the past, Chrysler looked to Mercedes first for diesel power. But it might broaden its list of suppliers under the pending ownership of Cerberus Capital Management LP, Klegon said.

He thinks that demand for diesels will account for 10 to 15 percent of North American light vehicles in the next 10 to 15 years and that demand for hybrids will rise to a similar level.

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

File this under "Congress is voting on higher fuel economy standards. Quick, look busy!"

KenJennings · **Posted:** Sun Jun 24, 2007 6:36 am

They already had a four-cylinder diesel application in the North American product offerings -- and messed it up.

chadhargis · **Posted:** Sun Jun 24, 2007 7:54 pm

Quote:

and messed it up

They did?

Wow...I haven't heard about that vehicle. The only one I know of is the Liberty CRD and it's a darn fine vehicle!

KJbob · **Posted:** Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:44 am

chadhargis wrote:

it's a darn fine vehicle!

...that they don't make any more.

chadhargis · **Posted:** Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:46 am

They do still make them. They just don't sell them here.

In fact, in the UK...the CRD is the ONLY engine put in the "Cherokee" (the name for the Liberty in Europe). They also get a choice of a manual tranny. Not only are they still made, and you can still buy them, in the UK you can test drive one for 48 hours to see if you like it!

Don't blame DCX for our screwed up laws. I'm sure they would still be selling them here if they could.

http://www.jeep.co.uk/jeep/vehicle.aspx?ID=271,3

G-funk · **Posted:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:52 am

I read something a while ago about the diesel 300M. If they brought more cars and small trucks here with proper backing they would pick up a huge market. The demand is there, someone just needs to answer it.

jinstall · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 11:57 am

G-funk wrote:

I read something a while ago about the diesel 300M. If they brought more cars and small trucks here with proper backing they would pick up a huge market. The demand is there, someone just needs to answer it.

Almost everything they make in Germany comes with a diesel. over 50% of vehicle sales is diesel.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:19 pm

If it had anything to do with emissions laws, why did they stop building them in May, well before the end of the model year? They had already sold twice the number they expected, so sales weren't a problem. They could have done like VW, built a bunch of extra '06's to avoid the '07 hammer.

Over on allpar, they interviewed one of the head gurus at Jeep, about the new design '08 Liberty. He fessed up to the booming sales of the CRD, but said the decision was made to go with a bigger MB engine in the Grand Cherokee instead.

Basically, somebody in Germany got greedy. Why sell a third party diesel engine for $25K when you can sell your own company's diesel for $42K, if buyers want diesels that much?

KJbob · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:32 pm

chadhargis wrote:

They do still make them. They just don't sell them here.

That's the same thing as not making it because you can't buy it here in the U.S. :roll:

chadhargis wrote:

I'm sure they would still be selling them here if they could.

DCX made the decision not to sell them here...no one else. I probably would have made the same decision however. Where DCX really dropped the ball on this thing was in their service of these vehicles. I'm glad I bought mine from a dealer who had been servicing diesels. Based on my experience (probably because relatively few CRD's were built in the U.S.), some 5 star dealerships are completely in the dark when it comes to servicing a CRD. DCX has to address this issue if they are to be successful with other diesels they introduce.

chadhargis · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:54 pm

Yeah...they have only been selling diesels as long as I can remember. You figure they'd get it right sooner or later.

There are a bunch of Cummins Dodge trucks driving around. Most still seem to be running too. Someone must be working on them.

jinstall · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:03 pm

06 was manditory PDF for diesel vehicles sold. hence the reason they are so hot after mine. I can make a $3000 off mine right now.

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

retmil46 wrote:

If it had anything to do with emissions laws, why did they stop building them in May, well before the end of the model year? They had already sold twice the number they expected, so sales weren't a problem. They could have done like VW, built a bunch of extra '06's to avoid the '07 hammer.

Bingo.

There was not regulatory requirement for them to stop making the CRD Liberty's in May. They chose to do so, when they could have squeezed thousands of more out of the production line and simply sold them as 06 models in 2007. My local VW dealer STILL has brand new 06 Jetta TDI's on the lot (for $30,000--they are now buying them up around the country and having them shipped here for sale in bio-diesel land at a premium).

A friend of mine is considering a new Sprinter diesel for his business. Apparently, a 3.0 liter diesel (154 hp, 280 foot pounds of torque) and a 5 speed auto are available. Wouldn't that be great in a Jeep?

chadhargis · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:55 pm

Quote:

Wouldn't that be great in a Jeep?

Sure would...but I wonder why they power output is so low. Heck, our CRD 2.8 4 banger puts out 160hp and 295lb/ft of torque. Figure a 3.0L V6 would do a lot better.

kingofl337 · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:20 pm

chadhargis wrote:

Quote:

and messed it up

They did?

Wow...I haven't heard about that vehicle. The only one I know of is the Liberty CRD and it's a darn fine vehicle!

Yeah the CRD is "PERFECT" You know with it eating torque converters, EGR Valves, gunking up the turbo/intake with carbon, mine has a leaking 1/4 window, and the ball joint thing. It's great! :cry:

EDIT - I forgot the Air Leak in the Filter Head and countless reprograms to make it easier for Chrysler to chump out of warranties.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:43 pm

Threeweight wrote:

A friend of mine is considering a new Sprinter diesel for his business. Apparently, a 3.0 liter diesel (154 hp, 280 foot pounds of torque) and a 5 speed auto are available. Wouldn't that be great in a Jeep?

Your local jeep dealer should have some grand cherokees with that same engine as you read this

Mine does

chadhargis · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:59 pm

Quote:

Yeah the CRD is "PERFECT" You know with it eating torque converters, EGR Valves, gunking up the turbo/intake with carbon, mine has a leaking 1/4 window, and the ball joint thing. It's great!

EDIT - I forgot the Air Leak in the Filter Head and countless reprograms to make it easier for Chrysler to chump out of warranties.

And that makes them all a POS...yeah, that logic makes sense. :roll:

Let's see...problems with mine:

NONE!

I did the ORM, so I don't have to worry about EGR issues. I did a Provent so I don't have to worry about gunk in the turbo. I have no air leaks and my engine hasn't blown up in spite of the fact that I"m using the stock filter which is supposed to be worse than filtering your fuel with a dirty Mr. Coffee filter.

Ball joints were covered under warranty, and so is the torque converter. Ok..so the vehicle had some recalls. Lots of them do. That's no big deal.

Did I mention that I get great mileage, tow my trailer with ease, have plenty of room for my 6'5" frame, and I can run homemade biodiesel if I choose.

I learned a LONG time ago that there is no such thing as a perfect vehicle. They all have warts. Even the ultra expensive ones. If I had time to type it, I'd chronicle an issue my Dad had with an Audi once. He owned 4 Audi cars, and had serious issues with one of them. I guess that means that 25% of all Audi cars are pieces of junk. Wonder why people buy them?

offroadsubaru · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 3:07 pm

chadhargis wrote:

Quote:

Yeah the CRD is "PERFECT" You know with it eating torque converters, EGR Valves, gunking up the turbo/intake with carbon, mine has a leaking 1/4 window, and the ball joint thing. It's great!

EDIT - I forgot the Air Leak in the Filter Head and countless reprograms to make it easier for Chrysler to chump out of warranties.

I learned a LONG time ago that there is no such thing as a perfect vehicle. They all have warts. Even the ultra expensive ones. If I had time to type it, I'd chronicle an issue my Dad had with an Audi once. He owned 4 Audi cars, and had serious issues with one of them. I guess that means that 25% of all Audi cars are pieces of junk. Wonder why people buy them?

Even knowing the issues with the CRD, I am comfortable with my parents having one. I'd be freaked out if they drove a used Audi A4 or A6. People here need to read some Audi boards and keep the CRD problems in perspective. A4 1.8Ts are repair queens, but I still see them being driven around 10 years after being introduced. The CRD will be no different. Hell, people still drive Peugeot 405s around here. No factory support since 1991, and somehow they keep them running.

chadhargis · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 3:28 pm

Quote:

Hell, people still drive Peugeot 405s around here. No factory support since 1991, and somehow they keep them running.

And someone somewhere is complaining that Peugeot is the spawn of Satan for "abandoning" them. :roll:

I'm sort of looking forward to my torque converter failing so I can get the Suncoast unit.

Oh yeah, and my crappy stock tires, and my brakes. The aftermarket will be good to my CRD.

kingofl337 · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 4:28 pm

I wasn't saying the CRD is a POS. What I'm saying is Chrysler sucks and is dodging warranty claims that should be remedied. Doesn't it piss you off that you have tweak all this crap on a brand new car? Doesn't it worry you how it may perform after the warranty? Should you have to break the law (ORM) to get your truck running well? All I'm saying is if Toyota releases a Tacoma Diesel the CRD is GONE!

More Mopar Diesels - HA!

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