Well, I have been reading so many of the postings about the CRD's and it is so sad that they are not available in the USA.
I'm from Spain, and I travel there twice a year and let me tell you, the new Wrangler DIESEL is already released there, not just in Spain, in all Europe. And not just that, all of the SUV's, All Terrain vehicles are Diesel, because they waste too much gas and gas prices in Europe are really crazy. I mean crazy like $3/galon is very cheap !!
So Diesel is cheaper than regular gas in Europe and cars consume less, so the result is that people just want to buy diesel cars.
All of the SUV's that we have here in the US, they are sold there and ALL OF THEM ARE DIESEL.

To give your more info. The Jeeps that are sold in Europe (Wrangler, Commander, Liberty, Compass and Cherokee), they have on them MERCEDES engines. Yeah ! They take the vehicles to Germany and mount on them a Mercedes Diesel engine. Awesome quality.

The enviromental laws, they are just a lame excuse from the goverment. Those laws came into place to protect the US economy preventing cars to be imported from others countries. And not just that, they also have regulations to protect it such as shape of the cars. Now with the global economies all cars can fit all countries regulations, but long time ago you could see little differences between BMW's or Porches in the US and Europe.
In this case the emissions law prevent Diesel cars in the US so Detroit could keep running and also the oil companies.

I own an Explorer and also a Wrangler TJ. I would love to get a Wrangler Diesel to take it to Spain if I get to move back, but there is not way. I also want to do that because the same car there cost $10,000 to $15,000 more there.
It is interesting to see. You can even see it online.

I bought the new Mercedes GL 320 cdi after driving it in Europe and am rapidly becoming a diesel fan. I own a Toyota Highlander Hybrid and, once the Blue Tec diesel technology is widely available, I think diesel will be a very attractive alternative to the hybrids. As for the Wrangler crd, it already is available in Europe.


http://www.jeep.co.uk/jeep/versions.aspx?ID=422,2,174

Most of you have probably have seen this, but in case you haven't and were curious about power posibilities. DCX did a diesel one-off at SEMA. Here are a few sites that talk about it. The site from bc4x4 gives the most detes.
Just something to fill your materialistic dreams at night.

http://jalopnik.com/cars/sema/exclusive-2006-sema-preview-fourdoor-jeep-wrangler-rubicon-unlimited--like-a-hummer-only-good-210820.php

http://www.bc4x4.com/inthenews/default.cfm?ID=177

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=117422#3

I gave up on the diesel, and ordered mine last night. I have a VON, but the order has yet to be "picked-up" by the factory. Hopefully in mid-March it'll arrive.
Convertible season is just around the corner :) And I'm not getting any younger.

Update: 3-18-07
For those who care the 2.8L is now advertised in the UK and the mileage ratings (converted from UK to US miles) are 19 City and 28 Highway. I think that's pretty close to what the Liberty was rated back when it had the same 2.8 CRD.
It's a D@mn shame the US has gotten screwed so royally by Jeep on this. Daimler should either commit to building the best they can, or get out of Jeep business.

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What? Just because I say it like it is, and you don't care for it, doesn't make me evil.
or wrong.

Well in addition to the Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD for the US, the DaimlerChrysler Group announced there will be a 6.7L Cummins Bluetec going into the Dodge Ram supposedly in March.
Here is the link:
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070124/FREE/70124002/1528/rss01&rssfeed=rss01
Oh I can just imagine a JKL Rubicon with one of these 350hp 650ft/lb monsters in it!

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What? Just because I say it like it is, and you don't care for it, doesn't make me evil.
or wrong.

Test drive in the Mercedes ML320 3.0L CDI 12-29-2006.
Balls galore! More torque than my 4.7 V-8 even with the crappy gearing in the street-biased Merc. This is the engine that should be available in EVERY Jeep product accross the board - not the Hemi. All of the power is available at idle, right where you need it, it revs quickly like a gasser. There are very few "diesel characteristics" to detect at idle (odor or sound). Under full throttle it has a little roar, but no more than a V8 gas engine. No turbo-lag at all. In the aerodynamic Merc it gets 21/27 mpg. Currently Mercedes is offering this engine in 4 of their models. I could see that easily expanding quickly through the Jeep nameplate as well.
2007 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon CRD
I'm sold. Where do I sign?

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What? Just because I say it like it is, and you don't care for it, doesn't make me evil.
or wrong.

Burnsville is offering the 2.8L CRD now and the 3.0L CRD as soon as it becomes available.

http://www.burnsvilleoffroad.com/MotorSwap/JK/JK30L.aspx

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What? Just because I say it like it is, and you don't care for it, doesn't make me evil.
or wrong.

I e-mailed Jeep on the Ask Dr. Z site, and asked the following:

"Please offer the Mercedes E320 CDI diesel engine or the 3.0L CRD diesel engine in the 2007 Wrangler Unlimited. I recently drove the Wrangler Unlimited at the Phoenix Ride, Drive and Win event (which was fantastic, by the way), but I am very concerned about the lack of power in the Wrangler Unlimited."

Here is the response I received:

"At this time, DaimlerChrysler has not released any plans that indicate the future production of the Jeep Wrangler models with the option of the 2.8L Common Rail Diesel engine for the North American market. However, with constantly shifting market trends I would hesitate to discount the possibility of new products on the horizon, specifically designed to suit your needs."

Pretty standard marketing fare; however, I noticed that the reply did not address the two engines I asked about, but instead talked about the 2.8L CRD engine. May not mean much, but it's a little more kindling for the fire.

Diesel Diesel DIESEL!

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What? Just because I say it like it is, and you don't care for it, doesn't make me evil.
or wrong.

The "smell " that you are referring to is the burnt sulfur. This is the reason for when one runs biodiesel the exhaust smells like french fries - there's very little sulfur content in biodiesel. Since the EPA has enacted the low sulfur content law- I assume that the exhaust will not "smell" as bad as we remember. Probably a Liberty CRD owner running on the low sulfur content could back this statement up. Almost all diesel today in the US has switched over to low sulfur.