I was behind a JK CRD in McDonald's drivethru today. It had a manufacturer's plate on it. The driver shut down the engine to place his order, but when he started it & drove off it was suprisingly quiet. At idle I could barely tell it was a diesel. I followed him to a nearby parking lot & asked him about it. He said it was a european spec diesel, the 2.8L from the KJ, with a 6-speed stick shift. He told me it was suprisingly fast, and got around 22 mpg. He said DCX knew there was a big demand for a diesel wrangler, and they were testing it, but couldn't meet new emissions standards. He said they're hoping to be able to offer them in a year or so.

It seems to me that our emissions laws have become too strict if they are keeping vehicles like this from us. Maybe in CA there is a smog problem, but in most places a 30% increase in fuel economy would be a huge relief to working people with little impact on the environment. I forgot to ask if it could meet emissions on biodiesel, but it's not like you can buy it anyway.

They really need to offer this engine with a starter/generator/electric drive unit mounted between the engine & trans to max out the fuel economy, but that technology is still a few years away...