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Soybean Powered Jeep Liberty

Posted by mike on 2004/9/9 23:00:00 (288) reads

Jeep Liberty CRD Diesel filled with biodiesel fuel as they leave the factory floor

Sorry for the delay in updating the site - we are based in Florida, and Hurricane Frances forced us to evacuate and left us without power for a few days.

Each new 2005 Jeep(R) Liberty Common Rail Diesel (CRD) sport-utility vehicle rolling off the assembly line will be fueled with 5 percent biodiesel, as Chrysler Group takes the lead in encouraging use of clean, renewable fuels made from plants.

Biodiesel fuel is produced from vegetable oil, in this case soybeans grown in Ohio, the home state of the Jeep Liberty plant in Toledo. The first Liberty diesel will be produced in November.

"This is an important first step in encouraging wider use of these clean, renewable, environmentally-friendly fuels in the United States," said Dieter Zetsche, Chrysler Group President and CEO.

The Jeep Liberty diesel, the first diesel-powered mid-size SUV to be offered in the United States, will hit the market in late 2004. It will be powered with a 2.8-liter four-cylinder engine and equipped with automatic transmission and 4-wheel drive capability.

The Liberty takes advantage of new CRD technology that significantly improves efficiency and reduces emissions by exactly calibrating the amount and pressure of fuel injected into the engine's combustion chambers. The Liberty CRD diesel will achieve 22 mpg city and 27 mpg highway, overall approximately 30 higher than Liberty's comparable 3.7-liter V-6 gasoline engine.

In addition to 30 percent reduction in fuel consumption, diesel engines also reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 20 percent compared with gasoline engines, Zetsche noted.

"With biodiesel, we can increase these benefits even further. And because biodiesel is made from renewable resources, we further reduce our dependence on petroleum for our transportation needs," Zetsche said.

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Poster	Thread
Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: Shayhs What about in the Wrangler?!

Poster	Thread
Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: jacktowncrawler it would be cool to have a wrangler unlimited rubicon powered by corn. that would be a good way to stick it to the oil countries so far away

Poster	Thread
Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: CJ Jack Check out: http://www.greasecar.com They sell kits, mostly for VWs and Mercedes, but make custom kits too.

Poster	Thread
Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: RWBRebel If you want to know tons more about biodiesel, go to www.tdiclub.com. It is the site for owners of Volkswagen diesels. They are all over this stuff, perhaps to an unhealthy point. But hey, some are getting over 700 miles off of one tank of fuel(approx. 14 gallons).

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Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: Mike I agree... It's time for the U.S. to stand on it's own two feet for once, starting with Fuel Consumption. It's sad to say, but the Germans (nazis) out of necessity in WWII produced Diesel fuel from garbage. The garbage produced by the U.S. on a yearly basis could easily be converted to Diesel fuel, and vegetable-oil producing plants could be grown in place of, say, Tobacco, and converted into Bio-Diesel, so the cigarette companies can't complain that they are being forced out of business ( Imagine the WINSTON cup running on bio-diesel!!) The Jeep Liberty D is a great start... This should be the next step though. Add a LIGHT HYBRID system to the D engine. The engine would start and stop under hybrid power, futher adding to efficiency. More importantly, think of the rockcrawling and off-roading advantages. The HYBRID system would allow ultra-low torque control at crawling speeds, and more importantly, Jeepers wouldn't have to remove the starting interlock fuse for 'key-start-crawling', a tap of the foot would get the D engine moving at crawl speeds. And, yes, of course, PUT THE D IN THE WRANGLER/RUBICON/UNLIMITED/4-DOOR 'UNLIMITED'

Poster	Thread
Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: Jerry in Dallas It's about time someone building cars in the U.S. is at least making mention of biodiesel. It's a premium fuel! So much better than petroleum diesel in many ways, and the historical kicker is that Rudolf Diesel, way back in 1893, ran his engines on - you guessed it, vegetable oil fuel. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've had it with those middle eastern OPEC profiteers. Biodiesel burns clean, and we can grow all we want in the USA. Want to know more? Just enter a search for biodiesel. You can even make your own! For cheap!

Poster	Thread
Anonymous	Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00
	Originally posted by: Wyatt here is my comment Is it true that people have come up with their own "bio-diesel home brews" and that they collect used grease from various sources e.g., fast food joints, to save money? I'm racking up 36,000 miles per year on my XJ. Hopefully, there will be plenty of diesels produced to keep the prices from 'skyrocketing'. Ideally, I'd rather have an Unlimited over a Liberty so we'll see if DC will produce a diesel Unlimited.


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