here is my comment Yes please, a turbo diesal Wrangler unlimited rubicon for the Australian market. I'm ready with a cheque

So, does the use of the 2.8 diesel suggest that wrangler fans will also be limited to just an automatic transmission? Will the 2.5/manual combination be available?

Let's not get all worried just yet...I'm sure that Jeep will not let us down. Yes the rollbar and hard top will have to be integrated to house side impact curtains, but the hardtop panels will be removable, and that means that the soft top will also consist of 4-ply canvas panels that will zip on easier, velcro shut and roll up and store away in a duffel bag.
As far as doors are concerned, there will be a side impact module, but nothing is stopping Jeep from using removable door skins, and also canvas door skins for summer
I'm certainly not worried, I think the next gereration Wrangler will closely resemble the Willys2 concept with straight axles, and a FLAT underside.

I am a OEM Jeep supplier of under hood components and I can tell you for sure that Toledo is building a '05 Left Hand and Right Hand drive Diesel Liberty 2.8L. Wrangler has been building diesels for several years right hand drive only. It would be a very easy modification to build Left Hand Drive diesels a lot of the components are already on the assembly line in Toledo.

"Diesel Wrangler?" That's pretty much my dream. Hope they put a diesel in the current TJ model and don't wait until the new Wrangler debuts. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun to hit the trails with a top and doors on.

From the Toledo Blade:

The deal will increase the number of hourly workers at Jeep by as much as 10 percent, which is welcome news in any language for an industry whose job rolls have been chipped away in recent years by automation and foreign competition.

If a next-generation Wrangler is not a TRUE Jeep without a removable soft-top like you say, then yank out your roll bar completely, and drive unprotected, just like in the CJ-2A.
I'm not sold on side impact curtains, heck, I'm not even sold on front impact airbags (give me a 4-point seatbelt and guts). The fact is though, the next Wrangler will have to have side impact protection, or it will not be certified for American roads, and will go the way of the Land Rover Defender.
The Integrated Rollbar/Hardtop/Soft-top is nothing new, it first appeared on the Jeep ICON concept,in 1998, and while side-impact curtains were almost unheard of then, the ICON concept made it clear that with the absence of rollbar padding, there would be some sort of active head protection. The ICON also had a fold-down windshield that was independent of the windshield frame.
To conclude this letter without getting edited, the same type of talk and paranoia existed in 1995 when the TJ was just begining to materialize, and it ended up becoming the BEST Wrangler to date (I'm sure the TJ still has its detractors from purists of CJ's past). All I'm saying is that meeting federal regulations will change the Wrangler, but not so much that it will spell the END of the Wrangler, and I think the Willys2 concept is the direction Jeep will go.

Yes, it does seem that Mike might have some "inside" info...But if those doors have skins..even canvas, and that top has removeable panels; How the heck does THAT equate to open air driving as presently done with TJ and all its predessors? Without the option of FULLY removing the WHOLE door; and FULLY removing the WHOLE top...I'm sorry Mike: It Ain't A Jeep. period.

Looks like they're tooling up for the new TJ replacement. Because of new safety requirements that take effect in '06/'07 probably a new body..new integral top(no more hard/soft..nor removable)Doors; dunno MAYBE removeable, though very heavy and bulky with those side/door airbags or curtains...So we have German Body; Michigan Paint; and Korean (Hyundai) LOL! chassis/suspension..YEP the new "JEEP" is about All-American as Sushi...IF THIS doesn't signal the end of AMERICAN UAW produced vehicles...UAW is becoming a shell of its' one proud formidable self... The GERMANS HAVE RUINED JEEP!

Mike, it sounds like you have inside information. Are you sure about straight axles on the Wrangler redesign? How soon before a Turbo Diesel is available?

There is another article in the Toledo Blade that has some additional info:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040804/NEWS08/408040318

This has been talked about for a year, and sadly Dana did not get one of the contracts. Sounds like this might be a future trend for other DCX vehicles as well as others in the auto industry. Even though the non-Chrysler workers at the new plants will get a lot less money, I doubt we will see a price reduction in the cost of the vehicle.

On a side note, the article does hint about 2 new vehicles (not necessarily Jeeps) coming out of the plant. Still seems like the timetable to get this up and operational seems a bit short. I wonder if the 2007 Wrangler production could be delayed by all of this. It also seems interesting with having all of these different companies involved in the production process, what kind of quality will we get? Will all of these outsiders be involved in the redesign of the new Wrangler? Will the new Wrangler be more of a ‘parts bin’ vehicle?

If Jeep "dies" then it was Americans who killed it.

1. Americans sold Chrysler to Diamler

2. Americans voted in Bill Clintoon and gave us the nanny-State safety regulations that will kill the TJ. Don't blame the Germans for the Dept. of Transportation regs that are going to kill the classic Jeep.

This sounds like an artilce I read in Forbes magazine. I think these two articles may be on two seperate assembly plants though. The article in Forbes magazine dated August 18 was about Deiter Z. and saving Chrysler. It stated supliers will build their own buildings and buy the all of the machines on the assembly line. The vehicle in production will go through 3 different suplier buildings before going to Chrysler employees where they will only put the last few parts on the vehicle. The Wrangler will be re-done in 2006/7 at this plant(s). I read this last week so I may be wrong on some of the details.

The Jeep is still going to be built in the US, by US workers. The companies manufacturing the chassis are headquarted outside the US but still employ US workers.

Also, Jeep has no choice but to make some changes to the Wrangler to meet new Federally-mandated safety requirements.

With news of the upcoming German/South Korean built Jeep,
sales of the current TJ will likely rise even higher than before.
This news is disheartening for enthusiasts of the All-American
Jeep.