A Jeep is; not by name only.....No simple badge-engineering should be allowed. Jeep represents to most of those who are lucky enough to have owned or driven 1 or several......a way of expressing ourselves; on or offroad..a community; let's say that's ever-expanding:mobile. Where most of the mass-marketed motoring public is spoon-fed which vehicle they shown OWN! DRIVE! BUY!...It's a nice change to see a Company..(DCX) still produce this make..after 44 years! In some ways it may seem that some on this site complain..but remember; to them, Jeep was...and is a big part of their psyche...You don't want to "water-down" the soup (JEEP) just to make it appeal to every taste. To us Jeep should be more of an icon in which stays true to its' core and thus be true to its' proud and many owners and friends. How many people now- do you see wave at each other upon greeting another same vehicle on the road..?(besides the Corvette)? Jeep is a lifestyle.....not some new cheap pocket gadget to be sold at Flea Markets.....It's a Jeep Thing that some will NEVER understand....

A four cylinder diesel would get considerably more mileage per gallon. Diesel is high right now but the fuel you save over the course of using a whole tank will be beneficial. In addition, the gas motor is rated to last 150,000 miles, the diesel is good for about 350,000 miles! Not that most people who bought one brand new would drive it that far, but future owners down the line who want to modify it would be happy!

WOW...I can only pull 15-17mpg on my YJ with 31"....not bad 18mpg I wish!

Regarding Sean M's comment about gas milage....

Lets set a baseline of what gas prices are here around Detroit. Its roughly $2 / gallon for unleaded regular and about the same for diesel. The
D Liberty is expected to see 22 city and 27 hwy. For argument sake, lets say it averages 24 mpg. My 03 Wrangler Sport gets about 17mpg average. Lets even take your 18 for this example. At 15,000 miles per year, the
D would cost you $1,250 in fuel for the year and at 18 mpg you'd pay about $1,665, so a $415 savings. 20,000 miles per year is $555 annual savings. If they drop that
D into a Wrangler I wouldn't be suprised if you saw milage around 24 city / 30 hwy. 20,000 miles a year at 27 mpg average is about $740 a year savings. That's over $60 a month savings. I drive just under 24,000 miles per year. To me and many others, that is a worth while savings. If you're driving 12,000 miles a year, than maybe its not given the increased cost of the vehicle but that is why you have choices. Don't just dismiss the benefits of the
D until you break it down. Like I said, for some it may be worth it and for others it won't.

Correction on my last post....

(Diesel is high right now but the money you save over time with the increased fuel mileage will be beneficial.)... is what I meant to say...

My 4 cyl. YJ gets 15 best with 30's... doesnt really bother me... its got 200,000 miles and still running stong!

Sorry; but I come from the days when A Jeep was just that...boxy,rough-riding,un-ergonomical(which wasn't even a word then) and most everything on the road got between 4-15mpg. The Jeeps WEREN'T built for "soccer-moms";but for sportsmen-If you wanted a "Luxury" Jeep-you had Wagoneer, The trouble with Jeep is that they have lost-and ARE losing the aspect of being a "niche" vehicle which ONLY appealed to those NOT concerned with fuel mileage or coolness or "ergonomics"...When Jeeps are built to spec for the requirements and desires of "Security Moms" and "The Jones'" it hence stops being "pure". Some here WOULD agree. The MB/CJs were Meant to be farm implements and "station" wagons..not some form of jewelry or appliance to be bought and shown off. Hell 75% of this "New Generation" of Jeep drivers cannot even JEEP-WAVE...and quite honestly don't care to....

Check out the new photo of the Jeep Grand Cherokee Mojavi on the American Expedition Vehicles homepage... thats one tough lookin Jeep!

www.AEV-Conversions.com

The idea of the diesel in a Liberty is a great way to expand the engine lineup. If Jeep continues to explore diesel options, I wonder if they will consider the 5.9L I6 Cummins 610 Turbo-Diesel currently used in Dodge pickups? Its the same engine used in the rescue concept, only tweeked to produce 325 hp and 610 ft/lbs of torque; hence the "Cummins 610". (The Rescue had 600ft/lbs I believe...) With oil change intervals at 15,000 miles and engine life rated at 350,000 miles, how can anyone resist that kind of torque and durability?

I am referring to the ones that seem to bash everthing Jeep does. I don't care if it's the Rubicon, it still isn't enough or right. What the hell does everyone what!!
It sounds like there is going to be plenty of new products from Jeep real soon. Motor Trend gave the new Land Rover SUV or the year honors this year but if you read the article they praise the Grand Cherokee and pretty much rip the products from Ford, Chevy, Nissan.
The Jeep of today is a great vehicle compared to 10 years ago.

I read the MOTOR TREND article, and yes, the LAND ROVER LR3 won the SUV of the year award, but only by a few meaningless points, probably given for interior styling or on-road comfort, which I could care less about.

The LR3 is a great vehicle and has alot of electro-doo-dads that may appeal to some, but for the price, I would go with the HEMI GC and use the remainder for suspension tweaks, like the AEV mojave.

One note of interest regarding IFS on the great 'MIKE'S TF JEEP NEWS' Grand Cherokee IFS debate...
The LR3 uses IFS also, and the properties of the live axle front suspension are mimicked, preserved, simulated,-whatever you want to call it- by using 'cross-linked' airbags, where the airbag suspension is linked laterally so that when force is exerted on one wheel, force is transferred to the opposite wheel much the same way a live axle would transfer force laterally, but without the on-road disadvantages of a live axle.

Mabye JEEP could do something like that for its future IFS systems, or use composite transverse leaf springs,so you anti-IFS guys will quit watering down your beers with your tears of despair. An IFS or 4W IS Wrangler suddenly would perform as good as a TK, if the lateral action was mimicked

Again, I could care less about the 'on-road' disadvantages of a live front axle, and I would still buy a GC even if it didnt have luxury on-road manners, I am more concerned with dependability. If you buy a JEEP, you are buying a vehicle that does not behave like a car, let-alone a corvette. It's like buying a house next to the free-way- If you do, dont complain about the noise.

Why do you people even look at this site, let alone make coments.
If I wasn't mistaken, it seems some of you want Jeep to fail!!!!

Its not suprising that edmunds would consider the interior of the new Grand so bad. Its typical of the recent Chrysler interiors. We drove a Chrysler Pacifica rental car last week. We couldn't believe how cheap everything felt. This is a car that is marketed as an upscale luxury vehicle. Our other car is a Nissan, not exactly known for quality interior pieces and the Pacifica felt much cheaper than our car and it was a top of the line leather edition and our Nissan is a base model. Edmunds really ripped the interior of the Grand. On other Dodge/Chrysler products, I get the feeling that they just spend money on making things look cool, big and obnoxious without investing much time and money on the important things. Hopefully that doesn't carry over to Jeep

There are plenty of favorable reviews of the Grand Cherokee. Speed Channel has given it a favorable review as has The Car Connection and others.

Note that even on Edmunds it scored a 9.6 in consumer reviews.

Edmunds had their first road test of the New Grand and they don't like it. Looks like bad news for Jeep.

I applaud DC for finally bringing a more state of the art diesel to North America and for recognizing the need to use a renewable resource, biodiesel. I would hope DC would continue this recognition that we, the consumer, want fuel efficient vehicles, like the Europeans, and they will incorporate the new six speed manual with the diesel so that we can attain yet greater efficiency in exploiting the virtues of the diesel.

Cherokee's and CJ's and WJ's are all great and stuff, but if you want to live in the past, then keep your current ride running forever. It would cost considerably less to do a frame-off restoration of your current ride, with a rebuilt engine and tranny, and upgrades, than to buy and finance a new Liberty, GC or even Wrangler Unlimited of Rubicon.

Replacement bodies and body parts are available in fiberglass, steel and aluminum, as are replacement frames, suspensions, axles, and engine/tranny replacements and conversions, for all years, including the current TJ.

While I have not decided what I am going to do with my 97TJ with 135,000+ miles, it is running strong, and if I don't like what DC has to offer then rebuilding/upgrading will definitely be an option, I'm not going to sit and cry about what the next Wrangler MIGHT be, until I see it for myself.

We already know the direction of the Grand Cherokee and the upsized Commander, but as for the future of the Wrangler/Liberty line, I'm not going to lose any sleep over whether it has SFA, IFS or even 4WIS like the HUMVEE. Jeep is doing what it needs to do to survive, making vehicles that will appeal to a broad customer base. I am more concerned with overall performance, on and off road.

I agree that the Wrangler(TK)/Liberty platform would be more even more appealing if it had a SFA/IFS option- that would appeal to the broadest customer base, and Wrangler customers could opt for IFS (Why I don't know), but more importantly, Liberty customers could opt for SFA (I can think of a million reasons why!)

Probably the best move JEEP can make is to offer a seamlessly flexible platform that can satisfy the needs of all customers, and offer a wide variety of body styles (2dr or 4dr SWB and LWB, pickup, hardtop, softtop), engine/transmission choices, and suspension levels. You can go to the dealer to BUY a JEEP, or you can go to the dealer and BUILD a JEEP. The choice would truly be yours, right down to color, and gadgets ( or lack of gadgets).

Let's also be realistic, the earth is not producing any new oil anytime soon, what we have right now is all we have left, and that will probably be gone in 50-100 years. While we probably won't be around for that, speculation as to the overall supply of oil affects the prices we pay for gas/deisel now. By offering a highly efficient vehicle, JEEP can only attract more customers. I would probably even purchase a Hybrid (GASP!) Jeep Wrangler if they offered it. I am sure that it would be the most capable hybrid offered, and the low-end torque of the electric motor would only improve off-road capability.

To conclude, if you dont like what JEEP has to offer, then there are several options you can exercise, mabye DCX will get your message.

I hope Jeep does offer a diesel engine next year with the Unlimited Rubicon because if they don’t then I may have to consider a rebuilt Defender or Series Land Rover. There is a company called East Cost Rover (E
), in Maine and they offer Land Rover rebuilds with two diesel options, along with several gas engines. Maybe AEV will offer a diesel option, they said they were looking into it, but I don’t know if I can justify the cost of an AEV vehicle. I live in New England and E
is whole lot closer than Montana, this makes it easier to have upgrades done when funds become available, a lot less travel.

Also, can anyone tell why Jeep can’t design a vehicle around the diesel engine Mercedes uses in its E class? They numbers I see for MPG are 37 for highway, I’m not sure how much an E class weighs, but there not light cars.

18 mpg with 33's???? How is that possible?????
I get 12mpg on the freeway with 33's??????

I agree that a company MUST progress and grow to meet consumer demands and stay in the market, it's just sad that consumers want tall cars these days and that DC has decided to follow the leader. The Grand has nothing that really stands our from the pack, unless you want to spend 38K for the HEMI. Anyway... Jeep really screwed up when they decided to drop the solid axle up front, this was a Jeep trademark for 60 years! If they let the engineers loose i'm sure they could have come up with an alternative to the old recirculating ball steering box so many feel is too mushy. Simple changes in spring rate and shock selection cures the bumpy / stiff feel of a solid axle, i knkow it did on mine! They really missed their chance at marketing the last midsized SUV available with a heavy duty solid axle. There is no arguement for getting rid of a SFA, most of their shortcomings can be resolved with some good parts selection, heck just upgrading to a ZJ tie rod gave my TJ a more solid steering feel, off the shelf parts guys! This should be a no-brainer for DC, should it not? Why do they insist on putting that weenie tie rod on the TJ, it flexxes and shakes all over! Changing the control arms would tighten things up as well, there is so much more to improve with a SFA setup if they would just give it a chance.

With regards to the article, I don't see where the Diesel Liberty gets that good gas mileage. I get 18MPG in my TJ w/33" tires on it, around town in stop and go traffic! Granted the torque is great but why is 20MPG +/- a few MPG that much bettter especially considering Diesel costs as much or more than regular gas?

OnlyOneJeep - The niche market won't make money. Its a painful fact. If Jeep continued to build the Cherokee it would probably be out of business or worse... DCX would sell it to GM or Ford and they'd turn everything into something like the Compass. Niche vehicles with small profit margins equals a car company that will soon be out of business. Evolve or perish.

I've owned a Cherokee, a Liberty (ex's) and three Wranglers, including my current ride which is an 03 Sport. As I get older and I have children my needs change. I drive over 20,000 miles a year and with gas prices the way they are (and headed) I can't afford to get another vehicle that gets under 20 MPG. If its a
D Liberty or if they put it in a Wrangler I'll save over $1,000 a year in gas. I'll be making my decision based more on my bank account than my ability to go across the Rubicon Trail. Most consumers that don't have unlimited budgets will make similar decisions.

Hi Guys - read with interest the posts. I have an 03 wrangler, and I totally love it. However, with the vast open spaces here in Australia, I simply do not have the range to tackle most tracks. Here is an example - I need to fit the ARB 45 liter auxiliary tank and carry 6 20 liter jerry cans to cross the Simpson desert. And I have nowhere to carry those 6 cans!

Most off road drivers here prefer a diesel, and with fuel prices doubling in the last 5 years, diesel is becoming more popular. Many off road’ers prefer 2 tanks with around 200 litres capacity. So personally, I love the idea of a diesel, but I would prefer it to be in the wrangler, rather than in the liberty. I may still buy the liberty diesel – which has been available here for over a year, but will be forced to heavily mod the vehicle. The extra space is also required for the long trips – as a fridge is essential in Australia for keeping the beer cold. (and that is serious).

OnlyOneJeep... The H3 is a joke! Sure it looks like a Hummer, but the body is built onto a GMC Canyon/Chevy Colorado platform! That means it has a torsion bar-sprung IFS and everything else the Canyon is built out of. At least the Liberty is pure Jeep underneath, thats more than Hummer can claim with the H3.

As far as looks, if you dont like the regular styling of the KJ, check out the Adventure Package and Offroad Package available for the liberty on Jeep.com (especially for the renagade.) The Offroad Package comes with tow hooks, skid plates, and rock rails while the Adventure Package comes with a black tubular bull-bar, tubular side steps, light bar (renegade style), and a bunch of other misc. stuff. They have pictures in the build menu... for a factory Liberty it looks pretty sweet!

Regarding the last comment about the H3 and the Liberty being called a Cherokee overseas. First, its still a Liberty. I don't care if you call it King Kong, Barbie, Bud Light or a Cherokee, its still a Liberty. What does it matter what you call it?

Second... Don't forget an H3 is going to be about 15k more than a limited version of the Liberty
D. If you're going to spend that much and you love Jeep so much, buy a GC with a Hemi.

I read these messages that people put up and I laugh my butt off because most of you have no idea what you're talking about. "Jeep should do this... Jeep should do that.... Jeep should build a vehicle with these specs or these." The specs that 99% of you describe appeal to less than 1% of Jeep buyers. Jeep / DXC would be loosing money hand over fist if they built cars that only a few people would be buying. If someone like Ford can make money off the limited production GT 40 its because its priced at 140,000 and not like the guys are saying here. "Build the Jeep to these specs.. oh, and price it at 25,000." Get a clue!

If you want a rugged Jeep with the
D just wait a couple of years and they'll be putting it in the Wrangler. Heck, they'll probably put one in the GC. Jeep is in the business to make money. To make money they'll build vehicles that they can sell. If its a 3 wheeled one, the Libery, the Compass concept or whatever, as long as they believe it will make money and make sense they'll build it. If it doesn't appeal to you... guess what... you don't have to buy it. This isn't Ford building the Model T where you could have it in any color you wanted, as long as it was black, but they're not going to make every dream rig people can dream up.

The Cherokee was a nice ride but when other manufactures came out with suvs that were priced similar, Jeep started to loose money. When someone was buying their first SUV and they compaired the Cherokee against others in its class, people choose other rides because the most off roading 99% of SUVs do is from the end of the parking lot to the edge of the soccer field. Jeep had to build something to appeal to soccer moms and was still farily capapble of going off road. It may not be the best off road rig but it will stick kick butt in its class. Now that there is a diesel its going to appeal to more and more people. The more money that Jeep can make on its core vehciles the more it can stick into R&D for future vehicles. The Liberty, Wrangler, GC are NOT in the same class as any of the Hummers. The GC maybe... but not really. If Jeep looks into the Rescue concept maybe it'll appeal to more of you.

One last thing before I get off my soapbox... Look into the sales figures of all the Hummers. What are they doing? Slumping. Why? Because of gas prices. Guess what, the
D will sell because consumers want an SUV that gets into the mid 20s in MPG.

Now that H3 has been presented to the world would it be possible for Jeep now to build/design a similar vehicle...It's very ironic that the H3 pretty much is a carbon copy of the '98-'01 Cherokee and Jeep has now given us the WIMPY-LOOKING Liberty as it's replacement...Will Jeep step up and design something more of substance to offer? It's damn embarrassing to see those H3s coming when Jeep HAD THE CHEROKEE all along....What have they done? Will the TK follow the Liberty down into the black hole? If they "toughen up" a little..throw that new diesel in it...and change the name BACK to Cherokee; Jeep just may have a fighting chance-Overseas the Liberty IS badged Cherokee...WHY NOT HERE?

We are considering trading my wife's 4 cyl wrangler for a diesel liberty, and keeping my Wrangler sport forever. My sport is set up for off-road, big tires, lift, etc, and is not the greatest rig for towing my boat. More towing power and better mileage sounds good, but I'm not crazy about the style/functionality of the Libery and they will only be available with automatic trannys. I hate automatics! If DC would build a TJ unlimited diesel, with a 6 speed manual, I would order mine the day they start accepting orders.

Anyone know why our wonderful oil companies have jacked up the price of diesel fuel higher than gas? Diesel is cheaper to refine.

here is my comment will small dealers be able to order the diesel i live in chanute ks and my dealer doesnt think he will be able to order one i have been asking about one for over a year