diesel swap

[PARAGON]

Originally Posted by Beastmaster

With the new rules for 2007 diesels, emissions will be even more of a factor thanks to California and Massachusetts helping "lead" the way towards eliminating diesels from the market.

Sarcasm aside, the new rules for 2007 and onward set by the federal government (and based on CARB recommendations) help prevent large scale diesel upgrades. 2006 may very well be the last year that you can get a good diesel vehicle and not be hounded to death by the rule sets.

Most vehicle manufacturers that promote diesel (VW, GM, Ford, Mercedes, Daimler Chrysler) can only sell their vehicles in about 45 states (passenger vehicles). Trucks seem to have a 50 state capability for now...until ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) comes through and you get a wackier situation where 2007 trucks have to literally hunt for ULSD stations.

Because of the stupid rulesets, many automakers won't take the time nor the hassle to do diesel vehicles. In Europe, where the rules are even stricter, they have good diesel vehicles and ultra low emissions. Too bad we can't follow the trend.

There are already diesels in development and soon-to-be-use that meet or exceed requirements. There are already diesels out that meet the 45 state requirements. In fact, DC is putting out a 3.0L CRD in a Grand Cherokee for the '07 model.

For the automaker, it's more of a demand issue. Diesels have never had widespread acceptance in passenger vehicles in the states, unless it was a tow vehicle.