Geneva Rocks: Jeep Debuts Diesel-Powered Wrangler Rocks Star

Geneva Rocks: Jeep Debuts Diesel-Powered Wrangler Rocks Star

Geneva Rocks: Jeep Debuts Diesel-Powered Wrangler Rocks Star

Wrangler owners all know that they’ll 1 day wake up with the sudden urge to bolt on a couple thousand dollars’ worth of aftermarket parts. And in these precious disorienting seconds, Chrysler wants to them to default to mouthing the word, “Mopar”—hence the mission of this yellow Jeep landing in Geneva.

Beyond its awkward Rocks Star name, this is your standard Wrangler Rubicon softtop with half doors, only with a kickin’ 2.8-liter turbo-diesel 4-cylinder banned from our residence turf. The college-bus-yellow color scheme carries over to the steering-wheel spokes, air-vent trim, and passenger grab handle, although the wheels, grille, gas cap, and the rest of the interior go black.

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A light bar/hoop fixed to the bottom of the A-pillars signifies you can’t fold down the Rocks Star’s windshield, but in return you’ll get 4 square LED lamps mounted higher and proud of the glass. We know how considerably Wrangler owners hate square lights—witness the anti-square headlamp vitriol slung at the YJ—so that is a real gamble. A distressed-looking U.S. Army–style star and circle on the hood might make up for the nonround lights, although. Even though Chrysler is not adding the diesel to Mopar’s U.S. catalog, the rest of the components ought to be offered soon.

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Geneva Rocks: Jeep Debuts Diesel-Powered Wrangler Rocks Star

Geneva Rocks: Jeep Debuts Diesel-Powered Wrangler Rocks Star

Wrangler owners all know that they’ll one particular day wake up with the sudden urge to bolt on a couple thousand dollars’ worth of aftermarket components. And in those precious disorienting seconds, Chrysler wants to them to default to mouthing the word, “Mopar”—hence the mission of this yellow Jeep landing in Geneva.

Beyond its awkward Rocks Star name, this is your basic Wrangler Rubicon softtop with half doors, only with a kickin’ 2.8-liter turbo-diesel 4-cylinder banned from our residence turf. The school-bus-yellow color scheme carries over to the steering-wheel spokes, air-vent trim, and passenger grab deal with, while the wheels, grille, gas cap, and the rest of the interior go black.

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A light bar/hoop fixed to the bottom of the A-pillars means you can not fold down the Rocks Star’s windshield, but in return you will get 4 square LED lamps mounted high and proud of the glass. We know how much Wrangler owners hate square lights—witness the anti-square headlamp vitriol slung at the YJ—so that’s a genuine gamble. A distressed-looking U.S. Army–style star and circle on the hood might make up for the nonround lights, even though. While Chrysler is not adding the diesel to Mopar’s U.S. catalog, the rest of the parts must be offered quickly.

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Geneva Rocks: Jeep Debuts Diesel-Powered Wrangler Rocks Star

Geneva Rocks: Jeep Debuts Diesel-Powered Wrangler Rocks Star

Wrangler owners all know that they’ll one particular day wake up with the sudden urge to bolt on a couple thousand dollars’ worth of aftermarket parts. And in these precious disorienting seconds, Chrysler wants to them to default to mouthing the word, “Mopar”—hence the mission of this yellow Jeep landing in Geneva.

Beyond its awkward Rocks Star name, this is your basic Wrangler Rubicon softtop with half doors, only with a kickin’ 2.8-liter turbo-diesel 4-cylinder banned from our home turf. The college-bus-yellow color scheme carries over to the steering-wheel spokes, air-vent trim, and passenger grab deal with, whilst the wheels, grille, gas cap, and the rest of the interior go black.

---

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A light bar/hoop fixed to the bottom of the A-pillars indicates you can not fold down the Rocks Star’s windshield, but in return you will obtain 4 square LED lamps mounted higher and proud of the glass. We know how a lot Wrangler owners hate square lights—witness the anti-square headlamp vitriol slung at the YJ—so that’s a true gamble. A distressed-looking U.S. Army–style star and circle on the hood may make up for the nonround lights, although. While Chrysler is not adding the diesel to Mopar’s U.S. catalog, the rest of the parts should be offered quickly.

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Geneva Rocks: Jeep Debuts Diesel-Powered Wrangler Rocks Star

Gearing Up: Subsequent-Gen Jeep Wrangler To Get Eight-Speed Automatic

Amongst the rumors and speculation that surrounds the subsequent-generation Jeep Wrangler, one particular point is specific: Its fuel economy need to enhance from the current model’s less than stellar 17-mpg city and 21-mpg highway numbers. A recent report in Automotive News points to a major modify that will assist in that mission.

AN reports that a current Fiat-Chrysler filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows that the corporate 8-speed automatic, built by Chrysler under license from ZF, will uncover a home in the brand’s redesigned rugged off-roader: “The 8-speed transmission is at present paired with gasoline and diesel engines in the 2014 Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee and is also featured in the new 2014 Dodge Durango. We plan to use this transmission in all of our rear-wheel-drive autos, except for heavy-duty versions of the Ram pick-up truck and the SRT Viper.” The filing also noted that the 8-speed ’box “reduces fuel consumption by a lot more than 9 % more than the 5-speed and 6-speed transmissions” that it has currently supplanted in many FCA cars.

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If this appears like an obvious and reasonably straightforward way to squeeze a few extra mpg from the existing Wrangler, AN asserts that “Chrysler would have utilized the 8-speed in the Wrangler ahead of the upcoming redesign, but the transmission does not fit in the current model.”

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Gearing Up: Subsequent-Gen Jeep Wrangler To Get Eight-Speed Automatic

Subsequent Jeep Wrangler Could Target “Soft” SUVs—But It Will not Be Ruined (We Hope)

“It’s a Jeep thing” may possibly be a statement that pick men and women at Fiat-Chrysler don’t understand—but let’s hope not.

As quoted by Automotive News, Jeep CEO Mike Manley says that the subsequent-gen Wrangler, which is due in 2017, would require to compete with “soft” SUVs and that not all Wranglers want to be as capable off-road.

“You can not sell 19,000-plus retail Wranglers [in May] to folks who just want to go off-roading,” Manley told the industry paper. “Why would, for example, somebody else’s SUV that’s really an on-road ‘soft’ SUV not be for me a genuine target for Wrangler?” But ahead of JK and TJ owners light effigies at the subsequent Jeep Jamboree, Manley knows that the Wrangler enjoys a thick-as-blood fan base who are far more loyal than the Secret Service. Later in the AN article, he states that “one thing that [Jeep] will not do is dilute what Wrangler stands for.”

As for the redesign, new powertrains and lighter supplies are practically assured. The Wrangler could advantage from far more gears and, as we were told by Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, possibly aluminum construction. Though the 2.8-liter diesel in European Wranglers performs nicely, Manley is on record saying that sales of the Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel require to improve prior to any new Jeep diesels arrive stateside. A 4-cylinder gasoline model might make sense if Chrysler can sort an engine, possibly by way of turbocharging, that is burlier than the 2.4 found in the new Cherokee.

But we’re not certain why the Wrangler—which is amongst the very very best vehicles extant in terms of resale value—needs to target “soft” competitors when the new Renegade and the Cherokee give lots of ammo in that fight. To that end, Automotive News speculates that the Wrangler’s strong axles could be ripped out for a lighter independent setup.

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We believe, however, that Fiat-Chrysler won’t ruin its very lucrative icon, 1 that remains in high demand and which—like the Mercedes-Benz G-class—succeeds not in spite of its archaic technologies but because of them. In addition to, if the company—which produces every little thing from LaFerraris to Dodge Darts—screws up the Wrangler, its executives from both sides of the Atlantic could want to use a single to head for the hills.

Subsequent Jeep Wrangler Could Target “Soft” SUVs—But It Will not Be Ruined (We Hope)