Nitro shuns Bluetec, but it's not a sin of emission
 | Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. He writes commentaries for Automotive News online every business day. His commentaries also can be found here. |
Edward Lapham | | Automotive News / October 12, 2006 - 12:47 pmWith all the excitement about Bluetec and other fast-breaking diesel technology, you might think that modern, ultraclean diesels already rule the world.
Not so fast.
When the new Dodge Nitro SUV goes on sale in Europe in the spring, about 80 percent of the volume is expected to be diesels. But they won't use the Bluetec technology developed by DaimlerChrysler and Bosch.
Even though Europeans dig diesels, the entry-level Nitro is expected to come equipped with Chrysler's 3.7-liter V-6 gasoline engine that makes 210 hp and is mated to a front-drive, four-speed manual transmission.
The base price is likely to be the equivalent of about $36,500, according to Automobilwoche, our German-language sister publication. That would be some $4,000 more than a comparable Toyota RAV4, which has a less powerful gasoline engine.
So what diesel will power 80 percent of the Nitros in Europe? A four-cylinder Detroit Diesel engine that is built by VM Motori in Italy; shipped to the assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio; and installed in the Nitros, which will then be shipped to Europe.
The Nitro's diesel may not be Bluetec, but it ought to be a more developed, cleaner diesel than the 2.8-liter engines VM Motori supplied to the Jeep Wrangler for a while.
It's one of the advantages of going global.
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