How Jeep Ended Up With A GM Diesel

The new diesel engine that is expected to arrive in the Dodge Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee (which, we hear, has been pushed back a few times already) has had an interesting life. The 3.0L twin-turbo diesel engine never was intended for Chrysler or Fiat products, but rather, Cadillac. As Automotive News tells it, the engine was born when GM bought 50 percent of Italian firm VM Motori in 2007. They quickly began work on a 2.9L diesel engine intended for the European market Cadillac CTS, with GM financing the venture. Cadillac's struggling sales in Europe along with GM's bankruptcy conspired to prevent the VM diesel from ever appearing in a GM product. Where it did end up is with Fiat, after the firm bought 50 percent of VM Motori in 2011. The engine was reworked for use in Chrysler products, but VM is apparently free to sell it to other auto makers as well. All in all a shrewd move by Sergio Marchionne – a man who was once able to make GM pay $2 billion to Fiat for the privilege of not entering into an alliance. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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