Wife and I chose 4 and a half years ago to keep our 1989 XJ alive and buy a H3 Alpha instead of the minivanJ and it looks like it was a great decision. Got a mid-size V8 SUV that can go off-road before GM closed it down, and will be able to retire the 1989 with a 2012 Unlimited with a 5 speed transmission and a real v6 under the hood.

Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of the Pentastar Engine, certainly MDS and Direct Injection make this a better engine than the current 3.8L plain Jane engine, and even with the loss of .2 liters of displacement, the current mindset is that raw horsepower and torque are made in the crankshaft, not the intake, heads and exhaust.....Chevy found this out with the LS series engines.

We have been asking for a Wrangler Diesel for years now, and it is always within the reach of Europeans, while here in America, we just keep getting empty promises....

European Wranglers are getting the 3.0V-6 AND Start-Stop Idle management. Why we cannot have this in the United States bothers me because the Diesel Technology is clean, and the Idle management can only add to the mileage as there is no fuel being burned when the Jeep is not moving, more importantly, there is a small torque boost at re-start from the starter-nator.

Screw +10% fuel efficiency. Hardly noteworthy.
I'm more excited about the power & torque increases! We'll be going from ~205HP/240ft-lbs to ~280HP/260ft-lbs, or thereabouts, with a much broader torque band. Read: MORE GRUNT!!

Even if we only get a "detuned" 260-something HP version of the Phoenix Pentastar engine, that's a HUGE 30% increase. And even though the torque increase seems like a modest ~10%, it's more usable torque, since it's over a broader band, thanx to VVT (or dual-variable cam phasing superwhompadyne whatever technology).

I'd be happy if we LOST 10% fuel ecomony but picked up these increases!

Remember, with the current minivan engine, we fart around with CAIs & catbacks & reprogramming ECMs to the tune of ~$1000+ just to get 5-15HP!? All that for a <10% increase?!

So start getting happy for 2012!! Good times, they are a comin' back!

OK, I admit, I still miss the I-6 4.0L...

Just more proof that Jeep doesn't listen to its customers. Why?

I've heard people asking for:

...a new in-line, high torque 6
...a Hemi V-8
...a hybrid
...and yes, I'll say it, a diesel

But I've heard NOBODY say, "I sure wish Jeep would give us a slightly smaller V-6 with marginally better gas mileage."

Fiat, puh-lease do something about this!! Here in Chicago gas is over $4.60 a gallon. I'd love a new Jeep, but not at 17 city 21 hwy. (my guess of 10% better mileage in a Wrangler)

I'm going to be obnoxious here and point out that this was already posted by Allpar some time ago - around a year ago for the Pentastar V6, and around a week or two ago for the five-speed transmission (it's the WA580, in case you wondered.) Bob Sheaves thinks they'll move the engine forward to make room... they're building the last of the 3.8 liter engines this month, and that'll be the end of the line for an engine family that we've seen since 1990.

Check out the Wrangler section of http://www.allpar.com/model/upcoming.html