Does it normally take 3 people 2 hours to remove the hard top and put up the soft top on an 08' JK????

I bet a German designed that thing!

Hit the nail on the head there. BMW and Mercedes designed the JK platform.Probobly why it handles more like a Toureg than a Wrangler. Supposedly the first production run has Mercedes engine blocks but I haven't been able to confirm it yet.

It certainly wouldn't suprise me if Chrysler stepped in and overcomplicated the soft top. I've heard they're a royal pain to close up when it's cold and the vinyl is stiff.

Here's a juicy tidbit for ya...
Rumor has it the 2009 JK lineup will include a VW designed and manufacted diesel engine mated to a specfically geared transmission for maximum fuel economy. 30 MPG and 300 ft lbs of torque in a short wheel base 4x4, what a concept!

Chrysler is keeping the diesel JK tightly wrapped so we may not hear anything official for some time.

If they do manage to pull it off and offer the diesel JK with $2.99 a gallon gas for 3 years and a lifetime warranty it'll be hard to pass up. As soon as gas hits $5 a gallon (this weekend?)all the new 15 MPG cars and trucks are in real trouble.

There is a 4 banger diesel offered as an option on the Australian and European 08' Wranglers, I would have goggled one up if they had been offered in North America.

NOT ME! I Have a diesel bobcat and am tired of smelling ugly all the time. With so few diesel stations nearby I have to drive past 6 or 8 stations to get to a station that has only ONE diesel pump.. So I wait in line for the crap.
Big JIm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

The new diesels don't smell as much as the older ones do. They're also a bunch quieter! My '08 F-350 is so quiet, the wife can't hear when I pull into the driveway, although, when that big truck blots out the sun she sure knows it! LOL

In our little town of about 10,000 people we have 8 gas stations and all but 3 sell diesel (1 ARCO and 2 independents). Right now the only concern I have with a diesel is the cost of fuel..... it was $5.21 this morning!

Ed

Diesel is nothing the JP8 they use up there in AK is enough to make you lose your breakfast. Man that stuff stinks even before its burned. The exhaust is some of the worst smelling stuff I've ever walked through. It kind of sticks to you too. Can't get away from it once you've gotten it on your hands or god forbid your clothes.
My elk skin work gloves reek like JP8 to this day and only got a splash on one thumb 4 months ago.

Those guys running the cargo loaders must have iron stomaches to smell that stuff day in and day out all summer.

Up here 50% 0f the trucks on the road are diesel, and I can't recall a station that dosn't have at least one pump! With the cost of diesel being more than gas atm! and the cost of maintaining a diesel do the pro's still out weigh the cons?

Most diesel engines will outlast the majority of gasoline engines...at least the larger diesel ones like in big rigs, so it is less likely that you will have to get a new engine. Not to mention diesel engines are more efficient for those that do a lot of towing and hauling.

Man, I am around JP8+100 every time I go out to a base to inspect an engine, and I have to say I love the smell of it. There is nothing like showing up to the shop at 7:00AM, cup of coffee in hand the smell of JP8 in the air, and then hearing a few jets take off, even when they afterburners arenÆt lit, it still gets me going. I canÆt imagine the smell being any different from a jet engine to a diesel engine if they are both running JP8. Things change with time though, when I was a kid I couldnÆt stand the smell of diesel fuel or diesel engines, now those smells donÆt bother me anymore.

Sean

And I am just the opposite bout diesel fuel. I have a pair of diesel fueling gloves that I leave near the diesel cans. which I wear when handeling the damn stuff.
I simply do not like the smell and it lingers for seemingly DAYS in my pickup.
Unless I was hauling on the hiway longhaul I wouldn't consider a diesel truck.
Big JIm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />