Click the Jeep for a high-res gallery of the Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD

Currently, every Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep vehicle, with the exception of the Dodge Viper, is being sold in Europe with a diesel engine option. What's more, half of them are able to hit the 35 mile per gallon mark in combined driving. In what may seem like the ultimate slap in the face, they are all built right here in America, but we cannot buy them. All of this information is available here, which is a popular article circulating on Digg. The writer of the article makes the aforementioned points as an argument as to why Chrysler should be able to sell their diesel vehicles here in the states. At this time, only one of Chrysler's diesels, the Grand Cherokee, is being sold here.

One problem stands in the way of the rest of the diesels being sold stateside, and it's a big one: emissions. This is a much bigger problem than the article seems to contend. There is more to the greening of our fleet of vehicles than fuel mileage, and emissions are a very important part of the puzzle. Diesel engines can be made to meet the emissions requirements in the U.S., but they add to the cost of the vehicle. When we add in the rising price of diesel fuel, diesel vehicles can become a tough sell. In the coming years, it is likely that manufacturers will introduce more diesel engines here in the U.S., and the hope remains that as they do, the price of the technology will go down.

[Source: MPGOmatic]

With all the compromise and hints coming out of Washington this week, it's been a challenge just keeping up with who's for what and what's good for whom. But, it looks like this afternoon our illustrious Senators have found one more compromise in their bones and have agreed to raise the CAFE standard for passenger vehicles to 35 mpg by 2020.

Scrapped into dust as debate over the energy bill moved forward were a continued four percent annual increase from 35 mpg after 2020 and $29 billion in new taxes on oil companies to fund renewable energy research and development. The compromise does require automakers to make half their vehicles E85-capable by 2015. Many have already agreed to do this by 2012, so that's not a big deal.

Now we'll see what the House will do.

CNN and the AP have more. What do you think of this? Will it survive into the final bill? What about the President's veto pen (he said he was against specific mileage numbers)? Is 35 mpg a good number for CAFE standards in 2020?

[Source: CNN and AP, h/t to Chris P]

In about ten days, US Senators will start to debate raising fuel economy standards. Last month, a Senate panel approved the idea of raising the CAFE standards to 35 mpg by 2020. But not everyone is enthralled with this idea. In fact, Automotive News has got more details on the plan that some automakers are floating to create exemptions in the new, tougher CAFE standards. Auto industry lobbyists say the 35 mpg by 2020 is "extreme and untenable."

One alternative, courtesy of Big Auto Senator Carl Levin, is a "car standard of 36 mpg by 2022 and a truck standard of 30 mpg by 2025." While those numbers sound almost as good at 35 by 2020, here's the kicker: "The alternative would enable automakers to avoid fuel economy standards altogether if they could show they were building vehicles with better fuel economy and lower emissions. Levin's office did not say whether he will offer the draft as an alternative or it is merely a work in progress."

The Auto Alliance says it wants to support an alternative to the CAFE standards bill. The environmental lobby is working to close as many loopholes as Levin and the auto industry is trying to put in. We'll be watching this one.

Related:

• Automakers offer an option out of CAFE regs
• Beefed up CAFE standards - 35 mpg by 2020 - approved by Senate panel
• Sen. Levin: increase in CAFE standard would kill Chrysler
• Sierra Club tells you how much you would save if CAFE was updated

[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]

It's astounding how every day now seems to bring another report of gas prices on the rise. Today, the national average for regular fuel is $3.227, according to AAA. We can all predict this isn't the top of the charts for gas prices this year, so let's just file this under T for temporary. Also, if we adjust for inflation, gas prices are just a few cents shy of a truly historic "highest price ever," according to NPR.

To follow up with some related news, the Associated Press' H. Josef Hebert writes that the U.S. House of Representatives has taken the bold step of approving legislation yesterday to outlaw gasoline price gouging. The measure passed 284-141, even though there are a lot of problems with the bill. For one, the proposal only goes into effect if the president declares an energy emergency, and it's limited to 30 days. The Senate will look at energy legislation next month, which is also when they debate raising CAFE standards.

Like some of our readers who left comments on the original post, opponents of the gouging bill pointed out the vagueness of the language used to describe the gouging. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, told the AP that, "I don't know what `unconscionably excessive' means."

It may be hard to prove gas companies are charging 'unconscionably excessive' prices for their wares, but $3.23 a gallon is getting to be pretty excessive for people standing at the pump, don't you think? Who wants to guess where we'll see the American national average peak this summer?

[Source: AAA, Associated Press / H. Josef Hebert]

I guess Senator Levin didn't get what he wanted.

Today, a U.S. Senate panel voted to increase fuel efficiency standards to an average of 35 mpg by 2020, and then keep increasing it by four percent a year until 2030. The bill's final numbers are far from certain, though, and the bill won't make it to the Senate floor until next month (Currently, the standards are 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.5 for vans and trucks, but you knew that already, right?).

On the face of it, this is a good bill. But this AP article includes a long list of critics: Some Republicans, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the UAW, and some environmentalists. That may sound like a lot, but the Detroit News says that Democrats are confident the bill will pass in June.

While the Auto Alliance may be against the bill, the domestic automakers did get a little something they wanted: $50 million a year in advanced battery research funding. Last year, the Big Three asked the feds for $500,000,000 to build better batteries.

[Source: AP]