Article From Diesel Power Magazine
Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD - Detroit To L.A. In Three Days
We stopped at the Iowa 80, the world's largest truck stop, just to see it. At over 200 acres, it's 2 1/2 times bigger than Disneyland and has 18 fuel pumps and enough parking for 800 trucks. | 
Looks like Uncle Sam just bought himself a new diesel. | 
Speaking of Uncle Sam, we had to stop at the Heartland Museum of Military vehicles (www.heartlandmuseum.com) in Lexington, nebraska. It's filled with dozens of Jeeps and stockpiled with decades of American history and artifacts. |
The Humvee WannabeOne of the most unique vehicles at the heartland museum was this General Dynamics xM 998 prototype. It was built in the late '70s by Chrysler Defense (which was purchased by General Dynamics in 1979) as a bid to be the military's next High-Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled vehicle (HMMWv). the xM 998 featured a lot of drivetrain pieces from a '70s Dodge truck. However, the engine was an air-cooled Deutz 610 direct injection v-8 diesel that displaced 6.5L. this 783-pound engine made 160 hp at 3,200 rpm and 360 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. Alas, General Dynamics didn't get the contract; AM General did, and the H1 Hummer was born. |  | 
Stopping at the museum put us behind schedule, so 4xGuard's owner, Russell Livingston, had us bring the Jeep to his home in Colorado where he personally installed a set of 4xGuard's Side Guard HC rock sliders. |
The Side Guard HC sliders bolted directly to the Jeep with a series of threaded nutserts that Livingston installed in the rocker panel. they'll protect our Jeep's doors and rocker panels when we travel over rocky terrain. | 
Livingston's personal Jeep is an '05 Grand Cherokee with a 5.7L Hemi (left). He took ours for a quick test drive and told us his next Grand will be a diesel. | 
Livingston's Grand features 4xGuard's Front Guard HC skid plate. We'll be installing one on our diesel next month. |
Day 3, 10:17 am. the variable geometry turbo in our 3.0L diesel was really working as we ascended the Continental Divide. As we passed through the Eisenhower tunnel going westbound on I-70, we had two new firsts for our Jeep: driving above 11,000 feet and experiencing temperatures below freezing. | 
In order to make the 1,000-mile drive in one day, we couldn't stop to take many photos. We made it to the I-15 interchange in Utah in the late afternoon and rolled into St. George, Utah, for dinner. We were tired, but the Jeep had a smooth and quiet ride that kept us from getting worn out. Once we made it through Las vegas, the Jeep practically drove itself the rest of the way into Los Angeles, and we were home in our own beds just after midnight. | |