Chrysler To Follow Trend, Add Direct Injection To V-6, Turbo Too

There's an old car-guy adage that claims there's "no replacement for displacement."

Yet tightening global emissions standards are forcing carmakers to find a variety of replacements, as they plan to shrink the sizes of engines across their lineups in the name of fuel economy--without sacrificing the performance customers are used to.

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For Ford, that's meant extensive use of turbocharged and direct-injected EcoBoost engines. Now it appears Chrysler could follow suit with its own Pentastar V-6 engine.

The carmaker will add turbochargers and direct injection to the Pentastar to improve its efficiency, according to a recent report from Automotive News (subscription required).

This Pentastar Upgrade--called PUG, for short--would improve fuel economy in an engine that's currently used throughout the Chrysler realm in naturally-aspirated form, and possibly boost power as well.

The first upgraded engine iteration will reportedly launch in the Jeep Grand Cherokee in late 2015 as part of a refresh of that model.

The current-generation Pentastar also launched on the Grand Cherokee--back in 2010--and initial versions of the upgraded engine are expected to maintain the 3.6-liter displacement it's had so far.

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