In something of an ironic twist for an off-road brand, Jeep has had trouble figuring out which path to take lately. Jeep was late to the soft-roader party last decade, and got off to an “interesting” start when a focus group (allegedly) indicated the need for a Patriot to appeal to men and a Compass for the ladies. Most companies would have simply picked one, but the temptation to attract female shoppers to an overtly masculine brand proved too strong and Jeep decided to make both. The result is a product line that offers two similarly-priced and similarly-capable vehicles. This might have been a passable set of circumstances, had the Compass not been saddled with both a cartoonish exterior and interior plastics that even Rubbermaid would have rejected. Instead, the Compass became a symbol of how lost the go-anywhere brand had become. But after a Fiat-led makeover, an updated 2011 Compass is making a bid to rescue Jeep’s small CUV reputation… is it up to the task?
Willys MA, Willys’ entrant in the jeep competition
General Motors was the largest supplier of war materiel to the American armed forces. Ford famously built B-24 Liberators that rolled off the Willow Run assembly line at a rate of one per hour. Chrysler alone built as many tanks as all the German tank manufacturers combined. With those high profile contributions to the war effort made by the big three automakers, it’s easy to forget that the independent automakers (and automotive suppliers as well) also switched over completely to military production.
Is it possible for a Jeep Cherokee with a 60s-technology AMC power to finish in the top fifth of a race on a crazy road course full of off-camber turns and dizzying elevation changes? No, it is not possible. And yet… (Read More…)
If Chrysler’s five-year business plan were taken at face value, one might be forgiven for thinking we were supposed to have a four-cylinder, stop-start-equipped diesel Wrangler in the US by now. Not so, clarified Jeep’s bosses, while keeping the window open. Now Jeep CEO Mike Manley is hinting at diesels again, telling the Freep that the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee could get oil-burning engines “within three years,” and that
Diesel in some of our models makes absolute sense.
Europeans certainly seem to think so, as the vast majority of Jeep sales on the continent are diesel models. And no wonder: on the European test-cycle (non-EPA), the 3.8 liter gas-powered Wrangler (with manual) is rated at 15.5MPG city, 29 MPG highway and 22MPG combined, while the diesel 2.8 with manual and stop-start (offering less horsepower but more torque) is rated at 28.5MPG city, 36.2MPG highway and 33.1MPG combined (converted from l/100km figures). It might not be long before that kind of efficiency advantage becomes worth the $1k-$3k projected price premium (assuming the EPA test reflects an equal advantage).
Most of the time, you don’t find much in the way of usable parts on a vehicle that went up in flames, but that doesn’t stop wrecking yards from making a go at selling a few parts before the Crusher eats the burn victim. Here’s a Vietnam Era military Jeep truck that may have a few salvageable bits and pieces. (Read More…)
American-made overhead-cam engines were almost as rare as reliable South Vietnamese presidents in the mid-1960s, so I did a doubletake when I spotted one in a Denver self-service wrecking yard. (Read More…)
The Compass has long been Jeep’s answer to the Cadillac Cimarron, failing to live up to the brand’s ideals while simultaneously cannibalizing its platform-mate(s). But apparently the refreshed anti-Jeep is about to get a dose of Jeep’s signature marketing: Trail-Rated status. According to the rarely-wrong-about-these-kinds-of-things Allpar.com
the 2011 Jeep Compass with Freedom Drive II will be Trail-Rated, the first time a Compass has achieved that designation. To accomplish this, the Compass moved the rebound springs to the same architecture as the Grand Cherokee, and raised the height by one inch for models with Freedom Drive II.
And if a Patriot can be “Trail-Rated,” why not a Compass? On second thought, why invest in a new Compass at all, Trail-Rated or not? Either way, we’re tits-deep in irony considering Dodge’s Ralph Gilles recently “revealed” that Dodge’s outgoing models all rode higher than the competition, and that
Lowering the car looks better. It looks a little bit smarter. It handles better. And more important is the fuel economy
Or, as Ripley doubtless said with his dying breath, not.
References to the “DNA of a brand” is a long overused cliche, and perhaps finally on the way out. But it can be a valid consideration, depending…In thinking about Toyota and its early genetic roots, one might well conjure up images of the first Corona, or the Corolla, whose modern descendants (Camry/Corolla) still reflect the basic mission of their ancestors. But isn’t the true Urquelle of Toyota’s reputation its legendary reliability and durability? Well, the following historical tidbit may cement the idea of where I’m going: in 1965, the year this FJ40 Land Cruiser was built, it was Toyota’s best selling vehicle in the USA as well as the rest of the world outside Japan. This is the car that Toyota sent out to conquer the world. And this well-worn original example typifies it better than any other I’ve ever seen: it’s literally exuding ruggedness through the pores of its patina. How many folks has it sold on the brand over its long life? Hang on for a longish bumpy ride as I recount the history of the FJ and my own initiation into the cults of off-roading, hitchhiking, and Toyota. (Read More…)
The enthusiasm for the Fiat coming to the market has diminished. At first, it was something that would be mixed in… now [Fiat-Chrysler is] going to have to present a compelling story and product to back me investing at least $1 million to build a new showroom
Everyone loves the Fiat 500, but Chrysler’s dealers aren’t exactly thrilled that they have to build brand new showrooms to sell the Italian (er, Mexican) subcompact, as witnessed by the quote above in the WSJ [sub]. Another dealer adds that he knows enough troubled MINI and Smart stores to be spooked by the prospect of dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on what will clearly be a niche offering. Yet another calls it an “excellent opportunity,” but Chrysler needs to find 200 qualified dealers to make Fiat’s American adventure a reality. The credit and car markets, gas prices and Fiat’s less-than-stellar American-market legacy all conspire against the scheme. To say nothing of the poor historical precedents for Chrysler’s ballooning brand portfolio. But as usual, CEO Sergio Marchionne has it all figured out…
Jeep has released the first pictures of its next refreshed product, the 2011 Jeep Wrangler, but the changes don’t exactly jump out. That’s because, besides a new body-color hardtop and five new exterior colors, the changes have all taken place on the inside. You know, where they’re most needed. Have they done the job? Hit the jump for the first peek…
Behold the mighty off-road prowess of the Grand Cherokee SRT-8! Yes, my ratty-looking lawn is about as far off-road as most JGCs ever go. The 2011 Grand Cherokee even offers a couple of optimized drivetrain-and-suspension setups for those people who, as the nice Jeep PR man said during the introduction, “only go off-road… in their minds.”
The autojourno business is an odd one. Your not-so-humble author was one of the first people to have the chance to drive the 2011 JGC anywhere, and also very possibly the last journo on the planet to obtain a 2010 Grand Cherokee as a press vehicle. I’d like to think that, at the moment I achieved 88 miles per hour in the 2011 truck, I went back in time and successfully snagged a 2010 as a loaner.
There’s no SRT-8 in the 2011 lineup, although I strongly suspect there will be one debuting later on in the year, so if you want the combination of big-cube HEMI and Brembo brakes in your SUV, this is your only choice for now. The question is: with the demonstrated excellence of the new model, is there any reason at all to choose a 2010? (Read More…)
Several years ago, I paid heed to my inner child and attended Iron Maiden’s “Aces (Very) High Tour”. During one of the breaks, singer Bruce Dickinson said, “I don’t know what’s going on. We’re still making records, and I think they’re pretty good. But nobody on the radio wants to play them. They don’t play that kind of music now. Even if people want to hear it.” Intrigued by his comment, I bought the new Maiden record. He’s right. It’s pretty good, even if the music industry has moved on. It’s also a completely standard, formulaic effort that sounds exactly like every Iron Maiden record after their final burst of creativity, “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.”
What if… the new Iron Maiden record had been a double album, with the first disc being an absolutely perfect distillation of every previous record, and the second one being ten jazz standards, all performed to the highest standard of musicianship? Would anybody buy it, or would they still line up for the latest MP3s from the Silversun Pickups? That’s the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee in a nutshell. It’s staggeringly competent off-road, but it’s also an absurdly composed, quiet, and comfortable freeway cruiser. Are you interested, or would you rather have a GMC Acadia?
A year ago, Chrysler used one word to qualify nearly every sales figure it gave in its June 2009 sales report: Retail. Today, Chrysler blithely reports that overall sales were up 35 percent, but fails to use the “R” word even once in its June 2010 release, suggesting that it benefited from heavy fleet sales in the face of an otherwise soggy market. How else do you sell 3,978 Sebrings and 6,400 Avengers in a month? The fact that Dodge saw a 67 percent increase, although that was largely in comparison to the utterly wretched June the brand endured last year. In fact, compared to its relatively strong May performance of 104,819 units, Chrysler shed about 10k sales, falling to 92,482 total sales. That’s under the 95k monthly “survival” rate cited by CEO Sergio Marchionne. All this while Chrysler spends an estimated $1.4b on advertising this year. This, to paraphrase another automotive blogger, is beyond the valley of the not so good.
Better late than never: Fiat is betting big on their comeback in China. All eyes on their Changsha-based (read middle of nowhere) joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co (GAC). They are about to be open for business. Gasgoo says there will be three Fiat models, the first a newly designed mid-class sedan, codenamed C-Medium (any guesses?) If local media has it right, two Jeep-brand SUVs will also be produced in the new joint venture. Their codenames are SUV-3 and SUV-4 (any guesses?) (Read More…)
Chrysler Group didn’t shy away from the political overtones with its first ad for its first new product since bankruptcy. In fact, this spot, titled “Manifesto” is more political porn than anything else. Instead of selling America on the simple fantasy of outdoor escape, Jeep is selling the biggest fantasy of all: a real revival in American manufacturing. “Fear not, brave citizens,” it seems to be saying, “globalization isn’t actually wreaking havoc on your manufacturing base. The statistics are lies. Now buy this SUV.”
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