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Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty to merge into one vehicle
Filed under: SUVs, Dodge, Jeep 
News out of Toledo is that Chrysler plans to drop either the Jeep Liberty or the Dodge Nitro within four years and merge the two vehicles into one. These two 'utes are built on the same exact platform, use basically the same engines and are built in the same Toledo plant. There is no good reason for both of them to exist, which makes us wonder why they ever did in the first place and why it will take three years to correct. Regardless, considering that Jeep will always be the off-road brand, it would make most sense to keep the Liberty name...
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Chrysler's Jim Press talks brand strategy at WAJ this week
Filed under: Chrysler, LLC., Dodge, Jeep 
Chrysler has unveiled a few plans for the future and, rather than using past successes to carve the path, will adapt its course according to the changing market. While speaking at the recent Western Automotive Journalists' dinner, Chrysler President Jim Press touched on the need to generate brand identity amongst Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler. While each brand currently has a core theme, Jeep - off-road, Dodge - volume and performance, Chrysler - affordable luxury, there have been many recent deviations, such as the conglomeration that is the Jeep Compass. Press hopes to put an end to that trend and focus the company's aim...
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EarthRoamer XV-JP only camper to conquer Rubicon Trail
Filed under: Jeep, Lifestyle 
Click above for high-res gallery of the EarthRoamer in action
Being that my family's in the motor home business, I know a thing or two about RVs. One thing I know is that they don't like going off road. Hell, they don't like potholes and speedbumps. Being constructed mostly of balsa wood and tinker toys, modern RVs tend to shake like an earthquake over anything but ribbon-smooth pavement. That's why the EarthRoamer XV-JP is unique. It's the only camper that's ever traversed the Rubicon Trail without flipping on its roof, and that's due mostly to the fact that it's based on the Jeep Wranger...
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Toledo Jeep workers to get four more weeks of "vacation"
Filed under: SUVs, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Jeep 
click above to view more high-res pics of the 2008 Jeep Liberty
Employees at Jeep's factory in Toledo, Ohio reported back to work this week after two months of mandatory downtime. The good news is that they still have their jobs; the bad news is that they've been told to expect another four weeks off before the end of the year. This time, however, the shutdowns will be scheduled in week-long intervals instead of covering an entire four-week period. The slowdown of SUV sales has been widely covered and the Jeep brand has not been immune, including...
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In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Jeep Compass Sport 4x2
Filed under: In the Autoblog Garage, SUVs, Jeep 
Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Jeep Compass
We weren't really sure what direction Jeep was heading when it introduced the Compass in 2007. Built on a shared platform with the Dodge Caliber, the Compass goes against what we normally think a Jeep should be - rugged, tough, capable, and... well... square. The departure from classic Jeep styling hasn't received rave reviews, and the interior has been a source of complaints, as well. Does the Compass deserve the criticism it's been receiving? We aimed to find out and secured a 2008 4x2 Sport model for the Autoblog Garage....
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Chrysler expanding Detroit plant for car-based Grand Cherokee
Filed under: SUVs, Plants/Manufacturing, Crossovers/CUVs, Jeep 
Click above for big gallery of the current Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep has a long and illustrious history with the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, and that lineage will continue on, albeit with some modifications to remain relevant to the times. Unlike many of its closest rivals that used a body-on-frame approach (we're looking at you, Explorer), the Grand Cherokee has always been based on a unibody platform. But it looks like future Grand Cherokees will be moving on to a car-based platform rather than its own dedicated one. To retool for this new vehicle program, Chrysler has announced that its Jefferson...
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2009 Jeep Patriot with new interior already on dealer lots
Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Chrysler, LLC., Jeep 
Click above to view a gallery of the Patriot's new accoutrements
All you used to need to know about the Jeep Patriot is that it looks Jeepy; drives super-solidly (even when making forays above 80 mph); and comes with a nasty interior that will shred your knuckles on that excess flash all over every piece (Ed. note: flash is what's left over from injection molding where the two halves of the mold come together). Take that painful and bloody criticism, print it out on heavy paper, and then savor the sound as you crumple it up; our bloviating has...
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Chrysler considering four-day work week at Toledo Jeep plant
Filed under: SUVs, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Dodge, Jeep, Earnings/Financials 
Jeep sales are down. They're way down, in fact, posting a 44-percent drop in their daily sales rate last month. Though the larger 'utes are really dragging down sales, even the once-untouchable Wranger has been feeling the sting of escalating fuel prices, as its blocky shape and 3.8-liter V6 engine conspire to deliver awful fuel mileage. Also selling rather slowly are the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro, which are assembled at the same plant in Northwest-Ohio. In an effort to save costs, Chrysler officials are considering reducing the work-week at the Toledo plant...
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Customers swoop into Chrysler dealers for last-minute leases
Filed under: Car Buying, Chrysler, LLC., Dodge, Jeep 
A quick look at July sales figures shows that Chrysler saw a massive 34% drop in its Daily Sales Rate vs. July 2007, but the bottom line could have looked worse. Chrysler's recent announcement that its financing arm would exit the leasing business by July 31 had lead to a rush of customers visiting local Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealerships. Some dealers sold four times as many vehicles as usual for the last couple days of the month, giving the stores some relief from an otherwise bleak July. Now dealers are worried that the increased sales...
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First images of new Compass, Patriot interiors surface
Filed under: SUVs, Crossovers/CUVs, Chrysler, LLC., Jeep 
Click above to enlarge the 2009 Jeep Compass and Patriot interior
Chrysler has taken a beating from both consumers and the media regarding the poor quality and materials inside the majority of its products, particularly the Jeep Patriot and Compass. Recognizing the problem, Chrysler made the announcement earlier this year that it would be seriously revamping both model's interiors in short order, and judging by these leaked images from the 2009 Mopar Accessory brochure, they weren't lying.
Looking at the pictures from the brochure, the model with the gray and black interior is the refreshed version,...
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