Chrysler expanding Detroit plant for car-based Grand Cherokee
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 North Assembly Plant in Detroit will be getting a $1.8 billion renovation that should employ 400 new workers -- a boon for the weary Detroit-area economy.
While purists may not like the idea of a car-based Grand Cherokee, we can't imagine that Chrysler would make the mistake of alienating its vast army of die-hard Jeep fans by making its flagship product too road-biased. Remember too that the Grand Cherokee name has always been affixed to a model that's a bit less rough-and-tumble than other more hardcore Jeep models like the Wrangler. Expect to see the next-gen Grand Cherokee sometime in 2010. Thanks for the tip, Roger!
[Sources: Dow Jones Newswire, Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jjpg2000 3:06PM (8/13/2008)
What platform could they use for this project? LX?
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jjpg2000 3:08PM (8/13/2008)
Okay, that makes more sense, TJ said below that "It's an all-new platform."
TJ 3:07PM (8/13/2008)
THE WORDS CAR-BASED WERE NEVER ONCE UTTERED. Unibody, yes. Car-based, no.
stolen from 'bethlumboy' at Allpar:
Direct quotes from Tom LaSorda:
Regarding Jefferson North:
"...a 1.8 billion dollar investment, a new line of SUV products, more fuel efficient products..."
"We're building a couple of products... you can imagine it builds the Grand Cherokee today, so that's a big guess as to what it might be in the future, along with some others."
"We're expanding the body shop, a new body shop, a flexible body shop system going in..."
"It's major. A lot of major tooling, a lot of supplier tooling going into this..."
"We're looking at this product, and maybe a few others to bring in there. It just fits our mold of what we want to do, and it's the last plant really that we want to put in flexible manufacturing for."
"Well it's not going to be a truck-based product . It's going to be unibody construction. It's an all-new platform."
"The new engine, Phoenix, will be going in this product."
"It should be done by the end of next year and we'll be launching some new products during the first quarter, second quarter of 2010."
Regarding international partnerships:
"We'll be announcing some stuff hopefully by the end of the year, what we're doing in certain regions..." regarding international partnerships to enter new markets such as Russia.
D-segment collaboration with Nissan:
"That's all speculation... Tell them to keep speculating... Mark Chernoby... and his team are still working on the segment..."
Sterling Heights's future:
"At this point in time they are going to continue building the three products we have at that plant."
Smaller vehicles:
"We're having to do our own portfolio switch in our small segments. You'll see some other products entering that space. We're working on those products right now. And we may even partner with others to get some of the small products in other regions of the world."
"Our own portfolio is growing big time in small cars."
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TJ 3:10PM (8/13/2008)
I get so tired of the wrong info being slathered all over the interweb.
Just as many fools believe the 300 and Charger are an old E class platform and the Pacifica is a last-gen minivan, now you have idiots proclaiming the trail worthy GC is a jacked up car.
So much for validity in reporting.
Brent 3:25PM (8/13/2008)
You got it TJ. Autoblog is getting a lot of stuff wrong lately. I wish there was an error report button so we could tell these people how they messed up. I guess we can send them a tip to the actual audio clip.
Benfolio 3:19PM (8/13/2008)
Urm, the LX platform is BASED on the last (second last?) E-class platform, and pretty much all the suspension pieces used Mercedes' stampings.
The Pacifica (I forget the platform name, R-something) is BASED off the RS minivan platfrom, and they do share some parts.
No one said the ZJ/ZG was car-based. It's always had it's own platform.
TJ 3:33PM (8/13/2008)
Benfolio:
"AutoWeek (Mark Vaughn) quoted chief engineer Burke Brown as saying that while Mercedes provided many components, "few parts are straight out the Benz bin." He cited the front suspension as having a lower roll center and wider track, for example. Another Chrysler engineer actually suggested that the LX had simply continued the LH front suspension, with minor changes."
Kind of like saying the engine in a Lancer is the same one used by the caliber is the same one used by hyundai. Its not. There was significant work done on the peices and how it was packaged, and the platform itself was definitely NOT from the e-class, just some individual components.
"pacifica...giving it a rear suspension resembling the Mercedes E-class and making many other changes, so it is on its own platform (for real, we are assured) - and, by the way, is also not a reshaped Mercedes."
"The design team leader told us (at the New York Auto Show) that, while it has a rear suspension design similar to the Mercedes E-Class, few if any parts are shared. The design team leader told us (even when pressed) that the Pacifica, as it now stands, had little in common with any other car produced by the DaimlerChrysler empire, aside from the engine"
Right. Thank-you, come again.
And yeah, read the headline: "Chrysler expanding Detroit plant for car-based Grand Cherokee"
versus: "Well it's not going to be a truck-based product . It's going to be unibody construction. It's an all-new platform."
TJ 3:36PM (8/13/2008)
Benfolio, almost forgot:
"ZJ/ZG"
repeat after me:
ZJ.....WJ....WK....
Frank 3:37PM (8/13/2008)
Benfolio,
The steering column in the 300 will swap with the old E class. That's about it. The electronics (telematics?) are the same too. Even the suspension pieces had to be reworked for the 300. And not because Chrysler didn't have their own stuff ready to go. Count Daimler-cula insisted they use the parts to save money - then they overcharged them for it. They actually delayed the car by 12-18 months because of it.
Benfolio 3:44PM (8/13/2008)
It's been awhile since I worked at Chrsyer, forgive me.
I stopped caring :D
TJ 3:47PM (8/13/2008)
I'll give you a hint... my name is not TJ, but my vehicle's name is.
Benfolio 4:23PM (8/13/2008)
Real Wranglers have round headlights, unlike that Yuppie Junk we used to have.
John 2:54PM (10/07/2008)
@ benfolio
thats funny, because that Yuppie Junk with a decent set of springs will outperform any old CJ, but you wouldn't dare say such words about the beloved CJ would you?
irrational Purists make me laugh.
geo.stewart 3:09PM (8/13/2008)
that's a bit less rough-and-tumble than other more hardcore Jeep models like the Wrangler
beg to differ. yes, the 2WD versions are road ready but the 4x4 trail rated versions have always been built to take it all off-road, allbeit in more comfort than a wrangler and with extra friends.
I will mourn unless they separate 2wd and 4x4 into 2 separate models. even then, I worry Jeep is diluting its image in the name of CAFE.
bas tards, rat bas tards
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C 3:12PM (8/13/2008)
I totally agree with the last line.
AngeloD 3:16PM (8/13/2008)
Chrysler needs to revive the Eagle nameplate for the IFS unibody models.
They stopped being Jeeps when they lost the straight front axels.
That's not to say they are bad vehicles with IFS, they certainly are class leaders in off road ability.
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71cuda 3:19PM (8/13/2008)
Maybe their plan is to have a Trail-Rated package, like in the Patriot.
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Purifoy 5:43PM (8/13/2008)
Apparently, you were unaware of it, 71cuda, but Jeep does offer a "Trail Rated" version of the Patriot.
Kumar 3:45PM (8/13/2008)
Make it a WAGON, more like the dead magnum but with less of a sloped tail. Could be a pretty sweet ride, more so than the slightly oversized Flex
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Frank 3:46PM (8/13/2008)
TJ:
"I get so tired of the wrong info being slathered all over the interweb."
Brent:
"You got it TJ. Autoblog is getting a lot of stuff wrong lately."
Ha! That's nothing. You should hang out at The Lies About Cars. They posted an entry that Dollar/Thrifty rent a car bought 85% of their cars from Chrysler because they were the cheapest fleet deals they could get. They had to be reminded by a commenter that they used so many Chrysler vehicles because they were once owned by Chrysler and spun off in 1997. And the commenter got his infomation from Wikipaedia where anyone with a brain could have looked it up.
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