Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Liberty GT tuned by STI

Subaru's Australian outpost is set to deliver a localized special edition Liberty GT (Liberty = Legacy) that's been upgraded with a laundry list of components from the STI catalog. The Liberty GT tuned by STI makes 260 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque and will be made available with either a 6-speed stick or a 5-speed sportshift automatic. Brembos, Bilstein shocks, STI springs, a new muffler, lightweight Enkeis, and leather-and-Alcantara sport seats are but a few the features included in the 250-car limited edition, which is now on sale in Australia. Hey Subaru of America, where's the love like this for U.S. customers?


[Source: Subaru Australia]

UPDATE: Back by popular demand, direct download of the podcast has been added as a link below.

The biggest news of the past week: the suckfest that was the Knight Rider movie. Alex liveblogged it so that we didn't have to watch. Sure it was crap, but was it really that bad? The original was a clunker, too, remember. There's car stuff going on, too, and we move on to covering what's in our respective Autoblog Garages. Keep an eye out for some new reviews, and John has a podcast-exclusive announcement, too.

We spin off into a small car smackdown, postulate on who should buy Jaguar if Tata flips them, and boomerang back to our MINI vs. Aveo sales number deathmatch. In this week's installment of "Fords We Don't Get," there's a new Austrailian Falcon that is available in full-on sinister. It's badass in FPV trim, not available here, and Alan Mullaly wants one, too. One Ford we are getting is the Fiesta (Verve) and that's something to actually be excited about. That's about it, thanks to Adam Curry for the plug, it's 52 minutes of fun this week.

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The island continent has a good thing going when it comes to the cars its citizens can buy. They get their own, highly-desirable, locally-produced products, as well as some of the great imported machinery we regularly pine for, such as the new Ford Mondeo and sport versions of the Euro Focus and Fiesta. It extends to the Japanese automakers, too, as evidenced by Subaru Australia's announcement that a limited run of 300 Liberty GT Tuned by STi cars will be offered. (The Liberty is the Australian Legacy.) In terms of visual and performance enhancements, the STi-enhanced Liberty is very similar to its JDM cousin.

The cars start as Liberty GT spec.B sedans or wagons, and they get a full workover from there. Engine output is 260 horsepower at 6,000 rpm with 256 lb-ft of torque starting at 2,800 rpm. Manually-equipped cars receive a short-throw shifter, while autos benefit from a reprogrammed transmission control unit for a more sporting experience. An upgraded interior, high-end stereo, STi suspension components, STi/Brembo brakes, 18" Enkeis, a sport exhaust, and updated bodywork complete the transformation. Like the Japanese Legacy Tuned by STi we showed you last summer, the Liberty Tuned by STi is a looker that's not just all for show. Also like its Japanese-market counterpart, you can't get it here. Sigh.

Press release after the jump.

[Source: Subaru Australia]

UPDATE: Video of the live reveal in the rain added after the jump

click above image to see some great views of the new Jeep Liberty

What better way to unveil a new Jeep than in crappy weather? Chrysler PR honcho Jason Vines joked to the assembled journalists that he seeded the clouds this morning to bring the rain down on our heads, and then a few minutes later got pressed into umbrella-holding duty. Karma really sucks, eh?

But enough schadenfraude - let's talk about the 2008 Liberty. Gone are the cute round headlamps, now replaced with something a bit more congruent with Jeep's other SUVs. Everything under the skin gets some refreshing, with the wheelbase stretched a couple inches and the spare tire moved up underneath the vehicle. The interior gets refreshed as well, and while hard plastic still dominates many of the surfaces, the seats are now covered in some fairly nice perforated two-tone leather.

One truly unique feature is the sliding canvas roof, which Jeep calls "Sky Slider" (our condolences to the driver who had to demonstrate open-roof technology in a downpour). As our own Dan Roth points out, it's interesting that a sliding canvas roof is being touted as some kind of innovation when VW Type 1s had sliding canvas sunroofs. Everything old is new again, eh?

You know the drill - live shots are in the gallery that can be accessed below and a compilation of New York Auto Show posts can be found here.

Click image for gallery containing one additional photo

AB reader John M. Sullivan emailed us this morning with the photos you see here. During a ski trip to Colorado, John made a stop at the Coors Brewing Company for a tour and noticed what he believed to be a pair of disguised Dodge Nitros outside. He said the drivers were pretty tight-lipped, which comes as no surprise, and since the Nitro's been out a good while now, it struck us as being odd that they'd be tooling around under cover. A closer look at the photos reveals that the camoed-up SUVs in the parking lot are none other than the forthcoming '08 Jeep Liberty, which shares its genetics with the Nitro, likely undergoing high-altitude testing.

Note the trademark Jeep grille and round-look headlamps behind the front bra. From the looks of things, the red one's a Limited, given the chrome trim on the liftgate and roof rails. The Liberty should be making its debut soon (New York, perhaps?), and we're looking forward to seeing the finished product minus all the coverup.

Thanks to John for sharing his find with us! The enclosed gallery contains high-res versions of both his photos.

Reuters is reporting that the Chrysler Group has issued a large recall for over 489,000 vehicles. The one recall is actually three recalls across a variety of models for different issues. The largest affects 328,424 Dodge Durango SUVs produced between 2004 and 2006. There is an integrated circuit in the instrument cluster of these Durangos that could overheat. The second recall affects 149,605 Jeep Liberty SUVs produced between 2006 and 2007. The blower motor on these Liberties could fail, particularly in hot weather. Finally, the third recall affects the brand new 2008 Dodge Avenger sedan. About 10,994 Avengers are being recalled for problems with their door latches. This fairly major recall follows another recall Chrysler announced in late February that involved 51,000 vehicles requiring reprogrammed software for their anti-lock brakes. Unfortunately for Tom LaSorda and crew, these recent recalls are not exactly the best foot the Chrysler Group would like to put forward for potential bidders that are considering purchasing the automaker.

If you own a 2007 Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep listen up, because you're likely affected by Chrysler's latest recall. DaimlerChrysler is bringing home more than 68,000 vehicles to reprogram balky brake computers.

The 11 affected models are 2007 versions of the Sebring, 300, Charger, Magnum, Caliber, Commander, Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Nitro and Compass. Whew.

Chrysler says computers in the recalled vehicles' could fail, leading to a loss of antilock brakes, traction control and speedomter functions. We don't remember much from our drivers' ed class, but we're pretty sure brake failure is hardly ever a good thing. Thankfully DC says nobody's been hurt yet.

Oh, and you Sebring drivers must have broken a mirror or something. While one team of crack DC mechanics gives your car a brain transplant, another team will be reteaching it to defrost your windshield. So take a book or something. That particular recall affects about 6,000 new Sebrings.

[Source: Reuters]

Leave it to Brenda Priddy and Co. to go one step further than everyone else to get the scoop. After pics of an uncamouflaged 2008 Jeep Liberty were released a couple of days ago, she tapped her sources to discover if there were anything else of note about the new model. They asked her if she remembered the ASC Cosmos HUMMER H3 concept from the last Detroit auto show, which, after further investigation, led her to lift her lens a little higher and discover a large fabric roof system on top of the Liberty. The retractable fabric roof covers nearly the entire top side of the vehicle, and if Priddy's sources are to be trusted, it is likely that ASC is heavily involved in the roof's development.

Automakers certainly seemed focused lately on offering unique and creative interpretations of the traditional sunroof, which is evident not only in the fabric roof on the Liberty, but also on production models like the Vista Roof available for the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX and the SkyView available on the Nissan Maxima, among others.

[Source: Allpar.com]

The .38 caliber lenses of KGP have shot another vehicle wide out in the open, and this time the 2008 Jeep Liberty has found itself in the photog's sights. Caught without any camoflauge, we can clearly see the next Jeep Liberty is going to take its styling cues from the Commander, with very tall, vertical headlights up front flanking that familiar six-bar grille. We can also see that the Liberty embraces the Commander's boxy shape, giving the entire vehicle a more upright posture and likely increasing interior dimensions in every measure. A longer wheelbase and longer rear overhang are particularly noticeable. Other noticeable changes include the relocation of the spare from the tailgate to under the vehicle, which allows for a rear hatch that lifts vertically instead of swinging out. All of these are benefits that come from the Liberty sharings its platform with the new Dodge Nitro, itself a larger SUV than the current Liberty.

In terms of mechanicals, Allpar.com is guessing both the four-cylinder engine and manual transmission have been dropped, leaving only the 3.7-liter V6 and four-speed automatic to carry the Liberty forward. New electronic nannies also found on the Nitro like ESP with Electronic Roll Mitigation and hill descent control will also likely be available or included on the new Liberty. Finally, the interior is expected to move upmarket with the option for a satellite nav system, rear seat DVD, factory remote start and even the Load 'n Go cargo slide out system found on the Nitro.

Though we've never been a fan of the Commander's styling, we at least respected it for being a true Jeep that can tackle the Rubicon while banging the heads of seven people on board. We have to say, after introducing the decidedly soft Patriot and Compass models, we can get behind a Liberty that returns to the brand's tough roots in terms of styling. These no nonsense, slab-sided designs coming out of Jeep may not be a hit on the runways of Rodeo Drive, but their utilitarian style speaks clearly to their intended audience of weekend adventurers.

[Source: Allpar.com]

At first glance it might look like a slightly taller Dodge Nitro, but this test vehicle actually appears to be the new 2008 Jeep Liberty. A close look at the nose shows Jeep's 7-bar grille, and the sides also bear a striking resemblance to the boxy but functional Jeep Commander. The spy shot snappers at KGP Photography speculate that it shares the same platform as the Nitro but sits a little taller with a more vertical windscreen and more utilitarian boxy roofline providing more cargo and headroom.

The sides are also noticeably different from those of the Dodge Nitro, meaning few body panels will likely be shared between the two. The rear hatch seems to have a separately functioning rear window to aid access and further differentiates itself from its Dodge sibling. Showing that Jeep is serious about a return to the basic functionality and off-road-worthiness it is known for, the Liberty appears to sacrifice a bit of style for the sake of utility, just like the Commander. This news is welcome to some who were worried about Jeep attacking its own essence by selling soft roaders like the Patriot and Compass. Follow the read link for several full-car photos.

[Source: Winding Road]