For Wrangler owners who believe that it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that... chrome, Mopar has a delivery for you. The new chrome grille, only for the Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited, lets you front more of the shiny stuff in case you haven't been getting the kind of attention you deserve at chi-chi establishments. It's got all the Jeep fixin's, it installs in 20 minutes, and it'll only set you back $299. Even better, according to Chrysler, it will "turn heads on the trail or at a red-carpet event." You really don't have a choice not to buy this. Follow the jump to read the full press release.
The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, Compass, and Patriot are helping Chrysler defend its market share in a declining sales environment. Between these new models and incentives on Dodge and Chrysler vehicles, Chrysler has managed to stay 0.1% ahead of the market's year-on-year drop in sales. The Wrangler Unlimited is proving a noteworthy boon, helping lift Wrangler sales by 71% year-over-year. Steve Landry, Chrysler's EVP of North American sales said, "The four-door has really created a halo effect for the Jeep brand, bringing people into the Jeep showrooms and it has improved our two-door sales."
Although Chrysler-brand vehicles lead the way among the Big Three in incentives, Jeep has placed little reliance on them. The numbers mean that Chrysler's market share has actually improved a tiny bit, from 12.85% to 12.86% in the US. It's a minuscule improvement to be sure, but for a company that has been through the wringer over the past few months (years, some would say), it's still a great statement.
Remember those Jeep Wrangler pickup spy shots? Now we know the details. That vehicle was one of the variants of the new Jeep J8. The J8 is based on the Wrangler Unlimited and has been designed for military and civilian government use. It sports a reinforced frame and upgraded suspension that includes the much-discussed rear leaf springs that were pointed out in the earlier spy photos. Maximum payload is 2,952 lbs. as a result.
It'll be offered as both a four-door that looks mostly like the civilian Wrangler Unlimited and a 2-door pickup. Jeep sneakily showed off the pickup body on the very awesome SEMA-bound JT Concept earlier this year. The J8 is designed to be very flexible, and will be available in a variety of seating/cargo configurations in both left- and right-hand drive (again, this explains the RHD version captured in spy photos).
Power comes from a 158-horsepower / 295 lb-ft 2.8L 4-cylinder turbodiesel mated to a 5-speed automatic and Jeep's Command-Trac 4WD system. The powertrain affords the J8 a maximum towing capacity of 7,716 lbs. Another feature unique to the J8 is its air-intake system, which uses a hood-mounted snorkel that lets it ford bodies of water up to 30 inches deep and operate in sandstorm conditions up to five hours.
For full information on the J8, follow the jump for the official press release from Jeep. The truck made its debut today at the DSEi trade show in London, and it will be produced in Cairo, Egypt at a Chrysler LLC joint-venture facility. It will officially become available next Spring, though only for military and civilian government use. Sorry, no civilian sales will be offered.
The Jeep Wrangler has set the Guinness World Record for highest altitude attained by a four-wheeled vehicle after ferrying Matthias Jeschke and his Extrem Events adventure team up Chile's Ojos del Salado, the highest volcano on Earth. The trek from base camp to the world record height ran from March 7 to March 13, when the team's pair of Wrangler Rubicon Unlimiteds checked in at 6,646 meters, or 21,804 feet.
The Wranglers, stock save for Goodyear MT/R rubber (it stands for Maximum Traction/Reinforced), winches, and electronic altimiters, crossed a glacier and climbed up difficult terrain in inhospitable conditions (thin air, extreme cold, etc.) as part of the endeavour, earning raves from Jeschke on the blog he kept during the trip. His daily reports make for an interesting read despite his penchant for using "Jeep®" to the point of distraction (yes, the automaker was a sponsor, but come on). It's in there that we learned that both Kia and Mitsubishi have teams working on the record, too, so we'll keep an eye out for updates on those efforts as well. Today, however, the title belongs to Jeep. Press release after the jump.
The DCX crew didn't anticipate the strong reception that the Jeep Unlimited would be granted when it was released earlier this year. The four-door Wrangler's popularity has put Chrysler in the enviable position of not being able to keep supply up to meet the demand, especially when said off-roader is equipped with the FreedomTop and MyGIG entertainment system.
According to a statement from the Product Communications rep, D.W. Bodene, "We're building new Wranglers as fast as we can, but it's a vehicle whose popularity exceeded our expectations." He goes on to point out that Wrangler sales were up in February by 63 percent and by 124 percent in January.
We're not quite sure what the rest of you are seeing on Jeep lots, but the few Wrangler Unlimiteds we've spied haven't been hanging around for long and the dealers are tacking on a markup accordingly.
UPDATE: New, hi res photo added and details from press release
Click the pic for a hi res image
We're not done yet with the flood of vehicles the Chrysler Group has prepared for the SEMA show in Las Vegas next week. The next one comes from Jeep in the form of the diesel-powered Wranger Rubicon Unlimited. The Jeep/Truck engineering-design shop run by Ralph Gilles has beefed up the Wrangler Unlimited with a pair of Tru-Lok Dana 44 axles capped with 35-inch BFG tires mounted on custom 18-inch aluminum rims by Taneisya. The Warn winch up front provides a Get Out of Jail Free card for the careless rock crawler, and it's mounted on an American Expedition Vehicles front bumper. All exterior body panels are sprayed with Rolex Silver paint that turns the Wrangler Rubicon Limited into a passable Mercedes-Benz G-wagon impersonator. But what really excites us about this Jeep is the 3.0-liter CRD diesel engine that powers it. We count ourselves in the camp that's very eager for Jeep to drop an oil-burner into the Wrangler, especially since the new Wrangler's 3.8-liter V6 doesn't have the same low end grunt the previous in-line six possessed. We're hoping this SEMA concept from Jeep is a portent of things to come for the Wrangler.
Chrysler launches "Ask Dr. Z" Dream Car Sweepstakes click on above image for high resolution version
Or new Chrysler Sebring? Or Jeep Wrangler Unlimited? Chrysler has announced the kickoff of its "Ask Dr. Z" Dream Car Sweepstakes that will run between August 15 and September 4. Entering involves visiting a Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep dealership and picking up an entry code that you then plug into the "Ask Dr. Z" website. A total of nice vehicles will be given away, three of each model.
Though many pundits have already called Chrysler's "Ask Dr. Z" campaign a failure because of the automaker's disappointing sales figures for July, Chrysler is quick to point out that traffic to its websites are up and Web leads have increased by 27 percent. Its own research reveals that 83 percent of in-market consumers find DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche credible and believable. A contest involving the giveaway of three Dodge Challengers seems to us a surefire way to increase the site's web traffic tenfold and drive people into dealerships, even if only to pick up an entry code.
Audi is beginning to rival DaimlerChrysler for the title of most eye-catching debuts in all of autodom. While DCX hired desperate housewife Eva Longoria to intro its Imperial Concept at the Detroit Auto Show and buried the new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited in a mound of dirt at the New York Auto Show, Audi hooked up with the German government to debut the TT alongside an oversized sculpture called The Automobile and now has introduced the new coupe in the U.K. with the help of burlesque beauty Dita Von Teese. The TT will go on sale in Britain in October with the 2.0T priced at priced at £24,625 ($45,423 US) and the 3.2 quattro at £29,285 ($54,109 US), Dita Von Teese not included.
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