Jeep to Revive Grand Wagoneer Nameplate with New 7-Seat SUV, Marchionne Says Commander was "Unfit for Human Consumption"

In talking with reporters on Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chrysler and Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed plans to bring the Jeep Grand Wagoneer nameplate back to life with an all-new seven seat SUV model, based on the underpinnings of the recently launched Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango.

“It's time we gave the market an upper-scale Grand Wagoneer,” said Marchionne. “You'll see it in January 2013.”

As expected, reporters asked Marchionne how the Grand Wagoneer would differ from the seven-seat Jeep Commander, which Chrysler killed last year. The CEO's answer was piercingly honest: “That car was unfit for human consumption. We sold some. But I don't know why people bought them.”

Marchionne also said that the group plans to kill one of the group's two traditional minivans (either the Dodge Grand Caravan or Chrysler Town & Country) for the next generation. It is believed that the Dodge model has more chances to remain in production. The firm's CEO added the brand that loses the minivan will most likely get some kind of "people mover", possibly without sliding rear doors.

The Chrysler Group is also close to making a decision on a successor for the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty SUVs. “It's the most significant hole in our product portfolio,” said Marchionne, adding that the Nitro needs to be replaced but not necessarily by a Dodge-branded model as Chrysler could also be up to the task. “Give us about 40 days” to make a decision, he said.

Last but not least for the Chrysler brand's fans, Marchionne re-confirmed the group's commitment to the V8 engine. “We need to continue to invest in the Hemi," he said.

Analyst Forecasts New Chrysler and Fiat Models Until 2012 Including Jeep based Alfa GTX SUV

Research firm IHS Global Insight (GI) has released a new analysis forecasting a variety of Chrysler and Fiat Group models to be built in North America between 2011 and 2012. Before we say anything else, we'd advise to pay attention to the words 'analysis' and 'forecast'. That said, don't take everything you read as a fact. The report begins with the Alfa Romeo 169, a BMW 5-Series rival that is said to be built at Chrysler's Ontario factory in Canada with the first models rolling off the assembly line as early as November 2011.

The analyst predicts that the 169 will be based on Chrysler's LX platform which underpins the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger models. While it makes sense for the Italians to use the LX platform, unless Fiat is planning to simply re-skin / re-mask the next-generation Chrysler 300 into an Alfa, in which case, we're talking about a mistake from Fiat's behalf, saying that that the Alfa Romeo 169 will be ready to enter production in about two years time, is quite optimistic. Plus, as you can see in one of Fiat's previous product plans, Alfa was supposedly scheduling to introduce a self-developed 169 in 2009 - what happened to that?

Talking about the LX platform, the forecaster said that due to the bankruptcy of Chrysler LLC and the plant closures, the start of production of the new 2011 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 have been delayed to November 2010 and January 2011 respectively.

Continuing with the North American-built Fiat models, Global Insight said that the highly successful in Europe, 500 mini, will be made in Toluca, Mexico with U.S. sales starting in July 2011.

The MINI-rivaling 500 will be the only Fiat-badged model to be sold in the States. Since the 500 is based on Fiat's 169 platform, the Toluca plant will also produce the Jeep Panda 4x4, again from July 2011. We're guessing that the Jeep variant will most likely be a remasked version of the European market Panda 4x4.

Next up we have an array of models based on the Fiat Group's C-EVO platform that underpins C-segment cars like the Lancia Delta and Fiat Bravo. The report says that the C-EVO will be used on the next-generation Dodge Journey crossover, Dodge Caliber crossover and Chrysler Sebring sedan. Production is slated to begin for the Journey and Caliber in July 2012 at the Belvidere Assembly Plant, and for the Sebring, in June 2011 at the Toluca assembly plant.

In addition to the above models, the C-EVO platform is also reported to form the base for an Alfa Romeo compact SUV (no date) and weirdly enough, for the successor of the Jeep Liberty (July 2012) with both SUVs said to be produced at the Toledo plant in Ohio.

But the report gets even better as it is predicted that Fiat will produce a larger Alfa Romeo SUV model called the GTX at Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant beginning in July 2011. The GTX is said to be based on Jeep's WL platform that underpins the 2011 Grand Cherokee. However, bear in mind that the Grand Cherokee's WL platform is derived from Mercedes-Benz (it was developed during Daimler's reign over the company) so we're not entirely sure if Fiat has the rights to use the platform for one of its own models.

The paper ends with two subcompact hatches, the Dodge Hornet and Alfa Romeo MiTo that will share the same hardware- aka Fiat's 199 B-segment platform. Both cars are reported to be built for the American market at Chrysler's Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois with production slated to begin in March 2011 for the Hornet and July 2011 for the MiTo.

Call us skeptics, but if you want our opinion, we find the forecast extremely optimistic in the sense that Fiat will not only have to develop, design, engineer and test a whole bunch of new cars but also revamp Chrysler's North American factories to build the vehicles and all this in just two years from now.

New Jeep 3.0-liter V6 Turbo

Given that over forty per cent of all cars sold in Europe are diesel-powered, any brand that wants to be successful in the market must have diesel options in its range. Following the presentation of its new 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel on the Chrysler 300's European clone, the Lancia Thema the Fiat Group is now introducing the oil-burner to Jeep Grand Cherokee the range for Europe and other diesel markets around the world.

The new V6 diesel engine is built by VM Motori and has been developed together with Fiat Powertrain, which is a subsidiary of the Fiat Group. The 3.0-liter unit features Fiat's MultiJet II system which enables up to eight injections per cycle, with the possibility of managing the two main injections in a single modular profile (IRS – Injection Rate Shaping). It is also fitted with a single Garrett VGT 2056 turbocharger with variable turbine geometry.

In the Grand Cherokee, the 3.0-liter V6 diesel is offered in two guises, the most powerful of which produces 241HP at 4,000 rpm and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) of peak torque at 1,800-2,800 rpm, with the company claiming a 10 percent gain in power and eight percent more torque than the engine it replaces.

Despite the improved performance, Jeep said fuel economy for the 241HP version returns 8.3 lt/100km (equal to 28.4 mpg US) on the combined European cycle, an improvement of 17 percent over the prior diesel engine. CO2 emissions (are also reduced by 17 percent, now at 218 g/km.

Jeep will also offer a lower-output version of the 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel rated at 190HP at 4,000 rpm and 440 Nm (324 lb-ft) of peak torque available from 1,600 to 2,800 rpm. The low-output version of the turbo diesel engine will be standard on Laredo models and optional on the Limited

The new 3.0-liter turbo diesel variants of the Grand Cherokee will receive their world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show next week and be available in Europe by the end of the first half of 2011.

Vilner Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT600: "Bulgarian Job, but a Nice One"

That's the title that came with the press release on Vilner's Jeep Grand Cherokee tune that arrived in our mailbox, and we just had to use it. After all, it's always refreshing to see people in the auto industry with a sense of humor. Now, onto the little bit of info on this 600-horsepower Jeep.

Vilner, a Bulgarian tuner, has crafted this über-luxurious interior for the SRT600 Grand Cherokee. The Bulgarian tuner says the car has a "Vortech" turbo system (likely a Hennessey unit, as it's an SRT600) and, as you can see for yourself, a sea of grey leather and Alcantara highlighted by carbon fiber trim.

Other than that, there isn't much to say. Enjoy the pics below and don't forget to take a look at the press release which includes some hit catch phrases such as "your chances to sit in this car are close to zero" and "it smells like a LOT (and) expensive leather".

By Phil Alex

Link: Vilner

VILNER PRESS RELEASE:

Bulgarian job but a nice one (believe it or not!)

The most powerful Grand Cherokee, which you can spot in Bulgaria was finished in … Bulgaria. Surprised, ah? And if the turbo was made by the Californians from Vorteh, perfectly installed by the tuners of Overdive, the interior of this flying off-road coach is a pure Bulgarian job. And it smells like a LOT (and) expensive leather.

Since your chances to sit in this car are close to zero, we will tell you what you can find in there and what you cannot. Then you can brag about as if someone gave you a ride with the strongest Grand Cherokee in Bulgaria.

The interior is in different nuances of the grey, plus a pinch or two of carbon to taste, as the most rounded TV cook would say. Bulgarian studio Vilner turned the whole jeep inside out in order to redress its interior only in a stylish combination of leather and alcantara. Since everyone talk about the latter but no one knows that exactly it is (and why the hell one small saloon of alcantara burdens the invoice for your brand new car with at least several thousand EUR), we will explain it out loud. Alcantara is not deerskin but only pure artificial high-tech microfiber. So high-tech that it is offered for the same price as leather, however it is easily cleaned, highly durable, looks like expensive velveteen and it is perfect for the ceiling, front panel, seats, steering-wheel or for the door panels.

Back to the interior of the red Grand Cherokee – it has carbon on the gears, hand brake, and steering-wheel. Actually, they are dressed in carbon leather, which perfectly imitates the outrageously expensive real carbon. If you are such a nut, Vilner could do this for you too. Their goal in the case with the brutal Grand Cherokee, however, was to create the feeling of something much more special than the original plastic-fantastic interior of each modern Jeep.

The whole grey composition in the project is surmounted with red seams, which discreetly remind of the magnificent red paintjob of the vehicle. Each of the seats, as well as the ceiling, are with designer prints with woven inscription "600 SRT". The number shows the number of horses under the front hood and the second one, in the language of Grand Cherokee, means V8 engine from the Street and Racing Technology series of Chrysler.

VILNER EOOD was incorporated in 1996, and since 2010 the Vilner brandname has already been patented. The company relies on high quality and professionalism, aiming at being different from the others and it has raised its standards alone in order to be competitive. The services that it provides are design of interior furnishing of vehicles and buildings, additional noise-isolation of the coupe, diode lighting, designer solutions with carbon, piano varnish and aluminum, sound-screening and multimedia for vehicles, upholstering children carseats with leather, individual design of Vertu telephones, etc. The company policy is to prepare in advance the project's design, so that the client could see how it would look like and to start work only after it gets the client's approval.

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First Interior Photos of 2011 Dodge Durango SUV

About a month ago, Dodge released pictures and initial details on its all-new 2011 Durango SUV model. Now that we have had some time to digest the crossover's exterior, the automaker has dropped the first photos of the 7-seater model's interior.

Being that the new Durango is heavily based on the 2011 Grand Cherokee, it comes to no surprise that -for the most part- the cockpit design is almost identical to that of Jeep's flagship model.

There are changes to the color schemes and trim, new steering wheel hub and instrument panel gauge designs, while certain switchgear such as the rotatable knob for the headlamps are unique to the Durango.

However, the most important difference is that unlike the Jeep's five-passenger arrangement, the Durango offers room for seven people in three rows of seats

Dodge says that it has used high quality materials that are refined and soft to the touch throughout the interior.

The new Durango will go on sale in the United States before the end of the year with customers having the option between the Chrysler Group's new 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and 5.7-liter HEMI engine a Multi-displacement system (MDS) four-cylinder mode.

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