1978 Jeep Cj 5, Off Road 4x4, 496 Big Block, on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2014 Jeep Cherokee gets official in a hurry

Automakers work very, very hard to keep their new vehicles under wraps until they can present them in exactly the way they want it - typically choreographed under the bright lights of an auto show, or perhaps with photos or video in an idyllic location. Spy shooters and leaks, in other words, keep executives and public-relations types up at night.
This is likely to be one of the most polarizing designs to come out in 2014.
Take today, for instance, when the team over at Jalopnik got a big scoop - the first undisguised shots of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, a model whose name wasn't even officially confirmed yet. The clandestine images taken inside of a factory were blurry and didn't exactly show off the crossover's radical new contours in the same sort of flattering light that Jeep probably would've wished for its product reveal. So the Auburn Hills automaker has wisely reacted by spilling at least some of the beans on the new model, giving us these four photos and confirming the Liberty replacement's name, Cherokee.

Chrysler 3.0L EcoDiesel V6: Autoblog Technology of the Year finalist

Offering a diesel engine in an American pickup is anything but new - Ford, General Motors and Chrysler all offer excellent and almost impossibly powerful oil-burning engines in their various fullsize trucks. What is new and novel about the 3.0L EcoDiesel, though, is its size, and the variety of vehicles that use it. It's the smallest engine, as far as displacement is concerned, currently offered in a large truck in the US, and, for 2014 and 2015, it is available in the Ram 1500 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Though it may be small, it's got muscle. While 240 horsepower isn't particularly impressive these days, the engine's 420 pound-feet of torque more than makes up for that. The torque rating is even greater force than even the big 5.7-liter Hemi can muster. Chrysler's well-regarded eight-speed automatic transmission makes the most of all that bull-headed pulling power in both the Ram and Grand Cherokee. Chrysler claims the Ram EcoDiesel 1500 can tow as much as 9,200 pounds when properly equipped, which makes it "90-percent of the Hemi with a night and day difference in fuel economy."
Make no mistake; it's that promise of a sizable fuel economy improvement that many long-haul truckers will be most interested in. In the Ram 1500 that we tested for our Tech of the Year competition, the diesel engine costs $2,850 more than the gas-fed V8, and Ram estimates that EcoDiesel buyers will pay off their investment when compared to the Hemi engine in less than three years, which is considerably less time than the 4.5 or so years the average buyer will keep his or her fullsize pickup. The more you drive, the more you'll save, and the math proves equally as effective in the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee gets surprisingly comprehensive update, new diesel power

Traditionally, automotive journalists can be heard muttering something to the effect of "Geeze, it's about time!" whenever a vehicle's midcycle refresh is revealed. As we routinely see and drive new models many months before the public even claps eyes on them in showrooms - and then go on to tweeze apart their minutia in our daily writings - perhaps some impatience is to be expected. With so much exposure to a given vehicle, it's fair to say we tire of most cars and trucks far more quickly than the average consumer.
The alterations are handsome, if not subtle touches from the "If It Ain't Broke" school of design.
Which is why we're pleased to say "Oh, is it time for that already?" when it comes to the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The current WK2 Grand Cherokee hit the market in 2011 and climbed its way into our hearts with its rugged good looks, go-anywhere capability and surprising refinement. We're not yet tired of its appearance or performance, but even so, we're very glad to see Chrysler giving its flagship Jeep some attention, including a much-anticipated diesel powertrain option and some other economy-minded measures.