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Feds fretting over remote hack of Jeep Cherokee

A cyber-security gap that allowed for the remote hacking of a Jeep Cherokee has federal officials concerned. An associate administrator with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that news of the breach conducted by researchers Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller had "floated around the entire federal government." "The Homeland Security folks sent out broadcasts that, 'Here's an issue that needs to be addressed,'" said Nathaniel Beuse, an associate administrator with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Valasek and Miller commandeered remote control of the Cherokee through a security flaw in the cellular connection to the car's Uconnect infotainment system. From his Pittsburgh home, Valasek manipulated critical safety inputs, such as transmission function, on Miller's Jeep as he drove along a highway near St. Louis, MO. The scope of the remote breach is believed to be the first of its kind. The prominent cyber-security researchers needed no prior access to the vehicle to perform the hack, and the scope of the remote breach is believed to be the first of its kind. A NHTSA spokesperson said the agency's cyber-security staff members are "putting their expertise to work assessing this threat and the response, and we will take action if we determine it's necessary to protect safety." A Homeland Security spokesperson referred questions about the hack to Chrysler. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has already been the subject of a federal hearing this month, in which officials scrutinized whether the company had adequately fixed recalled vehicles and repeatedly failed to notify the government about defects. But cyber-security concerns are a new and different species for the regulatory agency. Only hours before the Jeep hack was announced by Wired magazine earlier this week, NHTSA administrator Dr. Mark Rosekind said hacking vulnerabilities were a threat to privacy, safety, and the public's trust with new connected and autonomous technologies that allow vehicles to communicate. NHTSA outlined its response to the cyber-security challenges facing the industry in a report issued Tuesday. In it, the agency summarized its best practices for thwarting attacks and said it will analyze possible real-time infiltration responses. But the agency's ability to handle hackers may only go so far.

Autoblog's Editors' Picks: Our complete list of the best new vehicles

It's not easy to earn an “EditorsÂ’ Picks” at Autoblog as part of the rating and review process that every new vehicle goes through. Our editors have been at it a long time, which means weÂ’ve driven and reviewed virtually every new car you can go buy on the dealer lot. There are disagreements, of course, and all vehicles have their strengths and weaknesses, but this list features what we think are the best new vehicles chosen by Autoblog editors. We started this formal review process back in 2018, so there's quite of few of them now. So what does it mean to be an EditorsÂ’ Pick? In short, it means itÂ’s a car that we can highly recommend purchasing. There may be one, multiple, or even zero vehicles in any given segment that we give the green light to. What really matters is that itÂ’s a vehicle that weÂ’d tell a friend or family member to go buy if theyÂ’re considering it, because itÂ’s a very good car. The best way to use this list is is with the navigation links below. Click on a segment, and you'll quickly arrive at the top rated pickup truck or SUV, for example. Use the back button to return to these links and search in another segment, like sedans. If youÂ’ve been keeping up with our monthly series of the latest vehicles to earn EditorsÂ’ Pick status, youÂ’re likely going to be familiar with this list already. If not, welcome to the complete list that weÂ’ll be keeping updated as vehicles enter (and others perhaps exit) the good graces of our editorial team. We rate a new car — giving it a numerical score out of 10 — every time thereÂ’s a significant refresh or if it happens to be an all-new model. Any given vehicle may be impressive on a first drive, but we wait until itÂ’s in the hands of our editors to put it through the same type of testing as every other vehicle that rolls through our test fleet before giving it the EditorsÂ’ Pick badge. This ensures consistency and allows more voices to be heard on each individual model. And just so you donÂ’t think weÂ’ve skipped trims or variants of a model, we hand out the EditorsÂ’ Pick based on the overarching model to keep things consistent. So, when you read that the 3 Series is an EditorsÂ’ Pick, yes, that includes the 330i to the M3 and all the variants in between. If thereÂ’s a particular version of that car we vehemently disagree with, we make sure to call that out.

2019 Jeep Cherokee base model costs less, but other prices jump

Jeep just recently revealed the revised 2019 Cherokee crossover with a milder nose and tail, and even a bit more cargo space. The redesign has also brought new pricing that presents a $300 discount for the base Latitude trim, but sees increases across most of the rest of the trim lines. The destination charge also increased from $1,095 to $1,195. Four-wheel-drive is now a flat $1,500 increase for all models, whereas it varied between trims on the 2018 model. At the base of the Cherokee lineup is the Latitude, which now gets a price of $25,190, and that $300 reduction from the 2018 model carries over to the four-wheel-drive version. Latitude Plus sees a slight jump in price by $300 for the two-wheel- and four-wheel-drive models, with the two-wheel-drive one starting at $27,690. The Limited trim is up by $680 with both drivetrains, with a base price of $31,570 for one with two-wheel-drive. The biggest price increases come on the Trailhawk and Overland models. The Trailhawk soars $2,425 higher than last year's model, for a base price of $34,515. The Overland two-wheel-drive model also sees a big increase of $2,280 to a starting price of $36,275. But if you want four-wheel-drive in your Overland, the difference is a much more reasonable $535, for a base total of $38,970. View 104 Photos The 2019 Jeep Cherokee will be arriving at dealers soon. In addition to front-wheel-drive and two kinds of four-wheel-drive drivetrains, one with a single gear range and another with low range, a selection of three engines will be available. The standard engine on all Latitude, Latitude Plus, and front-wheel-drive Limited is a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter engine with 180 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque. All of those trims can have the optional 3.2-liter naturally aspirated V6 making 271 horsepower and 239 pound-feet of torque. The aforementioned Latitude Plus and Limited trims also have the new turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder available as an option. That engine makes 270 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. The four-wheel-drive Limited, and all Overland and Trailhawk trims have the V6 as a standard engine with the turbo four-cylinder as an option. All engines are coupled to a nine-speed automatic transmission. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Jeep Cherokee: Detroit 2018 View 21 Photos Image Credit: Drew Phillips, Jeep Jeep Car Buying Crossover SUV Off-Road Vehicles