2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Srt8 Sport Utility 4-door 6.4l on 2040-cars

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Jeep still working to improve Cherokee's 9-speed auto

Fiat Chrysler is hoping an upcoming software update will stem the tide of consumer complaints surrounding its nine-speed automatic transmission. Owners of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee have reported a number of problems on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's SaferCar.gov website, since the new model and its troubled gearbox arrived way back in October 2013. The software update is "intended to keep the vehicle performing as intended, and to prevent durability issues from occurring in the future," an FCA spokesperson told Automotive News, and will be available to owners of both the 2014 to 2015 Jeep Cherokee and the 2015 Chrysler 200, which also uses the 9AT. While FCA will be notifying consumers of the update, owners can also request the software reflash if they happen into their dealer before then. Despite the widely documented problems with the transmission, the only complaints on NHTSA's website relate to the 2014 Cherokee – neither the 2015 Jeep nor the 200 have received any complaints. That bodes well as FCA prepares to begin deliveries of the 2015 Jeep Renegade and launch the Fiat 500X, both of which pair the 9AT with the 2.4-liter Tigershark four-cylinder. "We have had to do an inordinate amount of intervention on that transmission, surely beyond what any of us had forecast," FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne told Automotive News. "There are things that we have done – that we continue to do. Our proactive customer care intervention has actually increased in intensity on these vehicles in 2014, especially in the second half." What's fascinating about the 9AT's problems are that they haven't been the fault of manufacturer ZF, but have related to software that wasn't "mature" and had "teething problems," Marchionne has said previously, AN reports. With the lack of criticism for the 9AT in 2015 models and this pending software update, though, here's hoping that FCA has finally figured out its fuel-sipping gearbox. Related Video:

2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Alaska Cannonball | The other Trans-America Trail

In 1941, when America needed heroes, Jeep answered the call. – "Jeep Joe" Sarette, Sales Associate, Outer Banks Jeep Chouteau, Okla. – Whoever's in charge of rain hates North Carolina. At least, that's what I thought two weeks ago, during the opening stages of my 14,000-mile overland trek in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, as rain pursued me from the Oregon Inlet National Park Campground on North Carolina's Outer Banks to the western edge of the "First in Flight" state. Then the rain traveled the Trans-America Trail with me through Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. When I arrived at the Love's Truck Stop in Chouteau, Oklahoma a few hours ago, it was raining. And it still is. And you know what? Don't care. Nearly three weeks into this wet and windy Rubicon Alaska Cannonball, there's but one word to describe it: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I hustled from Southern California to Atlanta, Georgia in two days. In the ATL I stuffed my gear in the Jeep, stuffed my face with Waffle House, and squeezed in a side trip to The Jeep Collection at Omix-ADA. Any Jeeper who ends up in the Atlanta area should make time for a visit. It's not huge, but it contains original and vital specimens of Jeep DNA, meticulously and colorfully explained by tour guide Dave Logan. And Logan was kind enough to loan me his personal snatch block since I'd somehow managed to forget that item in my recovery kit. Four days later, I departed for Oregon Inlet. That was the start of my Trans-America Trail, but I need to clarify that I'm not on original Trans-America Trail. The one most people know and read about was stitched together over a decade by a motorcycle rider named Sam Correro. When I researched this trip, Correro's trail didn't cross the country. It started in Tennessee. A little more Internet digging turned up another trans-America trail put together by another motorcycle rider called GPSKevin. His route starts further south in the Outer Banks, in Buxton, and covers similar local ground to Correro's trail all the way to Port Orford. I'm taking Kevin's route, but only because when I found it, it crossed the country and Correro's didn't. I'm going to refer to Kevin's trail as the TAT for simplicity.

Infiniti looking for a new boss after Christian Meunier leaves to lead Jeep

Nissan's premium division Infiniti is expected to announce a new acting global chief for the brand, the company said, after its current head, Christian Meunier, left to lead the Jeep unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Nissan's chief quality officer Christian Vandenhende will oversee Infiniti's global operations effective immediately, until a new brand chief is named, Infiniti said in the statement on Tuesday. Meunier, 51, was named Infinit's global chief in early January after its previous boss Roland Krueger left the Hong Kong-based brand. Meunier will take over as global president for SUV-focused Jeep effective immediately, Fiat Chrysler said in a separate statement. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley had been running Jeep until he was elevated to the top job in July after the death of Sergio Marchionne. Meunier has international experience from his years with Ford, Land Rover, Nissan and Infiniti, which may prove valuable as Jeep attempts to expand overseas with a lineup of new products including the Gladiator pickup, a Wrangler plug-in hybrid, and the revived Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer nameplates. He's worked mostly in sales and marketing roles, including as senior vice president of sales, marketing and operations for Nissan North America; chairman of Nissan Canada; and his recent role heading up Infiniti. An Infiniti spokesman said Meunier's resignation was not related to Nissan's internal investigation into its former leader Carlos Ghosn.