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Jeep in St. Louis hacked from Pittsburgh

One of America's most popular vehicles contains a security flaw that allows hackers to remotely commandeer it from anywhere on the planet. Cyber-security researchers Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller say they've accessed critical vehicle controls on a 2014 Jeep Cherokee that allowed them to remotely control critical vehicle functions like braking, transmission function, and steering. Automakers have downplayed the possibility a car could be remotely compromised, but the significance of the findings detailed Tuesday could cause them to reevaluate the threats posed to hundreds of thousands of vehicles already on the road. A key finding – the pair needed no physical access to the Jeep to pull off the attack. Valasek and Miller accessed the controls via a security hole in the Sprint cellular connection to Chrysler's UConnect infotainment system. In the course of their research, Valasek sat in his Pittsburgh home and remotely manipulated Miller's Jeep as he drove along a highway outside St. Louis. If you know a car's IP address, they say, a hacker could control it from anywhere. "We didn't add anything, didn't touch it," Valasek told Autoblog. "A customer could drive one of these things off a lot, and they'd have no clue it had these open attack surfaces." Remotely, he disabled brakes, turned the radio volume up, engaged windshield wipers and tampered with the transmission. Further, they could conduct surveillance on the Jeep, measuring its speed and tracking its whereabouts. They conducted the experiments over multiple breaches. They made their findings public on the same day the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency in charge of vehicle safety, released its latest report on the readiness of government and automakers to fend off these sorts of cyber attacks. Later today, two US Senators are expected to introduce legislation that would help consumers better understand the potential risks of car hacking. In the early stages of their research, Valasek and Miller found a security flaw in the car's wi-fi that allowed them to remotely manipulate controls from a range of about three feet. But in recent months, they found another vulnerability in the Sprint cellular connection in the UConnect system. That was a key breakthrough. "Lo and behold, we found we could communicate with this thing using cellular, and then more research, and 'Holy cow,' we're using the Sprint network to communicate with these vehicles," Valasek said.

2019 Jeep Cherokee revealed | All-new engine, refreshing new face

When the Jeep Cherokee made a return in late 2013 as a replacement for the boxy Jeep Liberty, reactions were mixed on the crossover's styling. Sure, all the Jeep hallmarks were there — seven-slot grille, squared fenders, etc. — but something seemed different, especially with that face. Well, the course has been corrected and at this week's Detroit Auto Show, the 2019 Jeep Cherokee shows off its much more conventional and conservative styling. This is just a mid-cycle refresh, so it doesn't look all that much different than the current KL Cherokee. Jeep ditched the split lighting on the current model, pushing the driving lights and headlights back together and in a much more traditional position. Unsurprisingly, its very similar to what you'll find on the current Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Compass. In addition to the new LED headlamps, the driving lights and fog lamps get a new design. The rear end, too, gets a heavy redesign. The taillamps now have LED accents, though the overall shape is generally the same. A new tailgate now houses the license plate, making the Cherokee look less bottom heavy. Along the bottom, Overland models get chrome tow hooks while Trailhawk models get the now recognizable bright red hooks. The Trailhawk also gets a resculpted front bumper for a better approach angle on the trails. Other Trailhawk goodies include skid plates, bigger fender flares, an increased ride height and 17-inch wheels with off-road tires. There are five new wheel offerings in total, including a 19-inch design for the Overland trim. In contrast to the outside, the Cherokee's interior carries over nearly unchanged. From behind the wheel, you'd be hard pressed to spot a difference between the old and new. There are some new piano-black trim pieces around the infotainment screen and matte silver trim around the air vents and steering wheel. The center console does get a slight redesign, moving the USB port and 115-volt outlet rearward to create a bit more storage space. The biggest change is in the cargo area where three extra inches of width give the Cherokee 27 cubic feet of cargo space. Underneath the hood, you'll find one of three powertrains, including a new 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four. That engine joins the 271 horsepower 3.2-liter Pentastar V6 and the 180 horsepower 2.4-liter Tigershark inline-four. All three engines are paired with a refreshed nine-speed automatic sending power to either the front or all-four wheels.

SUV lifts you up where you belong and leapfrogs traffic jams

So, you're at a dead stop, stuck in traffic, when it pulls up behind you. It appears to be a garden-variety Jeep Grand Cherokee. That is, until its undercarriage lifts the Jeep 9 feet into the air, and the whole rig straddles you and the cars ahead of you in a bid for open road. The car is called the Hum Rider, and no, you can't buy one at the Jeep store. It's a one-off publicity stunt intended to promote Verizon Telematic's Hum platform, which plugs into a car's OBD port and for $10 a month provides vehicle diagnostics, roadside assistance, location tracking, and speed and geo-fencing alerts. (Not sure if Hum tracks vertical leaps.) Verizon enlisted viral marketing agency Thinkmodo to promote the Hum, and this idea was head and shoulders above the rest. "We saw this one [and said], 'Wow, that is crazy,' said Jay Jaffin, Verizon's VP of marketing. "We loved the idea." Thinkmodo co-founder James Percelay told Mashable that they wanted to represent the upgrade Hum brings to cars. So the car goes up. Get it? Here's the star of this story: Hum Rider's designer, Scott Beverly, has done visual effects for Hollywood in The Dark Knight, Inception and Interstellar. He works for A2Zf, a Lancaster, Calif., design and engineering firm that keeps the world filled with Batmobiles, Red Bull Can Cars and beautifully designed VWs and Audis. A2Zf has also worked with NASA on X-planes and with Northrup on the B2 bomber, so compared to those projects, a car-straddling car is hardly a stretch. So what does it take to make a car do this? How about: Over 300 feet of hydraulic lines that operate everything - the lift mechanism, steering, braking and power to the drivetrain. A gas-powered Honda generator under the hood that powers hydraulic pumps pushing out 900 pounds of pressure. A lot of mechanical structure. Hum Rider weighs 8,500 pounds, almost double a standard Grand Cherokee. Heavy-duty truck tires to support all that weight. Four undercarriage cameras that allow the driver to see and clear what's beneath him. What did it cost? They're not saying. What would it be worth, the next time you're stuck in traffic? Priceless.