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Everything we know about the 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL

The 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL is perhaps the most highly anticipated SUV in America. The next-gen Wrangler is expected to get a host of updates that include new front and rear end designs, as well as an all-new pickup truck variant. Here's everything we know about the next version of Jeep's iconic SUV. November 7, 2016: JL Wrangler Forums released renderings of the 2018 Wrangler, and the SUV will generally stay the course. Compared with the current Wrangler, the new one will likely have slightly more aerodynamic bodywork and LED lighting, and the truck version's bed will carry traditional Wrangler design cues. The renderings also visualize what a Wrangler without a fully removable top could be like. The loss of the removable top is currently a rumor, and FCA's well-camouflaged prototypes have not given up the secrets of the roof. View 6 Photos October 18, 2016: Images of the upcoming Wrangler JL from a supposed Jeep dealer meeting surface, revealing the SUV's updated front and rear end design. The renderings point towards the next-gen Wrangler maintaining a seven-slot grille and round headlights. The SUV, though, will obtain LED light bars on the front fenders, while the taillights get a similar design to the units found on the Renegade crossover. Overall, the renderings display a smoother shape than ever before. September 16, 2016: A report from JL Wrangler Forums indicates that the next-gen Wrangler JL would utilize aluminum on the hood, as well as on the front and rear doors. The report claims the Wrangler will get its aluminum from supplier Alcoa, in the form of the company's C6A1 high form alloy, 6022 alloy sheet, and A951, which is the company's sheet bonding technology. View 30 Photos July 20, 2016: The first images of the Wrangler pickup truck hit the web. The pickup truck appears to be riding on a long-wheelbase Wrangler and flaunts a decently sized bed. From the overhead photos, we can see that the pickup truck will have a seven-slot grille, large rear taillights that mimic ones found on Ram's trucks, and be about the same size as a Chevrolet Suburban. Oh yes, the Wrangler pickup truck does exist and it's coming. July 10, 2016: A report from Automotive News claims that the Wrangler JL will continue to have its iconic, boxy shape, but changes have been made to ensure that the SUV is better off in terms of fuel economy. What Jeep has done to improve the next-gen Wrangler's fuel efficiency, though, is still a mystery.

Jeep patent filing in China show plans for 3-row Grand Commander

Back in October, we brought you spy shots of a Jeep crossover mule driving around Fiat-Chrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. They appeared to show a prototype version of the Yuntu Concept, a three-row utility vehicle unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show and designed for China. Now, new patent filings submitted to China's trademark office and originally reported by Chinese-language website AutoHome appear to back that up. They suggest that Jeep will call the model the Grand Commander, add a seventh seat (the Yuntu had six) and will debut it next April in Beijing. While the Yuntu was a plug-in hybrid, the Grand Commander will reportedly be powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine that makes 270 horsepower, which sounds like the same four-cylinder engine that powers the 2018 Wrangler. But since Jeep has confirmed a plug-in hybrid version of the Wrangler coming for 2020, it's not unreasonable to expect that configuration could come later for the Grand Commander, too, especially considering the Chinese government's push to ramp up production of electric vehicles. The patent filings also list names for other Jeep models in China, including the concept-sounding names Portal and Hyperspace. The Portal was the name Chrysler gave to a pretty nifty electric minivan concept with double sliding bay doors at this year's CES in Las Vegas.Related Video:

The Hemi deserves to die | Opinion

Hi. I'm Byron and I love V8s. I want them to stick around for a long, long time. But not all V8s are created equal, and I will not mourn the passing of the modern Hemi. You shouldn't either. While we may agree that its death is untimely, if you ask me, that's only because it came far too late.  Stellantis’ announcement of its new, turbocharged inline-six that is all but guaranteed to kill off the Hemi V8 has led to quite a few half-baked internet takes. The notion being suggested by some, that automotive media were brainwashed into believing the Hemi was in need of replacement, is so far divorced from reality that I openly guffawed at the notion. Journalists have been challenging Chrysler, FCA and now Stellantis for years to deliver better high-performance engines. The response has always been the same: “Why?” Why replace a heavy V8 with a lighter, all-aluminum one? Why repackage powertrains for smaller footprints and better handling vehicles? Why be better when “good enough” sells really, really well? I too mourn the departure of good gasoline-burning engines, but since when was the Hemi one? HereÂ’s a quiz: Name every SRT model with an all-aluminum engine. TimeÂ’s up. If you named any, you failed. They donÂ’t exist. This isnÂ’t GMÂ’s compact, lightweight small-block, nor is it a DOHC Ford Coyote that at least revs high enough to justify its larger footprint. The Hemi is an overweight marketing exercise that happened to be in the right place at the right time. That time was 2003, when Chrysler was still Chrysler — except it was Daimler-Chrysler and the "merger of equals" was doing a bang-up job of bleeding the company's cash reserves dry while doing virtually nothing to address its mounting legacy costs. "That thang got a Hemi?" was emblematic of the whimsical, nostalgia-driven marketing of the colonial half of the "marriage made in heaven." That was 20 years ago. 20 years prior to that, emissions-choked American V8s were circling the drain faster than a soapy five-carat engagement ring in a truck stop sink.