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Jeep pickup confirmed, will be built in Toledo

Finally. In 2011 Jeep CEO Mike Manley said, "It is too late in Wrangler's product cycle to add a pickup. The 2015 or 2016 time frame makes more sense," when the next-generation Wrangler is due. A year later, Manley told an Australian outlet that a decision on a Jeep with a bed would come "pretty soon." Now, The Detroit News reports that the decision has been made, and it's a "Yes."A Wrangler-based truck is expected to arrive in 2017, sometime after the launch of the next Wrangler. And it'll be built in Toledo next to its sibling. Those desperate for a carry-all Wrangler have been able to buy Mopar's JK8 conversion kit for the past four years. Frankly, even though the Jeep Gladiator concept (pictured) is now 11 years old and the JT concept is nine years old, we think either one of them could roll off the line in a year and be welcomed with hosannas. This year's New York Auto Show will also be the site of the reveal of the compact SUV that will slot in between the Renegade and the Cherokee, built on the Renegade/Fiat 500X platform and replacing both the Compass and Patriot. Derided by many, in the US the two aging CUVs still sell terrifically well - they both hit records here last year. One of them will live on in name, the new SUV to be called either Compass or Patriot; the former name is bigger in international markets, the latter name gets more recognition here. That show is when we'll also get Fiat Chrysler's updated five-year plan that will take us through the presumed end of CEO Sergio Marchionne's tenure at FCA. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2005 Jeep Gladiator Concept News Source: The Detroit News Jeep Truck Off-Road Vehicles jeep compass jeep patriot jeep wrangler pickup

Retro Review covers that Jeep Wrangler TJ you wanted in high school

The Jeep Wrangler TJ holds a dear place in my heart. When they were introduced, the return to circular headlights helped pull my dad into the dealer, and he bought one. A few years later, I learned how to drive a stick in that Jeep. Now, MotorWeek has fired up the time machine for a look at the '97 Wrangler as part of the Retro Review series. One of the great things about these videos is that they offer a chance to see if nostalgia lives up to reality. In this situation, that seems to be the mostly case. Even when new, MotorWeek finds a lot to praise about the TJ, especially in terms of handling and style. It's not all perfect, though, with a major complaint about the braking. Watch the clip to see if the show's take on the Wrangler lives up to your memories of them, too.

What's really going on with the 2014 Jeep Cherokee's transmission issues?

On September 23, Automotive News reported that Chrysler had idled the second shift workers it hired just five weeks prior at its Toledo Assembly Complex to build the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. At the time, Chrysler said it had "built the critical number of vehicles we need to stock dealerships once containment is released" and did not want "to put additional strain on our logistics partners ... upon release." That reasoning was not only unusual, it didn't seem to make sense.
It appears the center of the nine-speed issue is software, not hardware.
That same day, the Detroit News ran a piece claiming workers at the Toledo factory said the halt was due to issues with the Cherokee's transmission. It put the number of already-built Cherokees needing fixes at 1,000 and said that some of the workers not laid off had been instructed "to take the Jeep on long test-drives." That made more sense. Three days later, on September 26, Automotive News reported that the 500 workers laid off had been reinstated, with engineers "speeding repairs on the SUV's powertrain software." The AN piece didn't put a number on how many units are being fixed, but it did say that 12,000 have been built and are awaiting delivery to dealers. The best it could say about when dealers will get them, however, is that "progress on a fix is being made. It's unclear when shipments to dealers will start."