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2018 Jeep Wrangler interior revealed with retro touches and bright colors

Easily one of the weakest points of the current Jeep Wrangler (and most past ones for that matter) is the bleak, black plastic interior. Now, thanks to a pair of images from Jeep we get our first unobscured look at the new Wrangler's interior. And thanks to some retro cues, it's a much brighter and more cheerful place. As expected from spy photos, the dashboard's main design features are simple, flat body-color panels positioned in front of the driver and passenger. They harken back to the painted metal dashboards of vintage Jeeps, and at the same time bring a splash of color and contrast to what would otherwise be a plain, average interior. In fact, it's the same strategy used by both the Fiat 500 and Volkswagen Beetle. There's more metal-finish trim around the switches that advance the bright look, too. The whole dash is flatter, with things like the grab handle mounted flusher. Everything has a more geometric, crisp shape, with each bank of buttons featuring beveled borders. At the top of the dash is a big touch screen for infotainment. It's possible lower-trim levels will have head units with smaller screens and some more buttons, but at least on this model, it's all about the touchscreen. There are volume and tuning knobs lower, though. This is also where the various climate controls are found. The instrument panel gets a sharp-looking center screen, too, and the analog dials have been reduced from four large units down to two on either side of the screen. Below the climate controls are the window switches, power outlet and media inputs. At the very bottom we find switches for off-road features, indicating that this is probably a Rubicon model. A switch to the left surrounded by red accenting controls the front and rear differential locks, and in the middle is a button for disconnecting the anti-roll bars for greater articulation. On the right are four generic buttons that seem like the auxiliary toggles in the F-150 Raptor, so they should be able to connect to lights, a winch, and other aftermarket accessories. Jeep still hasn't revealed any other details on specifications or pricing. That information will be released on November 29 during the Wrangler's official reveal at the L.A. auto show. We expect it to only offer a V6 at launch with either a manual transmission (shown in the images) or an automatic, with the turbocharged four-cylinder engine coming later. Related Video:

Stellantis earnings rise along with EV sales

AMSTERDAM — Automaker Stellantis on Wednesday reported its earnings grew in 2022 from a year earlier and said its push into electric vehicles led to a jump in sales even as it faces growing competition from an industrywide shift to more climate-friendly offerings. Stellantis, formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot, said net revenue of 179.6 billion euros ($191 billion) was up 18% from 2021, citing strong pricing and its mix of vehicles. It reported net profit of 16.8 billion euros, up 26% from 2021. Stellantis plans to convert all of its European sales and half of its U.S. sales to battery-electric vehicles by 2030. It said the strategy led to a 41% increase in battery EV sales in 2022, to 288,000 vehicles, compared with the year earlier. The company has “demonstrated the effectiveness of our electrification strategy in Europe,” CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement. “We now have the technology, the products, the raw materials and the full battery ecosystem to lead that same transformative journey in North America, starting with our first fully electric Ram vehicles from 2023 and Jeep from 2024.” The automaker is competing in an increasingly crowded field for a share of the electric vehicle market. Companies are scrambling to roll out environmentally friendly models as they look to hit goals of cutting climate-changing emissions, driven by government pressure. The transformation has gotten a boost from a U.S. law that is rolling out big subsidies for clean technology like EVs but has European governments calling out the harm that they say the funding poses to homegrown industry across the Atlantic. Stellantis' Jeep brand will start selling two fully electric SUVs in North America and another one in Europe over the next two years. It says its Ram brand will roll out an electric pickup truck this year, joining a rush of EV competitors looking to claim a piece of the full-size truck market. The company plans to bring 25 battery-electric models to the U.S. by 2030. As part of that push, it has said it would build two EV battery factories in North America. A $2.5 billion joint venture with Samsung will bring one of those facilities to Indiana, which is expected to employ up to 1,400 workers. The other factory will be in Windsor, Ontario, a collaboration with South KoreaÂ’s LG Energy Solution that aims to create about 2,500 jobs. The EV push comes amid a slowdown in U.S.

Off-roader plows through a deep bog like it was nothing

The Facebook page Jeeps With Attitude runs a weekly series called Too Deep Tuesday wherein they post videos of off-roaders running their rigs through bogs and mud holes of surprising depth and coming out the other side soggy but relatively unscathed. This week's video, in which a driver extracts a buried vehicle from the muddiest bog in the land, is the perfect mix of nutso bravery and off-road know-how. The video starts with the vehicle already sunk to its hood and listing to starboard in a deep, sticky bog. Slowly but surely, the vehicle creeps forward through the mud, pushing a heavy bow wave of muck and debris in front of it. Unlike other recent videos where jeep drivers lost their rides in the water and destroyed their expensive toys, this driver keeps his cool and with a steady foot on the accelerator and the help of a winch and a convenient tree, eventually emerges triumphant. What did he do right? Well, using the vehicle's winch to help pull the rig out of the mud was the big thing. Also, he kept his cool and, once committed, never hesitated or deviated from his chosen path. Gunning it blindly or backing up in that mess would have meant almost certain death for that vehicle, a lesson that the aforementioned Jeep drivers learned the hard way. Related Video: News Source: Facebook Weird Car News Jeep Driving Off-Road Vehicles Videos