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Project Trail Force Jeep Wrangler goes to SEMA, then to a lucky winner

Extreme Terrain is an aftermarket parts company focused on the Jeep Wrangler. Partly just because it's a really cool thing to do, and probably having something to do with Jeep's upcoming 75th anniversary, Extreme Terrain found some dance partners to help work up a special 2015 Wrangler Rubicon that it will show off at the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Butler, PA, then at SEMA in November, where it will be given away. Extreme worked with Barricade Off-Road and Kevin Tetz from the Spike show Trucks! to build the Wrangler it calls Project Trail Force. There is more than $24,000 worth of aftermarket gear on it, starting with the Ripp centrifugal supercharger that pumps an additional 140 horsepower into the 3.6-liter V6. It's got a 3.5-inch lift kit from Rock Krawler, Dana 44 axles strung between 37-inch BFG tires, Barricade bumpers, a 9,500-pound winch, fender flares, rock sliders, a 50-inch LED light bar above the windshield, LED spotlights on the A-pillars, and seven-inch KC Hilites headlights. Rugged Ridge worked over the inside with upgrades like all-terrain floor and cargo liners, plus seat covers, and a new navigation system with a back-up camera. If you want to win it, you can enter the contest at Extreme Terrain once every week until Oct. 23. The winner gets flown to SEMA to have Kevin Tetz hand the keys over. If you just want to see it, you can head to PA for that heritage festival. The Project Trail Force will also lead a Jeep parade that could set a Guinness World Record. The press release below has a lot more info on the build. Good luck. EXTREMETERRAIN AND BARRICADE OFF-ROAD TO UNVEIL THEIR FULLY-BUILT 2015 JEEP WRANGLER AT BANTAM JEEP FESTIVAL ExtremeTerrain.com and Barricade Off-Road teamed up to build a $73,000+ 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon to be given away to a lucky winner at the 2015 SEMA Show • Giveaway Link: http://www.extremeterrain.com/jeep-wrangler-project-trailforce-giveaway.html • Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsO6fxVq6kI MALVERN, Pa. (June 12, 2015) – ExtremeTerrain, a leader in providing aftermarket Jeep Wrangler parts, along with rugged, enthusiast-driven Jeep Wrangler aftermarket armor and accessories manufacturer Barricade Off-Road, today unveiled a fully-built 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon dubbed Project Trail Force at the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Butler, PA.

Chrysler recalling 630k Jeep models worldwide

Despite its refusal to recall 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty models this week over a gas tank fire risk, Chrysler will be recalling 630,000 Jeep Compass (pictured), Patriot and Wrangler vehicles around the globe for a pair of entirely different reasons.
The affected Compass and Patriot models are all from the 2010 to 2012 model years - 254,000 in the United States, 45,400 in Canada and 109,000 elsewhere in the world. In these models, a software error may result in the late deployment of the side airbags and seatbelt tensioners. In the event of a crash, failure of these systems could result in more serious injuries for the vehicle's occupants.
Jeep's go-anywhere Wrangler also faces a separate recall due to power steering fluid lines that can possibly wear a hole in the transmission oil cooler line. According to Chrysler, the vehicles could then leak fluid, possibly damaging the transmissions. Roughly 221,100 Wrangler models are being recalled because of this issue, all of which are fitted with Jeep's 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine. In the US, 181,000 vehicles are affected, with an additional 18,400 in Canada and 21,700 additional units worldwide. A Chrysler spokesperson said that no crashes or injuries have been reported with either case, according to the Associated Press.

Chrysler expecting up to 200,000 9-speed transmissions for 3 models this year

Striving for improved fuel economy, we already knew that Chrysler will begin using a nine-speed automatic transmission in some of its new products this year, but what we haven't known is that volume at which this gearbox will be used. According to Bloomberg, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has been quoted as saying that the automaker expects to sell close to 200,000 units equipped with this new transmission in 2013. Those gear-rich trannies will be spread out across three models, consisting of the redesigned Chrysler 200, the still-unnamed Jeep Liberty replacement and the Dodge Dart.
This transmission should play a pivotal role in making Chrysler vehicles more competitive in their respective segments. Just for comparison, one of the Dart's key competitors, the Toyota Corolla, still uses a four-speed automatic, and a previous report indicates that the next-generation 200 could get up to 38 miles per gallon on the highway, which is better than most non-hybrid midsize sedans on the market. Marchionne says that the new Jeep model is expected during the second quarter of this year, but there is no word as to when the new 200 or nine-speed Dart will debut, but clearly Dodge would like to have the transmission in its compact yesterday. As for that volume figure, it definitely doesn't seem out of reach since the Dart, Liberty and 200 combined for a total of more than 225,000 units in 2012.
How many more gears can we expect in future cars? Probably not many more, since the CEO of transmission-builder ZF, Stefan Sommer, previously stated that nine speeds was the "natural limit" for transmissions.