2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo on 2040-cars

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Coronavirus blues, and the 2021 Hyundai Elantra debuts | Autoblog Podcast #619

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and News Editor Joel Stocksdale. Get a behind-the-scenes look at life for Autobloggers during the coronavirus outbreak, as they talk about how it's not only affecting the automotive industry at large, but the people who cover it as well. Amidst the chaos, Hyundai unveiled the 2021 Elantra, and out editors opine about the new small sedan. They briefly discuss what cars they'd want to drive cross-country if they had a flight that had been canceled, before talking about the cars they've actually been driving, including the Mercedes-Benz GLS 580, Jeep Renegade and Lincoln Corsair. Finally, they reach into the mailbag and help a listener pick a new car. Autoblog Podcast #619 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown The coronavirus is affecting the auto industry, and those who obsessively cover it 2021 Hyundai Elantra has been revealed Poll: Your flight's canceled. What car do you drive cross-country? 2020 Chevy Corvette orders end Cars we're driving: 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS 580 2020 Jeep Renegade 2020 Lincoln Corsair Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

2015 Easter Jeep Safari concepts unveiled [w/videos]

A yearly tradition, Jeep has unveiled seven new concepts that will participate in the 49th annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, UT, in just a couple of weeks. This event is a sort of mecca for Jeep owners and enthusiasts, and like years past, FCA's off-road brand has prepared a slew of excellent new concepts that use a combination of production and prototype Jeep Performance Parts, from the folks at Mopar. These concepts are far more than just production Jeep vehicles with lift kits and off-road tires, though. What we have here are a number of fully baked, one-off SUVs that show the passion and dedication of Jeep's engineers. The Easter Jeep Safari takes place from March 28 to April 5. Here's a look at what'll be hitting the trails this year. 2015 Easter Jeep Safari Concepts: Jeep Chief View 20 Photos Jeep Chief Arguably the coolest concept of the bunch, this Wrangler-based concept is an excellent tribute to the classic, fullsize Jeep Cherokee from the 1970s. It's painted in a vintage Ocean Blue color, with a white, "French Bread" roof. There's also a custom razor grille (something made famous on the original Wagoneer), removable sides, chrome bumpers, and classic-looking, 17-inch wheels. Inside, there's surfer-inspired pink, blue, and white cloth mixed with leather trim, with more fun details like a Rosewood front passenger grab handle and tiki-look shift handle. Of course, this thing looks to be truly capable off-road, too, with a two-inch lift kit, Fox shocks, Dana 44 axles at the front and rear, and a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 underhood. 2015 Easter Jeep Safari Concepts: Jeep Staff Car View 27 Photos Jeep Staff Car This one's a proper salute to the Jeep military service vehicles of yore. It's an open-air concept based on the four-door Wrangler, with tons of heritage design cues. It looks old, but we promise, it's totally new. It's got basic steel wheels, a stretched canvas roof, bench seats, a painted steel floor, a built-in cooler that accommodates up to 85 cans, and is painted in an iconic Sandstorm color. When the going gets tough, the Staff Car can handle it with aplomb, thanks to the Jeep Performance Parts two-inch lift kit, Fox shocks, Dana 44 axles, and again, the Wrangler's 3.6-liter V6. 2015 Easter Jeep Safari Concepts: Jeep Wrangler Africa View 16 Photos Jeep Wrangler Africa Here's another take on the Wrangler Unlimited, painted in Desert Tan, but this time powered by a 2.8-liter diesel engine.

Fiat Chrysler wins top Total Quality Award for first time

The Strategic Vision Total Quality Awards are 20 years old in 2015, and Chrysler has never topped the awards before. Until now, that is. Fiat Chrysler takes the overall award on the corporate level with six segment leaders from Fiat, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram. The Fiat 500 won Small Multi-Function Car, the 500e won Small Alternative Powertrain, the Dodge Challenger tied at the top in the Specialty Coupe category alongside the very un-coupe Mini Cooper Countryman, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited took the Entry SUV category, the Dodge Durango won in Mid-Size SUV, and Ram took the overall in Best Non-Luxury Brand. The accolade means FCA has gone from one segment winner in 2010 to overall victory in five years. Cars have gotten so good, says Strategic Vision, that it is harder than ever to win. In fact, says the group, 18 years ago 85 percent of all vehicle brands had more than half a problem per vehicle. This year, no brand has more than half a problem per vehicle. The organization measures "over 155 specific aspects of the customer's experience," and scores are based on input from more than 46,000 customers. Other notables in and near the winner's circle include Volkswagen and General Motors, who tied for second place on the corporate scale, one point behind FCA. The Mini Cooper Roadster scored the highest of any model, the Corvette Stingray Convertible and Coupe scored the second- and third-highest. The Chevrolet Colorado is the first domestic Standard Pickup winner in more than ten years, and the Nissan Titan carried the Full-Size Pickup category. The press release below has all the details on how winners and losers are selected, and the full list of automakers and how they finished. "The Customer's 'Total' Experience Defines Quality, Fiat Chrysler Scores Highest in Total Quality," says Strategic Vision The 2015 Total Quality Awards® SAN DIEGO, Friday, July 17, 2015 — Unknown to many, when some consumer research firms rank a car company's quality performance they often do so by simply "counting problems." In the past, this may have been acceptable, but in today's modern and efficient manufacturing world the difference between the worst brand and best brand is LESS than half-a-problem per vehicle. Thus, any "quality ranking" based on this method is severely lacking in the complete picture of the "Total" Quality experience that customers actually use to judge their product ownership.