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Watch a Jeep CJ get disassembled and reassembled in minutes

Movie buffs! Remember the scene in the James Bond film 007: The Living Daylights where Timothy Dalton's character slices the floorpan off a police Lada using a laser, and when the driver hits the brakes the Lada's body simply jumps off its axles? That scene was immediately brought to mind as I watched this clip of eight Canadian mechanics disassembling a slightly modified Jeep in a matter of seconds. Having driven the Jeep to a complete stop, the technicians start unbolting it until the body lifts off the frame and the engine can be hauled away. It only took half a minute to turn the Jeep into just a chassis on wheels. As repair manuals say, refitting is the reversal of removal. Apparently the technicians have now honed their mechanical choreography to the point that the Jeep can be disassembled and reassembled in two minutes and 39 seconds; while I expect a great number of bolts having been removed beforehand and the likelihood of the Jeep falling to pieces with a sharp braking being significant, it is definitely impressive. It also reminds me of someone driving an old, dodgy car, having learned all its kinks to be able to keep it running. According to a Reddit thread, the pre-modified "Jifty Jeep" has been built (and taken apart, and rebuilt) by the School of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) for exactly this purpose. The team travels all around Canada to practice their show, trying to shave seconds off their record. There are worse hobbies.

Jeep reveals annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari concepts

Jeep has unveiled its annual spate of concepts before the Easter Jeep Safari. Those start with the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Concept (below left), complete with the company's EcoDiesel V6 engine. Designers threw in a set of 35-inch Mickey Thompson tires wrapped around 17-inch Rubicon wheels, and a set of custom fender flares help keep all that rubber under wraps.
Meanwhile, the Wrangler Mopar Recon (below right) packs a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 good for 470 horsepower. All that grunt gets to the ground via a five-speed automatic transmission and a set of a Dana 60 axles frond and rear with 4.10 gears. The Recon also makes use of a 4.5-inch prototype long-arm kit and a set of prototype eight-lug bead lock wheels.
The Wrangler Stitch (below left) builds on the momentum of the Wrangler Pork Chop Concept. Engineers once again set out to strike as much weight as possible from the vehicle, and actually managed to trim the curb weight down to 3,000 pounds. That effort has given the machine the same power to weight ratio as the Grand Cherokee SRT8. Plenty of carbon fiber, door deletes and a chrome moly roll cage all help trim those pounds, and a set of DanyTrac Pro Rock 44 axles with 4.88 gears and ARB lockers front and rear let this machine scramble over whatever is in its path.

Airbag fault on 1M recalled Jeeps getting second look from NHTSA [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Here is the statement we received from Chrysler regarding NHTSA's query: "Chrysler Group LLC advised the National Highway Traffic Administration of the six reports and, in accordance with the Company's long-standing practice, is cooperating fully with the resulting investigation. Customer safety is paramount at Chrysler Group. Customers who are concerned may call 1-800-853-1403."
It appears that Jeep's repairs for nearly one million Grand Cherokees from 2002-2004 and Liberty models from 2002-2003 might not be over yet. The vehicles were first recalled in November 2012 because the front airbags could suddenly deploy without being in an accident. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a recall query into them because of reports of inadvertent activation on some already corrected vehicles.
The original problem affected over 919,000 vehicles worldwide, including 744,822 in the US, and was caused by a degrading circuit in the wires that control the airbags. In some cases the airbag warning light would come on just before the premature activation, but in other cases it would just happen. The automaker installed an "in-line jumper harness with an integrated electrical filter" meant to eliminate the power spikes believed to be the cause.