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Car dealership in East Texas destroyed by tornado

Few things are as fundamentally and unconditionally destructive as a tornado. These cataclysmic phenomena pass through towns, leaving nothing in their wake but ruin and despair. According to an NBC affiliate in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, a car dealership in nearby Canton was hit by a tornado Saturday night. No employees were hurt. Four other people in the area weren't so lucky. Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Canton's new showroom and service center were pounded by the storm, leaving dozens of cars in various states of ruin. Some merely lost windows, while others were flipped and left on their sides or roofs. Photos show piles of cars stacked up like Hot Wheels dumped on the ground. According to a statement from the National Weather Service, winds reached speeds of up to 140 mph. Two other tornadoes were reported in the region. The area has been declared a disaster zone and first responders from up to 100 miles away have swarmed in to help out those in need. According to Reuters, the storms Saturday killed 11 people nationwide. Related Video: News Source: NBC DFW, National Weather Service, Reuters via Automotive NewsImage Credit: Reuters Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM tornado

2014 Jeep Cherokee: Long-term wrap-up [w/video]

Sorry, Sweet Brown. Your place in Autoblog history as the most highly demanded long-term car has come to an end. We just finished a one-year test of a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, and after 27,000 miles of hard use, one thing is very clear: this is one of the best all-rounders we've ever tested. The Jeep Cherokee isn't perfect, and our long-term tester proved that. But no compact crossover is. Still, the Trailhawk oozed personality where other small CUVs seem bland, and the Jeep felt more like a trusty companion than just another test car. For road trips, the requests weren't, "Can I have a long-term car this weekend?" They were specific: "I'd like the Cherokee, please." No matter the season, the driver, or the situation, the Jeep was always a sure fit. Fiat Chrysler bet big with this one. It had a global platform, a new engine, and one heck of a funny face. The end result was a CUV that we'd gladly welcome back into our fleet any day. View 51 Photos Our car carried a sticker price of $38,059, but that's without goodies like HID headlamps, a sunroof, or even full leather seats. Lots To Like Admittedly, we picked the Trailhawk trim for cosmetic reasons (more on it's off-road capability in a second). To this day, many of us still think the Cherokee is a homely little thing, but its inherent weirdness doesn't stand out as much when you add the black accents and big, knobby tires of the Trailhawk model. The butched-up look really works here, and we wouldn't have wanted the Jeep any other way. Of course, opting for Trailhawk package meant getting one of Jeep's more expensive Cherokees. Our car carried a sticker price of $38,059, but that's without goodies like HID headlamps (which we could have used – the halogens were pretty weak), a sunroof, or even full leather seats. This car genuinely felt premium, though. Right off the bat, the Cherokee received compliments for its comfortable, supportive seats, not to mention the high quality of interior materials and the general fit and finish. Specifically, the interior packaging won us over early on. We appreciated things like the higher-end stereo, smart layout of the center console, and ample storage, including a bin under the front passenger seat cushion. (That said, we also found that this bin becomes a catch-all for wrappers, french fries, and anything else that might get dropped on the seat.) The Uconnect infotainment system was a joy to use, never giving us any finicky problems or usability issues.

Jeep’s latest special edition tries to give the all-American Wrangler European appeal

Jeep has a long history in Europe, starting with GIs bouncing across the continent kicking Nazi ass and much later being a conspicuously American status symbol. It's been a varied existence, to be sure. And there have been a lot of Euro-only editions aimed at Continental tastes, like the Wrangler Polar and the Black Edition II. So this Mopar One Package version of the Wrangler Rubicon, which Jeep showed off at the Geneva show but was just showcased at the "Euro Festival" in Saint-Tropez, wasn't born in a vacuum. It really underlines the continuing appeal in Europe for stereotypically American things. "Euro Festival", after all, is a Harley-Davidson gathering. Harleys are expensive, conspicuous status symbols in Europe – and so is a Wrangler. The Mopar One Package is only available on the Rubicon, and is a little unusual in that it's more function-oriented than the normally cosmetic Euro packages. It has a 2-inch lift kit, larger 32-inch tires, a steering stabilizer, and accessory fenders. Jeep says this is the first time it's been able to offer factory-installed accessories in Europe, so now our friends over there can enjoy the highly addictive experience of ticking off boxes to customize a Wrangler. One thing the Euro Rubicon gets that we can't, which might make American Jeepers a little jealous, is the 2.8-liter CRD diesel engine. That's a VM Motori unit, similar to what was available over here in the Jeep Liberty for a hot minute. Euro Jeeps have used variants of this engine for years. If you want an off-road diesel comparable to the Euro Rubicon, you either have to move to the Euro Zone or buy a new Chevy Colorado ZR2 – which we just drove, by the way. No word on how much the Mopar One Package will set buyers back. It's likely that this is also just a beachhead for more factory customs from Mopar, not just in the Jeep world. It'll be interesting to see how Europe responds. Related Video: Aftermarket Jeep SUV Off-Road Vehicles