2005 Jeep Liberty Diesel!!!! Rare!!! on 2040-cars

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$40M award for boy's death in Jeep fire upheld by Georgia high court

The Georgia Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously upheld a $40 million award to the family of a 4-year-old boy killed in 2012 when the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee in which he was riding was rear-ended and burst into flames. A lower court in 2015 reduced a jury verdict from nearly $150 million to $40 million. Fiat Chrysler spokesman Michael Palese said the company was "disappointed in this decision. We are considering our legal options." The Jeep's fuel tank was placed near the back of the vehicle, which plaintiffs said made it vulnerable to rear-end collisions. The Supreme Court ruling said "evidence showed that Chrysler had long known that mounting a gas tank behind the rear axle was dangerous. Evidence also showed that Chrysler's placement of the gas tank behind the rear axle was contrary to industry trends, which favored placing tanks in front of the rear axle." Fiat Chrysler lawyers said during the trial that the fire did not cause Walden's death and blamed the driver of the pickup truck that hit the vehicle. The company said Thursday it "continues to extend sympathies to the family of Remi Walden for their loss." On appeal, the company contended it was prejudicial to raise Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne's compensation, which totaled more than $68 million, according to a company executive who testified at trial. The automaker had denied there was a safety issue and has said the vehicles were no more dangerous than comparable SUVs built at the time. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) linked more than 50 deaths to the Jeep fuel-tank issue. Under government pressure, Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.56 million 2002-07 Jeep Liberty and 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs in June 2013 to address fire risks and agreed to install trailer hitches to protect the gas tanks. The recall and a "customer satisfaction campaign" that covered the Jeep in the fatal Georgia crash occurred after Marchionne held private talks with senior U.S. Transportation Department officials in 2013. The Georgia Supreme Court opinion said the award was proper in part because Marchionne was "alleged to have specifically interjected himself in a federal safety investigation to the detriment" of the Walden family. In 2015, NHTSA announced Fiat Chrysler would pay a then-record $105 million civil penalty over lapses in safety recalls involving millions of vehicles, including older Jeep SUVs for fire risks. Reporting by David ShepardsonRelated Video:

Fiat Centro Stile sells design sketches to support kids in Italy

Fiat's Centro Stile design studio in Europe has kicked off a project called stART Again to support the global charity Save the Children. The studio put 136 high-resolution sketches of Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, and Lancia vehicles for download online at just ˆ20 a pop — about $22. The proceeds from all sales will be donated to a charity founded in England 101 years ago "to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts." Save the Children will use the funds to provide supplies, teaching materials, and support for studies for more than 100,000 children in the most disadvantaged areas of Italy who have been additionally harmed by the coronavirus and its effects. There are a heap of knockout drawings available. The selection at the Alfa Romeo store ranges from a 1958 Alfetta 158 racer to the coming Giulia GTA, classics in between including the immortal GTV 6 and the left-field 75 1.8 Turbo TCC racer. The Fiat marketplace contains wares from Abarth, Fiat, and Fiat Professional, with a massive emphasis on the new 500, but the hardcore 1972 Abarth 124 Spyder and oddball 900E van get slots in there (the 900E looks like a Volkswagen Vanagon, but the 900E came first). The Jeep shop is all business and big tires, save for the 1942 Willys MB, but someone needs to take the 1956 Jeep Forward Control sketch off the page and into reality. And the Lancia store has more to offer than the Stratos and Delta Integrale, an ominous Aurelia B20 GT and a Fulvia GT part of the five-model lineup. For some reason, Maserati got left out of the graphic bonanza, as did Ram, Dodge, and Chrysler, which is a shame. That still leaves 136 good reasons to click through and help the kiddies. Related Video:

Jeep teases pair of Moab concepts early

With the 47th annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari coming up at the end of this month, Jeep is preparing to roll out six new off-road-ready concept vehicles. The first two being teased are the Jeep Grand Cherokee "Trailhawk II" concept and the Jeep Wrangler "Slim," and while we have no information on either, we at least get an idea of what they'll look like.
We can't tell why this Wrangler is called Slim, but it has a nice black-and-red paint scheme with a serious off-roading front bumper and five-spoke beadlock wheels. There's even less we can figure out about the Grand Cherokee's Trailhawk II concept except that it appears to be painted up in the same Crusher Orange paint job as the recently introduced SRT Viper TA. We'll likely more of these as well as peeks at the other Moab concepts as we get closet to this year's Moab Easter Jeep Safari, which will be held March 23 through 31.