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3-row Jeep Wrangler, V8 Kaiser ambulance, and more from Mopar for SEMA

SEMA is back this year, and as is tradition, the American Stellantis brands Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Mopar are bringing some truly amazing concepts to the show. The brands have come up with seven vehicles, four from Jeep, two from Ram and one from Dodge. Some of them show off the current Mopar catalog and possible future parts, while others are just really cool customs. Let's check them out. Jeep Wrangler Overlook Jeep Wrangler Overlook concept View 8 Photos We're starting off with perhaps the most interesting of the concepts on display, the Jeep Wrangler Overlook. And you'll notice right off the bat that it's longer than your average Wrangler Unlimited. It's actually a full foot longer. And it doesn't just add cargo space, it adds passenger space. There's a third row of seats in the Overlook. Those seats also necessitated the safari-style custom rear roof. It's 5 inches taller than a regular Wrangler roof to provide headroom for rear occupants. It also made room for the extra windows. Front passengers also get a fancy single-piece roof section with a pop-up glass section, and the interior features black leather and bronze accents. Other body changes include a custom hood, a narrower front bumper for improved approach angle and a widened rear bumper to protect the longer tail. It also gets custom front bumper lights, Jeep Performance Parts (JPP) A-pillar lights and tubular side steps. The Overlook also rides on the Jeep Performance Parts (JPP) 2-inch lift kit with Fox shocks and 20-inch wheels with 37-inch tires. We wouldn't have thought a three-row Wrangler would be something that would reach production, and it's still unlikely. But, this looks really good. And when Land Rover already offers a third row in the Defender, and is working on a stretched version, we're starting to wonder if Jeep should think about an even more stretched Wrangler. Kaiser Jeep M725 Kaiser Jeep M725 concept View 11 Photos Next up is this year's resto-mod from the Stellantis crew. They found an old Kaiser Jeep M725 military ambulance and did a few things to make it a more modern, go-anywhere super tailgater. Under the hood is a 485-horsepower 6.4-liter V8 paired to an old-school TorqueFlight 727 automatic transmission, shifted by a B&M shifter housed in a repurposed ammunition box. It's still four-wheel drive and has the old axles, but they're attached via a coil-spring suspension instead of the original leaf packs.

Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango still catching fire after recall

Automakers issue recalls all the time. It's part of the cost of doing business. We just assume that once the recall has been carried out, the problem in question has been fixed. But that's not always the case, as this latest investigation being undertaken by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration goes to show. The problem stems back to a recall issued by Chrysler last summer. It revolved rather the sun visor in the SUVs it makes at its Jefferson North Assembly Plant – specifically, the screw affixing the sun visor could end up rubbing against the wiring for the lamp in the vanity mirror, potentially causing an electrical short and even a fire. 62 such short circuits, 38 fires and three injuries reported, prompting Chrysler to recall nearly 900,000 units of the 2011-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango (over 650,000 of them in the United States). The plastic spacers they installed to rectify the problem, however, may not have done the trick. Eight reports (but none involving injuries) have been filed with the NHTSA regarding the same issue recurring, spurring the government agency to open a new investigation into the matter. If deemed necessary, the NHTSA could ask FCA to issue another recall to fix the issue again, which we may necessitate the installation of a fuze to prevent any such the electric short. Related Video: INVESTIGATION Subject : Headliner Fires Date Investigation Opened: MAY 01, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: RQ15003 Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM , INTERIOR LIGHTING Manufacturer: Chrysler (FCA US LLC) SUMMARY: On July 1st, 2014 Chrysler (FCA US LLC) issued safety recall 14V-391 to remedy a wiring-related fire hazard on the headliner of approximately 661,888 model year (MY) 2011-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles manufactured between January 5, 2010 and December 11, 2013. The recall was in response to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) investigation EA14-001 during which data provided by Chrysler indicates that the fire is caused by an electrical short in the vanity lamp wiring for either one of the sun visors mounted on the vehicle. The sun visors are mounted to the roof of the vehicle through the headliner with three metal screws.

Your 2018 Jeep Wrangler can already be fitted with a Chevy LS V8

Over a long enough period of time, every car model on the planet will probably have at least one example receive a Chevrolet V8. And a large number of them will have an LS-series V8, commonly found in Corvettes and Camaros from the last 20 years (plus other GM vehicles in slightly different forms). Sometimes it doesn't take very long, as is the case with the 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL. The new Jeep has only been available for a couple of months, and already a company called Bruiser Conversions is offering to install LS engines under the hood. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Specifically, the company will install a GM Performance LS3 V8. Though Bruiser Conversions doesn't yet list exactly what specifications the engine has, it offers the LS3 in both 450- and 500-horsepower versions on the previous Wrangler JK generation. The new V8 will be fitted to the factory 8-speed automatic transmission, and the company says that the transmission will function exactly as it does with the original V6 or turbo inline-4. In addition, Bruiser Conversions says all factory gauges, cruise control, hill descent control and other electronic aids will work like they did from the factory. Pricing is currently not listed for the conversion, but the company is taking pre-orders for both in-shop installations and do-it-yourself kits. Going off the conversion costs for an older JK Wrangler, it will probably cost between $20,000 and $30,000 to have Bruiser Conversions do the installation. In the case of the JK kits, they're about $5,000 less than having Bruiser Conversions do the work. We've reached out to the company to see if we can get specific pricing and will update the post if and when we hear back. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Bruiser ConversionsImage Credit: Bruiser Conversions Aftermarket GM Jeep SUV Off-Road Vehicles Performance ls3