2010 Jeep Sahara on 2040-cars

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Jeep lays out 5-year plan, including rebirth of Grand Wagoneer and new C-segment offering

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Machionne presented a five-year plan for the company brands this morning, with Jeep first up on a long day of presentation. Jeep's head honcho Michael Manley wasted no time in laying out what the foreseeable future will look like for what he calls the "lead global brand" of the company.
Big goals for the next half-decade will include expanding the lineup from five nameplates built in one country, to six nameplates build in six countries. That expansion of models will include both a three-row competitor, and, of course, a small vehicle to slot below Cherokee. The company is also seeking to add a whopping 1,300 dealers over the next few years, to sell all this new metal, and has an aggressive goal of doubling Jeep sales by the time 2018 rolls around.
As expected, that first salvo from the off-road brand will be the debut of the much ballyhooed Renegade small crossover in the third quarter of this year. Jeep has already designated that Renegade will get refreshed for the 2017 model year, as well.

Chrysler, Nissan looking into claim that their cars are industry's most hackable

A pair of cyber security experts have awarded the ignominious title of most hackable vehicles on American roads to the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, 2014 Infiniti Q50 and 2015 Cadillac Escalade.
Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek are set to release a report at the Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas, Automotive News reports. The two men found the Jeep, Caddy and Q50 were easiest to hack based not on actual tests with the vehicles, but a detailed analysis of systems like Bluetooth and wireless internet access - basically, anything that'd allow a hacker to remotely gain access to the vehicle's systems.
Considering this lack of hands-on testing, the pair acknowledge that "most hackable" could be a relative term - they point out that the vehicles may actually be quite secure.

NHTSA boss Strickland weighs in on Jeep recall fracas

Adding yet another chapter to the ongoing Jeep recall story, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) head David Strickland has gone on record to defend the government's request that Chrysler recall 2.7 million out-of-production Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty vehicles after the agency investigated fiery rear-end collisions that have reportedly killed at least 51 people over the years. In statements made to The Detroit News, Strickland said, "We felt very strongly that the process that we undertook and the findings that we made and ... we made the decision to issue a recall request. We do not take that very lightly." The top US auto safety regulator stopped short of telling owners to park their cars until the automaker takes action. "They can make their own risk assessment and their own choices," he said.
Chrysler does not intend to recall the models, insisting the "vehicles met and exceeded all applicable requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, including FMVSS 301, pertaining to fuel-system integrity" when they were manufactured and sold. "The company does not agree with NHTSA's conclusions and does not intend to recall the vehicles cited in the investigation. The subject vehicles are safe and are not defective," Chrysler announced last week in a statement. "We believe NHTSA's initial conclusions are based on an incomplete analysis of the underlying data, and we are committed to continue working with the agency to resolve this disagreement."
Legally, Chrysler has until June 18 to formally respond to NHTSA's request. If the automaker does not take action, NHTSA is expected to issue a formal finding and seek a recall.