2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Sport Utility 4-door 3.8l Lifted 6 Speed Jk on 2040-cars

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It's a V8 party! Lexus IS 500, Cadillac Escalade and more | Autoblog Podcast #667

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. It's all V8s all the time this week, starting with the Land Rover Defender V8 unveiling, Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance debut and pricing announcement on the Jeep Wrangler 392. Next, they move on to what they've been driving. Spoiler alert: That means more V8 talk. Zac has been driving the Cadillac Escalade with the 6.2-liter V8 and BMW M550i with its 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8. Greg and Zac take a pause from the V8 theme by discussing their shared time in our long-term Acura TLX. From this, they segue into a "Spend My Money" feature about garage lifts to finish the show. Autoblog Podcast #667 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News 2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 priced at nearly $75,000 2022 Land Rover Defender bulks up with a 518-hp V8 2022 Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance brings back the V8 What we're driving BMW M550i Cadillac Escalade Acura TLX Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related Video:

A hybrid Jeep Wrangler could be in the cards for new generation

Jeep could make a hybrid version of its iconic off-roader, the Wrangler, the head of the Jeep brand suggested in an interview with Autoblog. Speaking this week on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show, Jeep's global chief Mike Manley said "the hybridization could actually help Wrangler," noting it could improve torque distribution, a critical element for four-wheel drive vehicles. Manley added, "Electrification, absolutely. I could see Wrangler being a form of electric." The Jeep boss didn't offer further details, though a hybrid Wrangler has been rumored for years. The next-generation off-roader is due for the 2018 model year, which means a reveal is imminent. Hybrid technology would likely be used to assist the Wrangler's performance and efficiency, rather than as a total fuel-economy play. The next-gen Wrangler is expected to have LED lights, updated and more aerodynamic design, and greater use of aluminum. A turbo four-cylinder gasoline engine, a diesel engine, and an eight-speed automatic transmission are also among the powertrain rumors, though the diesel may be in jeopardy after the EPA accused FCA US of installing emission-control software on its EcoDiesels. Despite the changes, this new Jeep will be instantly recognizable as a Wrangler, Manley told us. "It's the icon of our brand." View 30 Photos Also heartening for enthusiasts, the Wrangler is getting a pickup variant built alongside the utility vehicle in Toledo, OH. Manley wouldn't speculate on a name, though it has a long list of historic choices. Jeep used "Comanche" on a Cherokee-based pickup from 1986-92 and had the Gladiator/J-Series for a larger truck from 1963-87. "Of course we could go back to one of the record books [for a name]," Manley said. Meanwhile, Jeep also confirmed that the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer models will return to its lineup in 2020, slotting above the Grand Cherokee and giving Jeep an entry in the upper luxury SUV segment. Manley said the Wagoneers will compete in the $60,000-to-$100,000 price range. They will be based on a body-on-frame platform sourced from the Ram and built in Warren, MI. "Ever since I've been associated with Jeep, in my mind, they needed to come back to the portfolio," Manley said. Jeep's other spotlight vehicle, the Grand Cherokee, will get a new generation launching in 2019, Manley said. Though the current line has been on sale since 2010, Jeep has added interior updates and special variants to keep it fresh.

Crawling Moab in the 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk [w/video]

The funny thing about the Renegade Trailhawk is that Jeep still feels the need to defend it. For the past 20 years, automakers have sent emissary vehicles outside the citadel walls surrounding their brand niche. In doing so, these companies found buyers eager to join the cult instead of an angry horde. With the kingdom successfully expanded, automakers had to build new walls to contain this broader identity. This is the story of Jeep's modern expansion, growing with new models while the faithful at the brand's center howl at every quest into broader market segments. Thirteen years after it busted out the Liberty and eight years after birthing the Compass and Patriot, you'd think the resistance to new Jeeps would subside. But no. It's 2015, and while nobody makes the slightest tantrum over BMW's new minivan (except for Sniff Petrol), the Renegade still has to fight its way through pitchforks and torches. Which is a long way of saying that this author is guilty of brand prejudice, too. When the company told us that we'd spend the first day of the Easter Jeep Safari driving seven awesome concepts and the second day driving the Renegade Trailhawk on Dome Point Trail, we could only think, "They giveth excitement, and they taketh it away." Our pessimism was later proven to be incorrect. Sharing the sentiment our colleague Brandon Turkus expressed after his Quick Spin, we found the Renegade to be "in a word, impressive." Dome Point will not trouble a kitted-out Wrangler, but in a compact SUV with on-road tires the rocky sections were chunky enough to require close attention to your lines or use a spotter. As instructed, we put the little 4x4 into the Selec-Terrain's Rock mode, and with common sense plus one eye on the man directing us with hand signals the Renegade climbed over everything with some wheelspin but little fuss. At the first rest point, we turned the car off to wait for vehicles behind. Not realizing that this resets the drive mode to Auto, we crawled through the next two rocky jumbles in the default setting. The result was the same: a bit of wheelspin climbing over thick steps, but an altogether drama-free passage. Auto mode can't use the engine throttle maps unique to each Selec-Terrain setting, but it doesn't hamper the Renegade's capability by much. On a steep bit of trail with a crest capped by stacked stone plinths, it took three tries to find the right line, but that's on us – the Renegade did more than expected.