2012 - Jeep Wrangler on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2nd annual Automobile Advertising of the Year Awards revealed

There was some absolutely fantastic auto advertising in 2014, ranging from funny to inspiring. Marking the best of it from the past year, the Second Annual One Show Automobile Advertising of the Year Awards were announced during the 2015 Detroit Auto Show (full disclosure: Autoblog was among the award's sponsors, and Editor-in-Chief Sharon Carty was a voter). Unlike previously, there were no brands with dominance over the list this time. Presented by The One Club, the awards have an international scope and hand out honors in a variety of categories. In the Broadcast TV group, there were three winners this year. First, there was The Scripted Life from Audi for the Q3 about breaking out of life's monotony. Also, Dad's Sixth Sense from Hyundai marketed the safety features in the Genesis. Finally, Unbreakable Drivers showed manly men being tested for the Toyota Hilux in Australia. The Online Video prize went to the fantastic The Epic Split spot from Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. The best Interactive ad was the Honda video titled The Other Side for the Civic Type R, and the Experiential Advertising nod was for the Volkswagen Eyes on the Road clip that showed the dangers of texting and driving to a theater full of moviegoers in Hong Kong. Finally, the Public Choice Award went to the BMW commercial called Hello Future using the words of sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke for the i8. In the award not for videos, Jeep won the Print/Outdoor category for its Upside Down campaign. Check the ads out below, which show different animals when upside down. Also, look farther down for all of the winning videos and read their full announcements. View 3 Photos Automobile Advertising of the Year Winners Announced New York, NY (January 13, 2015) – The One Club (www.oneclub.org), producers of the prestigious One Show Awards and Creative Week, today announced the winners for the 2nd Annual One Show Automobile Advertising of the Year Awards. In partnership with the North American International Auto Show (www.naias.com) in Detroit, The One Club today unveiled the best automotive ads from around the world in five categories: broadcast TV, online video, interactive, experiential advertising, and print & outdoor. Winners will be presented on-stage at a special event during the NAIAS Press Preview on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at the Cobo Center in Detroit at 4:55 p.m. The event is sponsored by AOL's Autoblog.

Jeep Wrangler 4xe's hybrid powertrain: Could it be headed to other FCA products?

On its own, the 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid is a big deal for the brand and the model line. It's the most powerful and most efficient Wrangler by significant margins, and it doesn't give up the off-road capability that makes the Wrangler so special. But another great thing about this hybrid powertrain is its potential to be transplanted into other FCA vehicles. Just to recap, the layout of the Wrangler's hybrid powertrain, front to back, is as follows: engine, clutch, electric motor, clutch, transmission. The engine is the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that's a standalone engine for the Wrangler. The transmission and electric motor are sort of one unit, with the motor and clutch replacing the torque converter of the transmission. And the transmission itself is the ubiquitous eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox. Its transmission code name is 8HP75PH. The ZF eight-speed is available in every FCA product with a longitudinally-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, with variations in the amount of power and torque it can handle. Not only that, but the Ram 1500 and 2500 and the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator all have powertrains that utilize the non-hybrid version of the 8HP75 transmission specifically. Even the gear ratios for that transmission as well as the 8HP70 used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 are nearly identical to those in the 8HP75PH. And a Fiat-Chrysler representative confirmed that the transmission portion of the hybrid drivetrain is basically carry-over from the regular 8HP75. So a transplant could be a relatively simple process. As for which of these models would be the most likely to receive the hybrid powertrain first, the Jeep Gladiator and Ram 1500 would seem like good bets, since they likely have the most similar transmissions, and the Gladiator in particular because of its closely-related underpinnings to the Wrangler. Both are also highly profitable trucks that sell well and could justify the development costs of adapting another powertrain. And in the case of the Ram, there's the impending F-150 hybrid to think about. Although Ram isn't going after a fully electric model, a PHEV could be a nice middle ground. A potential limiting factor would be whether the hybrid powertrain would be sufficiently robust to handle heavy payload and towing demands, particularly over longer periods.

FCA design chief Ralph Gilles uses Jeep to help couple in fiery wreck

Fiat Chrysler's head of design Ralph Gilles recently rendered assistance at a fiery crash scene that left one dead. Gilles helped two people trapped inside a vehicle following a pair of collisions that left them pressed up against a burning vehicle. He used his Jeep Wrangler to nudge a Ford Edge engulfed in flames across the road. The 57-year-old female passenger who was trapped inside the other car was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. The first crash happened early Sunday, Feb. 18, in a rural area north of Detroit when a 2013 Ford Fiesta carrying the woman and her husband collided head-on with a 2013 Ford Edge that had crossed the center line. The driver of that vehicle sustained minor injuries; police said alcohol is believed to have played a role. Gilles was driving home with his wife, Doris, when they came upon the accident, stopped and called 911. He told the Oxford Leader he and the driver of the Edge tried to help the couple in the Fiesta, but none of the doors would open. After Gilles went to move his Wrangler out of the way, he saw a Buick LeSabre broadside the already-crippled Fiesta and push it up against the Edge, which then caught fire. With the couple still trapped inside the Fiesta, Gilles got the idea to put the Wrangler into four-wheel drive and push the Edge to the opposite shoulder using his Jeep. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. "I still have no idea where that (thought) came from," Gilles told the Leader. "The only thing I can remember thinking (is) I've got a Jeep, it's got a bumper on it, I think I can do this. All I could think about were the two people still inside the other car." Firefighters were later able to extract the couple from the Fiesta and transport them to a hospital. The woman was then airlifted to a second hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her husband was listed in stable condition. Gilles posted a short video of the burning vehicle on Instagram and wrote that he was "NOT a hero." "It made us appreciate the true heroes. The first responders, Firemen/women, EMS and Police who deal with this stuff every day," he wrote. Image Credit: Ralph Gilles / Instagram Jeep fire