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2014 Jeep Cherokee: Fall colors tour [w/video]

The Trailhawk's rugged good looks were right at home against the backdrop of changing seasons. Regardless of where you choose to call home, you've probably seen, or at least heard, about the Pure Michigan ads, showing off all the splendor that the Mitten State has to offer. You can make fun of them all you want (several spoofs already exist), but as a native, I fully stand behind the idea that Michigan is a truly gorgeous place. The western coast along Lake Michigan and the northern half of the Lower Peninsula are seriously pretty, and vastly different from the southeastern area that houses big cities like Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, and so on. Beyond that, the Upper Peninsula is the closest you'll get to seeing vast spoils of untouched wilderness, and trust me – it's truly pretty. I've seen the world, but I still feel all warm and fuzzy every time I venture north to experience all the vistas that my own state has to offer. In the autumn months, the changing leaves in Michigan put on quite a display. Sure, this happens all over the world, but we truly embrace autumn in the Wolverine State, and practically every Detroit-based Autoblog staffer has gone on at least one fall colors tour to the northern Lower Peninsula to take it all in. That's exactly what associate multimedia producer Chris McGraw and I did just over a month ago, behind the wheel of our long-term 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The Trailhawk's rugged good looks were right at home against the backdrop of changing seasons, and we opted to capture the whole experience on video for this latest long-term update. The Tunnel of Trees is a picturesque stretch of Michigan's M-119 highway that starts just northeast of Petoskey. As you can see in the video above, the Tunnel of Trees is a picturesque stretch of Michigan's M-119 highway that starts just northeast of Petoskey and follows Lake Michigan's Little Traverse Bay. This winding road through the woods goes on for nearly 30 miles, largely unobstructed by neighborhoods, fueling stations, shops, or roadside fodder, and spits you out at the famous Legs Inn in Harbor Springs. (Top-notch Polish food, if you're hungry.) From there, you can either continue north toward Mackinac City and the Mackinac Bridge that connects Michigan's lower and upper peninsulas, or you can turn around and take in all the goodness again.

7 months later, Jeep 'trailer hitch' recall still stalled

For the past few years, Chrysler and its CEO, Sergio Marchionne, have gone head-to-head with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and its boss, David Strickland, over the government safety agency's request for Chrysler to recall almost three-million Jeep vehicles due to what NHTSA says is a safety issue that has caused at least 51 deaths. After a three-year investigation and Chrysler's initial refusal to issue a recall because it deemed the vehicles safe and built to the day's federal requirements, last summer, the two parties compromised on a "voluntary campaign" to inspect 1.56 million vehicles, those being the 1992 to 1998 Grand Cherokee and 2002 to 2007 Liberty.
Those vehicles were designed with their gas tanks between the rear axle and the bumper, and NHTSA says that in rear-end collisions, damage to the fuel tank has caused fires responsible for those 51 deaths. The compromise reached last summer was that Chrysler would inspect 1.56 million vehicles and, "if necessary, provide an upgrade to the rear structure of the vehicle." Practically speaking, that meant Chrysler would replace aftermarket trailer hitches, but would take no action if a vehicle had a factory-installed hitch or an aftermarket hitch from Mopar.
A report in The Detroit News says the "voluntary campaign" is just now getting under way, with Chrysler saying last week that the design of the replacement part had been finalized and it was tooling up "to deliver the required volume." Seven months later, still in question is whether NHTSA will crash-test the fix engineered by Chrysler, noteworthy because not only did the vehicles in question pass every safety standard necessary to be cleared for sale at the time, there are still questions (to those of us on the outside) as to how the Jeeps at issue fare among their peers in such incidents. Either way, Chrysler and NHTSA apparently still disagree on the efficacy of the remedy itself: the carmaker says it might help in low-speed crashes but not high-speed collisions, a position the NHTSA is at odds with. All of this means the campaign doesn't yet have an end in sight.

Fiesta-sized Jeep coming in 2014

We've heard rumors before about a new, baby Jeep to slot below the new-for-2014 Cherokee (pictured) in the automaker's lineup. Now, Edmunds is reporting that the new crossover will arrive sometime in 2014, and will be about the same size as the Ford Fiesta. This currently unnamed vehicle will effectively replace both the Compass and Patriot in the Jeep lineup.
Speaking to Edmunds, Jeep CEO Mike Manley said that the new, small Jeep will be assembled in Italy and marketed globally beginning sometime next year. Manley did not provide many details on the new model, but did say that it will be 4.2-meters (165 inches) long. The Cherokee, by comparison, is 4.6-meters long (181 inches). Furthermore, Edmunds reports that while the new small Jeep will offer diesel power in other markets, there are no plans for an oil-burning version here in the US.
Many other automakers are exploring this smaller crossover segment here in the US. General Motors recently launched the Buick Encore, which is loosely based on the Chevrolet Sonic subcompact's platform. Ford has already launched its Fiesta-based EcoSport in other markets, and has reportedly been pondering the idea of offering it in the US, as well.