2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon on 2040-cars

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Jeep, Ram tease SEMA builds, and one looks like a Ram 1500 TRX PHEV

SEMA is back this year, and shows no signs of cancellation. And that means a whole new crop of custom builds from not only aftermarket companies, but OEMs such as Jeep and Ram. The two brands released teasers of their modified trucks for the show, and there are a couple of seriously intriguing ones. And the most brow-raising is the silver Ram 1500 TRX that could be a plug-in hybrid. What makes us say that? Well, take a look at the badging. The "RAM" badge in the grille is bright blue. And the front tow hooks are blue, too. Those cues are signatures of the Jeep 4xe plug-in hybrid models. And Jeep isn't the only one to utilize blue badging for electrified models. Ram 1500s with the 48-volt eTorque hybrid assist get blue-highlighted badges. So it seems like a slam-dunk that the wide-bodied desert-stomper in the teaser has a hybrid powertrain. We'd bet on it being the 375-horsepower turbo-four from the Wrangler, but maybe Ram put something unique together. The next curious model is what's quite clearly a variant of the military M715 truck. It's undoubtedly this year's restomod, as Stellantis brands are wont to build. Looking closer, it has a very high roof and center-mounted spotlight. Those are cues shared with the M725 ambulance. We wouldn't be surprised if Jeep took one of the old ambulances and turned it into one beast of an overlanding rig. We're excited to see what sort of other upgrades have been done, such as what engine will be powering it. Then we come to the interior of a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. At first glance, there doesn't seem to be much going on, at least until you look at the roof. The cargo area has a significantly raised section. And there are safari windows letting light in. It will be interesting to see what it looks like from the outside. Finally, we have teasers of what's probably a Wrangler Rubicon 4xe and a Ram 1500. The Wrangler shot is of the front fender, and the Ram is of the rear. They don't show much except what seem to be Mopar accessories. As such, we suspect these are show pieces for the Mopar catalog, and they might each have a couple of concept parts, but are otherwise a bit tame compared to the Jeep and Ram one-offs. All of these trucks will be revealed and on display at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. The show will run Nov. 2-5. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Jeep shows off Moab Easter Safari concepts crawling the red rocks

While most brands are busy showing off in New York, Jeep headed out to Moab for the Easter Jeep Safari with the company's fleet of 2013 concepts. This year saw the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk II, Wrangler Mopar Recon, Wrangler Stitch, Wrangler Sand Trooper II, Wrangler Flattop and Wrangler Slim Concepts tackle the rocks and sand, and Jeep was kind enough to bring along a camera crew to film the machines rolling over a few obstacles. The result is the video below, though don't expect to see too much hardcore off road action.
Instead, the quick clip features more than a few interviews with Jeep executives, including Jeep Head of Product Design Mark Allen, explaining what makes the Easter Jeep Safari so important. You can check out the quick clip below for yourself, and be sure to thumb through our galleries of the concepts as well.

Autoblog Podcast #387

Episode #387 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing and Michael Zak talk about more General Motors recalls, upgrades and a diesel for the 2015 Ford Focus ST, and the BMW M235i scoring ahead of the Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette Stingray in Consumer Reports testing. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #387: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: GM recalls 8.4M more cars in North America Ford Focus ST upgrades and diesel CR says M235i is better than 911 In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel 2014 Honda Accord Coupe V6 6MT Long-Term 2015 Subaru WRX 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Michael Zak Runtime: 01:35:26 Rundown: Intro & Garage - 00:00 GM Recalls - 26:26 2015 Ford Focus ST - 41:56 BMW M235i - 50:24 Q&A - 59:16 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Government/Legal Podcasts BMW Ford GM Honda Jeep Subaru Safety Diesel Vehicles Performance bmw m235i