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2017 Jeep Compass ads navigate life for Millennials

Jeep kicked off an advertising blitz Thursday for the 2017 Compass, pitching the attractive compact crossover directly at the Millennial generation. The first broadcast spot, called Recalculating, shows young people navigating life's changes, including marriage, children, job moves, and more. A narrator intones "recalculating" – like a GPS – at each life moment during the 60-second ad. Naturally, a Compass would be a logical ride for all of these milestones, Jeep suggests. "We expect its message of life's journey moving us in many directions to resonate with our Millennial audience while staying true to the Jeep brand's core value of freedom," Oliver Francois, Fiat Chrysler's chief marketing officer, said in a statement. The campaign will be shown during Saturday Night Live, Modern Family, and other popular television shows. Print versions will also appear in national magazines, and the campaign will include digital, cinema, and experiential elements. The blitz began in North America, but it will be a global marketing effort as the Compass is sold in a wide range of regions. The ads will be customized for local audiences. Four more 30-second spots are planned for launch in May. An FCA US spokesperson declined to provide a monetary value for the campaign. The Compass will also be a featured vehicle at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in June in Tennessee. Additionally, FCA US will showcase the vehicle outside its headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., with a multi-story wrap on the building (replacing the current Chrysler Pacifica hybrid wrap). The Compass, which is on sale now, is receiving positive reviews for its updated styling that echoes the Grand Cherokee, increased storage space, and off-road capability. Hawking the Compass toward the Millennial generation, which is young people in their 20s to mid-30s, is a logical move for Jeep, as the group is beginning to display increased buying power. The Compass is one of Jeep's entry points. Customers could then theoretically stay with the brand as they age and their families grow, moving up to larger and more expensive vehicles, a longtime strategy employed by automakers. Related Video:

Woman and child die after Jeep gets stuck in mud

A Florida woman and her baby died over the weekend when their Jeep sank into deep mud during an off-roading trip. Taylor Brown took his girlfriend Hallie Lewis and their infant son Bryson off-roading in his Jeep Cherokee on Saturday night. The Jeep became stuck in thick mud, according to WESH. Brown got out of the vehicle while Lewis and Bryson remained inside. Using a winch, Brown tried – unsuccessfully – to free the Jeep. The Cherokee was left running as he struggled to pull it out of the mud. When he returned to the Jeep to check on his son and girlfriend, he found them unresponsive. Taylor pulled the two out of the back window, but it was too late. Lewis was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The baby died shortly thereafter. Police are still investigating, but their deaths appear to be a tragic accident due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The tailpipe of the Jeep was either submerged or caked with mud, allowing the deadly gas to build up inside the vehicle. News Source: WESH Weird Car News Jeep tailpipe carbon monoxide

Dirt Every Day tries to find the best 4x4 for under $4k

If you want to build a cheap truck that can still do dirty deeds off the beaten path, it's best to start with solid axles and a solid V8 engine. That sums up the lessons learned after watching the 2014 Cheap Truck Challenge from the Dirt Every Day video crew, who took to the deserts and surrounding areas near Reno, NV, in an attempt to find the best 4x4 for under $4,000. Fortunately for us, the whole sordid journey was captured on video.
This isn't the first time the boys from DED filmed a Cheap Truck Challenge, and this year's festivities pitted together a 1993 Chevy S10 pickup, a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 1975 International truck in a series of challenges ranging from donuts to drag races, with plenty of hill-climbing and rock-crawling action in between. We don't want to spoil all the fun, but suffice it to say one competitor was found to be lacking while the other two performed (mostly) well. See for yourself in the video above.