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Finding surfing spots in the UK is tough work, even in a Jeep

You truly have to love surfing to practice the sport in the United Kingdom. The area isn't exactly teeming with warm beaches full of sunbathers, and absolutely no easy spots to find big waves. To be a UK surfer, you need to be a fearless adventurer, not to mention quite lucky. And driving a Jeep might help, too.
Surfers Oli Adams and Micah Lester are traveling around the British Isles in a Jeep Wrangler Overland trying to find the best surf spots out there. These guys don't fit the laid-back surfer stereotype, but that's because finding waves in the UK is hard work. They say that the waves at some of these spots only exist for about three hours every year when the current and winds are just right.
To find these surf spots, the Jeep's offroad capabilities are paramount. In some areas, as you'll see in the video, there isn't even a beach, just jagged rocks. It would be like the movie Endless Summer, that is, if it could start snowing at any moment. These guys are clearly dedicated to their sport.

Jeep first American carmaker to return to Tokyo show

Despite foreign-brand car sales in Japan declining six percent in the first four months of this year, Jeep sales are up 21 percent in the same period. That could explain why Jeep will be the first the US manufacturer to return to the Tokyo Motor Show after eight years away. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler walked away during the global crisis that struck after the 2007 show. Jeep will be part of an eight-vehicle, four-brand showcase overseen by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Japan, the local subsidiary. For the moment, it is the only US brand to sign up - neither Ford, GM, or even Chrysler are committed to attend. Stablemates Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Abarth will be there, along with 13 other foreign makes, answering the "Technology & Fantasy" theme for this year's event. In total, organizers announced 15 brands from 14 Japanese manufacturers, and 27 brands from 17 foreign carmakers. The show opens to the public from Oct. 30 to Nov. 8. Related Video:

Jeep dealers worried Grand Wagoneer could be too much, too late

On January 10, 2011, an Automotive News article quoted Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne saying, "It's time we gave the market an upper-scale Grand Wagoneer." Like Babe Ruth pointing a finger at the far stands, Marchionne next predicted our date with historical destiny: "You'll see it in January 2013." Had that happened, the Grand Wagoneer would been a grand slam. Seven years later, with various economic factors in flux and still with no Grand Wagoneer in sight, it seems some Fiat Chrysler dealers are worried the luxury three-row Jeep could appear after the SUV game is over or, at the very least, much harder to play. What got in the way of the Grand Wagoneer? Shifting plans for and the need to pour money into Alfa Romeo. The debate about what kind of vehicle the Wagoneer should be — a unibody Range Rover rival, or a body-on-frame Chevrolet Suburban foe. After that, what should the thing look like? And then there's Fiat Chrysler's North American manufacturing capacity, which can't shoehorn space for Grand Wagoneer production at the same time as it needs lines running for two Ram 1500 model years. That last point is what could push Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer arrival to 2021. Outside the company, at least one Bank of America Merill Lynch analyst believes that economic forces such as a shrinking car market, more competition, higher interest rates on more expensive cars, lower used car prices, and higher gas prices will soon bring an end to the "Goldilocks" phase of crossover mania. He isn't alone, with an IHS analyst saying the same thing three years ago, another IHS analyst diving deeper into the declining numbers two years ago, and three other analysts breaking down depressed used car prices. Fuel prices are anyone's guess, but those other pressures could squeeze retailers trying to sell high-end metal. No one expects the Grand Wagoneer to fail, yet dealers don't expect the vehicle to practically sell itself. One dealer told AN, "We could have killed with [the Grand Wagoneer] if it had been available when they first told us about it, but it's a much tougher sell with interest rates and gas prices going up." Another dealer, perhaps more sanguine, said, "The Grand Wagoneer will still sell because it's a Jeep. But it would have been nice to have them already." "Nice" is an understatement. One dealership was so excited about getting the new big Jeep that it wrote a blog post in 2015 announcing the Grand Wagoneer's arrival in 2018.