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Build your own: 2017 Jeep Wrangler Willys Wheeler

While still three weeks from the start of summer, it arrived in practical terms with the Memorial Day weekend. And while the country will have worked through its collective hangover (from too much food, drink and shopping) and gotten back to work, it's worth remembering what – automotively – got us here, preserving both democracy and personal freedoms. The CJ-inspired Jeep Wrangler got us here, and in its Willys Wheeler guise the spirit of America rolls on. As the many spy pics have shown, FCA's Jeep division is working hard to replace its current Wrangler within the next few months. With that, we say goodbye to 10 model years of Wrangling with the current model. And that decade has been a good one for Jeep. Despite the economic downturn between 2008 and 2010, Jeep and Jeep Wrangler sales have been consistent bright spots for FCA, along with – of course – Ram trucks and, uh, Ram trucks. With a new Wrangler around the bend, it's worth taking a look at the existing model. And knowing an all-new example is coming, what would be the reason – if shopping – to consider what's on dealer lots now? Despite the numerous areas of improvement the new model will deliver (in efficiency, refinement and safety) , there's something to be said for a vehicle 10 years into its production cycle. While this is wholly anecdotal, for every step forward a manufacturer makes with a new vehicle, the added tech and necessary complexity seem to mandate two steps back. In an Audi A4, tech would seem a good thing, while in a Wrangler, this Jeep enthusiast would see it as a mixed blessing. Almost 80 years into its evolution (the initial Jeep concept came together in the summer of 1940) little has changed in the Jeep's essential mission. A body-on-frame architecture transports a driver and up to three passengers over paved and unpaved surfaces with credible confidence and a modicum of security. Live axles front and rear enhance the Wrangler's off-road capability, but compromise its on-road behavior. And while a significantly wider track mitigates rollovers, the Wrangler is decades removed from "state-of-the-art" when discussing safety or handling. Currently there's but one engine available in the States, a 3.6 liter normally-aspirated V6 producing 285 horsepower at a you'll-rarely-get-there 6,400 rpm. Connected to either a six-speed manual or ($1,400) five-speed automatic, the engine moves the 4,000-pound (loaded) Wrangler with measured confidence.

Jeep Grand Wagoneer, Deserthawk and plug-in models coming soon

BOLOCCO, Italy — Today at FCA's Italian proving ground, Mike Manley rolled out the roadmap for Jeep's next five years. Manley has been in charge of Jeep since 2009 and has helped boost sales to more than 1.5 million units globally thanks to the success of models like the Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Wrangler and submodels like the Trailhawk and Trackhawk. Well, there's more on the way, including new sand-prepped Deserthawk models, the return of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer nameplates, and electrified versions of every model by 2021. While the plan for these next five years is a little less firm than the last one, it does provide the American automaker with some flexibility and breathing room. If you'll remember, by 2018 we were already supposed to have a new version of the Grand Cherokee as well as the premium Grand Wagoneer. Both of those are still coming, just not as soon as Jeep had hoped. Additionally, by 2022 Jeep plans to roll out two new three-row SUVs, new versions of the Renegade and Cherokee as well as the long-awaited Scrambler pickup. All in, Jeep plans to launch two models per year by 2022. That includes eight plug-in hybrids for the North American market. We saw one of the first Wrangler PHEVs at today's presentation. There are also plans to have a Level 3 autonomous vehicle on the market by 2021. Jeep will double down on its heritage, arguably one of the biggest things the brand has going for it. Its rugged image has helped boost sales in a market already clamoring for utility vehicles. By the end of 2018, FCA expects 1 in every 17 utility vehicles sold worldwide to wear a Jeep badge. The ratio should be even better for 2019. Related Video:

Fiat Chrysler target 850k sales in China by 2018

Behind the vanguard of numerous Jeep models, two Chryslers, a smattering of Fiats and Alfa Romeos and local production through a joint venture with Guangzhou Automotive Group (GAG), Fiat Chrysler wants to increase sales in China more than six-fold by 2018. The group sold 130,000 cars in China in 2013, the aim for 2018 being 850,000 cars.
Ultimately it's expected that the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, Wrangler, Renegade, the coming Grand Wagoneer and a sub-Renegade-sized crossover will either be built in or exported to the People's Republic. The Chrysler Town & Country and 300 will join the export list in 2016 and 2018 respectively, according to a report in Automotive News.
With a number of those vehicles not in production or perhaps even envisaged yet, and others not due on the local market until 2018, it will be interesting to see how Fiat Chrysler plans to achieve the target in the specified timeframe. The joint venture with GAG builds two products now, the Dodge Dart-based Fiat Viaggio launched two years ago - supposedly designed just for China - and the just-launched Fiat Ottimo, a hatchback version of the Viaggio. Fiat projected 300,000 Viagio sales in its first two years, that number has been adjusted downward to 94,000 and there doesn't appear to be an analyst alive that sees a good future for Fiat in China's overrun mainstream market. Still, last year's 130,000 group sales in China is a huge jump from 2012 sales of 66,000 units, but less than half the 300,000 units it projected.