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FCA's puzzling trademark spree includes Apache and Orange Peelz

Here's one for the Mystery Machine. As noted by the WagoneerFans forum and picked up by Motor1, Fiat Chrysler recently went on a one-day trademark application spree at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. On March 6, the automaker applied for the names Apache, Farout, Orange Peelz, Shocker, Tomahawk, and Top Dog. All have been requested for "Land vehicles, namely, passenger automobiles," and the best guess so far has them being applied to concepts during next month's Easter Jeep Safari, which, assuming it goes ahead, will happen April 4-20. As for historical ties, one name has a connection to Dodge, another was a codename for a Dodge engine, and one was used on a previous Easter Jeep Safari concept. Tomahawk rings the loudest bell, that name applied to the four-wheeled, Viper-engined concept motorcycle that Dodge rolled out at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show. The company supposedly sold nine examples of the "rolling sculpture" through Neiman Marcus over a four-year period. It doesn't appear FCA has used the name since, internally or otherwise. There is, however, a Cherokee tomahawk — not referring to a Jeep, but the light, short-handled ax used by the Native American Cherokee tribe. This one seems made for Safari use. Apache has a Dodge and a Jeep tie-in. At one time, Apache was the codename for the 6.4-liter Hemi V8 marketed as the 392 V8 on the Charger and Challenger R/T Scat Pack trims. That engine makes 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. But Jeep showed a Wrangler Apache concept (pictured) at the 2012 Easter Jeep Safari, built with a Mopar conversion kit for a 6.4-liter Hemi making 470 hp and 470 lb-ft. Mopar sold the V8 swap kits at least through 2016, but they appear to have fallen off the Mopar menu. At one time there were rumors of a supercharged Apache with more than 600 horsepower, and wouldn't that be a welcome surprise in Moab. The Farout could be a more or less extreme overlanding take on last year's Easter Jeep Safari Wayout concept, depending on whether one considers "way" or "far" more radical. The Shocker, Jeep might be disappointed to discover, already has an outside link in the Jeep Shocker stickers made for Wichita State fans who love America's 4x4. As for Orange Peelz, it's pretty close to Pedro's bicycling degreaser called Oranj Peelz, but a Jeep conception could be anything. Except maybe a paint color. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

FCA is setting a five-year strategy: Here's how the last one played out

We're slightly more than four years removed from Sergio Marchionne last five-year plan for FCA, a tell-all where the Italian-American automaker divulged its plans for the 2014 through 2018 model years. It was a grand affair, where Sergio told FCA investors that all was right in Auburn Hills, Alfa Romeo and Maserati were making comebacks, and the fifth-gen Dodge Viper received a mid-cycle refresh. You can read every last one of those past predictions right here. We're on our way to Europe to see Sergio's sequel, coming out Friday straight from FCA's Italian headquarters. (Bloomberg reports a plan to expand Jeep and Ram globally, combine Alfa Romeo and Maserati into a single division for an eventual spinoff, and downsizing Fiat and Chrysler. Also, EVs.) But before we arrive in Italy and find out exactly what Marchionne has planned for 2019 through 2023 as his last act as CEO, let's take a minute to tally up the results of his last term based on the same scoresheet we used in 2014. Now, we're only five months into 2018, so much of this — including vehicles like the Ram HD and Jeep Grand Wagoneer — could still debut this year. For those, we'll mark things TBD. We're not going to draw any conclusions or make any objectionable remarks. We're simply going to let the stats speak for themselves.

NHTSA still mulling crash tests for recalled Jeeps

Well, no one should ever accuse the government of not giving things plenty of thought. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is still debating whether it will retest any of the 1.56 million 1992 to 1998 Grand Cherokees and 2002 to 2007 Libertys that were part of a recall regarding fires after rear-end collisions. And yes, this debate has been going on for over a month. In other news...
The recall dustup started in early June, when Chrysler took the unusual position of refusing a recall request from NHTSA regarding placement of the fuel tank on the effected vehicles. NHTSA said a collision could cause a fire, a position Chrysler took issue with. Extensive negotiations ensued, with Chrysler agreeing to fit certain Jeeps with trailer hitches, which it said would provide some protection to fuel tanks mounted behind the rear axle in the event of a collision.
Part of the issue rests with the amount of data that needs to be processed, according to The Detroit News. NHTSA administrator David Strickland said during a Washington Auto Press Association meeting, "There's a lot of data and Chrysler is being very cooperative in giving us more data." Until that information has been sorted, it looks like re-testing will still be up for debate.