2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo Sport Utility 4-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Politician's funeral procession features pole dancers

A Taiwanese politician's racy funeral procession literally stopped traffic as it paraded dozens of scantily clad pole dancers through city streets last week. According to the Deccan Chronicle, beloved local politician Tung Hsiang passed away in December after decades of public service in the southern Taiwanese city of Chiayi. He had a reputation as a fun loving, gregarious socialite and his family wanted to send him off in a suitably flamboyant and memorable way. To honor that end, his family assembled a funeral procession of bands, performers, floats, and more than 200 vehicles that stretched for several kilometers as it snaked through the city. Featured among the procession vehicles were fifty customized, brightly-colored jeeps, each one carrying a bathing suit-clad showgirl dancing around a roof-mounted stripper pole. The exact opposite of a quiet, somber affair, the raucous parade clogged up streets, stopped traffic, and attracted crowds of onlookers and hangers-on. Tung Mao-hsiung, Hsiang's brother, told CTS reporters that his ailing brother had requested a big send-off just days before he died. "He told us he wanted this through a dream two days before the funeral," he said. While Hsiang's delightfully tacky funeral train pushed the boundaries of taste, and definitely contrasts with traditional ideas of funeral decorum, it's not that strange an event in Taiwan. The Deccan Chronicle states that Taiwanese send-offs have a tendency to be risque. Showgirls like the ones hired for Hsiang's procession are commonplace, and often go beyond just dancing and right to stripping at religious festivals and funerals on the island. The Chronicle suggests that this is due to the fact that Taiwanese folk religion is a unique mix of spiritualism and earthiness. Recent Video: News Source: The Deccan Chronicle Auto News Humor Jeep SUV Off-Road Vehicles funeral

FCA CEO Mike Manley will take undefined new role after PSA merger

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Mike Manley will remain with the new group set to result from a planned merger with French rival PSA-Peugeot, Chairman John Elkann said on Wednesday. In a letter to Fiat Chrysler (FCA) employees on the day the two companies announced a binding agreement for a $50 billion tie-up to create the world's fourth-largest carmaker, Elkann said he was "delighted" that the combined group would be led by current PSA CEO Carlos Tavares. "And Mike Manley, who has led FCA with huge energy, commitment and success over the past year, will be there alongside him," he said. He did not say what position Manley would hold. Elkann — who will chair the new group — said there was still much to be done to complete the merger. "Over the coming months we must work tirelessly and determinedly to fulfill all the approval requirements needed to finalize the commitment we have signed," he said. Related Video:     Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Peugeot FCA PSA merger Mike Manley carlos tavares

Jeep Cherokee appears in Chrysler's second Super Bowl spot

The second of three spots produced by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for this year's Super Bowl featured the all-new 2014 Jeep Cherokee. Aired during the game's half time show, the minute-long ad didn't strike as anything new or innovative from an automaker with a reputation for above average Super Bowl spots, but it did show the controversially styled Cherokee in the best light possible.
Called Restless, the commercial shows young, adventurous types doing the sorts of things that young, adventurous types do: surfing, skateboarding, cliff jumping, staring off into the sky with a pensive expression, etc. Scroll down to watch Restless for yourself and let us know in Comments if Jeep managed to hold your attention during half time.