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Next Jeep Wrangler to get hybrid option?

This may the year a Jeep hybrid is officially announced. Really. The Chrysler division may finally be making plans for its first gas-electric powertrain to help boost the group's fuel economy, says UK's Auto Express, citing Mike Manley, CEO of FCA's Jeep division. The guinea pig of sorts may be the Wrangler, which moved almost a quarter-million units in the US last year. The Wrangler could get a hybrid drivetrain by the 2017 model year, as Jeep executives look to maintain the model's feel and torque while boosting its fuel economy. The Wrangler gets a pretty paltry 18 miles per gallon combined out of its six-cylinder mill, so the bar's set pretty low. Of course, we've heard this talk before. In late 2013, Chrysler Asia-Pacific product planning manager Steve Bartoli told Australia's Drive that a Jeep hybrid was pretty much inevitable, though not much has been mentioned since. FCA could use all the help it can get in the fuel economy department. The group brought up the rear among automakers when it came to fuel efficiency, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in its EPA Trends report released last October. The FCA models combined for a 21.1 miles per gallon average for the 2014 model year, compared to the 24.2 mpg overall industry average. The group's only electric vehicle in the US is the low-volume Fiat 500e, though the company may start selling a plug-in hybrid version of its Chrysler Town & Country by the end of the year. Featured Gallery 2014 Jeep Wrangler Polar Edition View 9 Photos News Source: Auto Express Green Chrysler Jeep Fuel Efficiency Hybrid

Watch thief steal Jeep Wrangler with laptop

Advancements in technology, especially those in the automotive sector, have made cars safer, easier to drive, and harder than ever to steal. But a recent incident in Houston, TX, reveals that the latest generation of hackers and thieves knows how to use modern tech for their own nefarious devices. A car thief was caught on camera using a small computer to pilfer a 2010 Jeep Wrangler parked in its owner's driveway. The video shows a man entering the Wrangler and after a few minutes on the laptop, driving away in the vehicle. According to the Wall Street Journal, Houston police believe the same method could have been used on four other occasions involving late-model Wranglers and Cherokees. While the short clip looks like something out of a movie, this isn't the first time a Jeep has been hacked. The theft took the pair of thieves roughly 13 minutes from the time the first person opens the hood (not shown) to when the car leaves the driveway. Alarmingly, the Houston police department isn't sure what the laptop is being used for, the Journal reports. A Fiat Chrysler official told the newspaper that the thieves in the Houston incident might be using tools that only dealers have access to, which would allow them to pair another key fob to the vehicle. While that explains how they got into the vehicle, it still doesn't explain how a laptop could be used to get the vehicle running – especially when automakers ( Fiat Chrysler, Tesla, and General Motors) have altered their cars' electronics to reduce hacking. Theft rates have dropped by 96 percent since 1990, according to The New York Times, but recent events show thieves are making their own advances, prompting increased cyber protection efforts from automakers, auto-parts suppliers, and the government. It will come into focus later this month when US Transportation secretary Anthony Foxx, Lyft CEO and co-founder Logan Green, and General Motors' chairman and CEO Mary Barra speak at a cybersecurity summit in Detroit. Related Video: News Source: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Wire, YouTube Jeep Technology SUV Off-Road Vehicles Videos viral video hacking thieves

Jeep hiring 1,000 part-time workers in Toledo on Wrangler, Cherokee demand

The new Jeep Cherokee has been quite a success for Chrysler, but its factory workers are getting tired. The automaker has agreed to hire up to 1,000 part-time, temporary employees at its Toledo Assembly Complex where the CUV and Wrangler are built. It will allow the company to keep Jeep production moving, while giving laborers a break.
According to plant manager Chuck Padden in the Toledo Blade, full-time workers are regularly taking on 60 hours a week, and it's beginning to wear on them. "To get them more time off is important to us, to make sure they're refreshed, and can work safely," said Padden.
Chrysler has already hired 380 temporary, part-time workers for the plant, and 50 have been converted to full-time employees. The company is in the process of interviewing the rest of the new hires now and plans to have all 1,000 in place by the summer. They will work between 10 and 30 hours a week mostly on weekends for $15.78 per hour with limited benefits. The temporary positions will last "as long as demand continues for the Jeep Wrangler and the Jeep Cherokee," said Jodi Tinson, Chrysler spokesperson for manufacturing and labor communications, to Autoblog in an email.