2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland on 2040-cars

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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.

Jeep gunning for 1M sales this year

Jeep CEO Mike Manley would rather soft-pedal the seven-figure prognostication for now, but Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne won't have it, proclaiming in an interview that Jeep will sell one million units worldwide this year. Manley has called that come-hither number "a stretch," the history of recent gains perhaps reason for his caution: in 2011 the brand sold 568,317 units, followed by the record-breaking tally of 701,626, then another record in 2013 with 731,565 units moved.
That kind of gap means everything will need to go magically for Jeep to record a 37-percent increase this year - amazing Cherokee sales, a brilliant launch for the little Jeep arriving in Europe later this year and a heavy wave to raise sales in US, European and Chinese markets. Manley is confident about the prospects in 2015, though, with the Cherokee in full stride, the Fiat-based Jeep on its way to the US and expanded global production. It's not as though Marchionne's prediction for Jeep's 2014 sales is unexpected, since he first made it last year. But even if the number ends up a little short for 2014, there's no doubt it will be impressive.

Woman and child die after Jeep gets stuck in mud

A Florida woman and her baby died over the weekend when their Jeep sank into deep mud during an off-roading trip. Taylor Brown took his girlfriend Hallie Lewis and their infant son Bryson off-roading in his Jeep Cherokee on Saturday night. The Jeep became stuck in thick mud, according to WESH. Brown got out of the vehicle while Lewis and Bryson remained inside. Using a winch, Brown tried – unsuccessfully – to free the Jeep. The Cherokee was left running as he struggled to pull it out of the mud. When he returned to the Jeep to check on his son and girlfriend, he found them unresponsive. Taylor pulled the two out of the back window, but it was too late. Lewis was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The baby died shortly thereafter. Police are still investigating, but their deaths appear to be a tragic accident due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The tailpipe of the Jeep was either submerged or caked with mud, allowing the deadly gas to build up inside the vehicle. News Source: WESH Weird Car News Jeep tailpipe carbon monoxide