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2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Alaska Cannonball | Into the West

Our man Jonathon Ramsey is driving a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon on a 14-week, 14,000 mile journey across North America. Check out his first and second installments. DOVE CREEK, Colo. – Last week I hopped off the Oklahoma panhandle into Grenville, New Mexico. After a tight right-left on Grenville's Lake Road, the tarmac fell away into immense, scrub-filled valleys rimmed by rock spires and elevated mesas. Pushing into Colorado from the southeast, elevation and high-plains beauty come quickly. It's like driving through the imaginary Arcadias on bottled water labels, or one of those 5,000-piece puzzle sets that grandparents and aunts devote months and bottles of gin to. I'm shacked up in Dove Creek's surprisingly quaint Country Inn because rain. Here are some notes from the road. For lack of time and space, I only mentioned the Jeep Collection in Suwanee, Georgia in passing last week. Once more: if you're a fan of Jeeps and you get to the Atlanta metro area, I highly recommend a visit — and look at the pictures at the bottom of this article. The 2018 Wrangler Rubicon I'm driving now sports Willys icons on the gear shift lever, windshield, and wheels, and when you turn the rig on, a graphic in the dash cluster morphs from a Willys into a JL Wrangler. Jeep insists on carrying the torch of its origins, so I found it edifying to sit in all four of those origins at the Jeep Collection. I can tell you this: the Americans who fought WWII were a lot smaller than we are. What am I driving? The Monroney titles it a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 4X4, with a base price of $40,495. It's been plumped with these options: Leather ($1,495), Customer Preferred Package 24R (Cold Weather Group, $895), Trailer Tow HD Electrical Group ($795), LED Lighting ($895), Electronic Infotainment System Group with 8.4-inch Uconnect and Alpine Premium Audio ($1,295), Steel Bumper Group ($1,295), Trail Rail Management System ($195), All-Weather Floor Mats ($130), 8-Speed Automatic Transmission ($2,000), Premium Black Sunrider Soft Top ($595), and 17-inch black wheels with polished lips ($895). Add the $1,195 destination charge, and a customer paying MSRP would need to pony up $52,175 to take it home. Regarding my previous list of aftermarket bits, the Mopar rock rails are so well integrated that I forgot to mention them. They have come in handy. The Mopar grab handles, however, aren't so handy. The hard rubber grips hang from the roof by nylon straps, next to the front windows.

Mopar stuffs the Jeep Performance Parts catalog with 200 accessories

We don't get to savor the all-new 2018 Jeep Wrangler until sometime in November. Today at SEMA, however, we get to sample some of the more than 200 Jeep Performance Parts that Mopar designed for America's off-road mascot. Among the totally new offerings are a roof rack and a stowable tailgate table. The roof rack can accommodate the standard carriers, such as those for skis, snowboards, and bicycles. The tailgate table flips down from the rear hatch, creating a workspace complete with a beverage holder. Urbanites can get down with the mesh and solid bikini tops, a cargo tray that extends to the back seat and doubles the surface area, logoed door sills, and new fuel doors. Redesigned tire covers flash new graphics and incorporate an aperture for the backup camera. When distant GPS points require low-range four-wheeling, redeveloped goodies include 17-inch beadlock aluminum wheels, a two-inch lift kit that permits 37-inch tires when paired with high-top fender flares, thicker, wider rock rails coated with Ram bedliner material, and hard-secured grab handles. Five-inch LEDs throwing 4,080 lumens and seven-inch LEDs throwing 8,000 lumens work with a new mount kit to attach to windshield, winch guard, or frame rails. An auxiliary switch bank with a dedicated power distribution center means convenient access to controls for auxiliaries like those lights and the Mopar Warn winch. A screen protector keeps dust and debris from damaging the Uconnect screen. When the inevitable boo-boo happens, grab for help from the improved emergency first-aid kit and roadside assistance kit. Mopar says the entire range of Jeep Performance Products will be available at dealerships as soon as the Wrangler goes on sale. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jeep Performance Parts: SEMA 2017 View 17 Photos Related Gallery 2018 Jeep Wrangler Mopar accessories View 14 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com Auto News Aftermarket SEMA Show Jeep SUV Off-Road Vehicles SEMA 2017

Autoblog Podcast #417

Episode #417 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Brandon Turkus talk about what we're expecting to see at the upcoming 2015 Chicago Auto Show that kicks off on February 12. Of course, the podcast starts with what's in the garage and finishes up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #417 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics 2015 Chicago Auto Show In The Autoblog Garage 2015 Bentley Continental GT Speed 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor Long-Term 2015 Volkswagen GTI Long-Term 2014 Jeep Cherokee Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:25:53 Rundown Intro and Garage – 00:00 Chicago show – 27:37 Q&A – 47:27 Get The Podcast UStream – Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes