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Jeep reportedly releasing Peugeot-based, Fiat-built baby 'ute in 2022

Jeep is now under the same Stellantis-branded roof as Peugeot, among other European carmakers. It will take full advantage of its new ownership to quickly develop and launch an entry-level car, according to a new report. Anonymous sources told industry trade journal Automotive News that the yet-unnamed model will be positioned directly below the Renegade. Rumors of a baby Jeep have popped up time and again in the past few years, and most claimed it would share its underpinnings with the Fiat Panda 4x4, an immensely capable city car that's a regular sight in the Alps. Those plans have allegedly changed; the soft-roader is now being designed around the Common Modular Platform (CMP) that underpins the Peugeot 208 and the Citroen C4, among other models. Using the CMP platform unlocks several benefits. It's much newer than the architecture found under the Panda, it's highly modular, and it was developed with gasoline, diesel, hybrid, and electric powertrains in mind. It sounds like the first Peugeot-based Jeep will come standard with front-wheel-drive, and it will offer an optional four-wheel-drive powertrain consisting of a longitudinally-mounted engine that will spin the front wheels and an electric motor that will put the rear wheels into motion. Odds are the motor will be capable of powering the crossover on its own, too. Most of the powertrain components will come from Peugeot. CMP wasn't designed for hardcore off-roading, so we're expecting more of a shrunken Renegade for the boulevard than a downsized Wrangler for the trail. Fiat will build Jeep's smallest model in Tychy, Poland, in a factory that currently churns out the Fiat 500 and the Lancia Ypsilon. Production is tentatively scheduled to start in 2022, and it's too early to tell if we'll see the crossover in America. Its pocket-sized dimensions might keep it away from our shores. It will certainly increase Jeep sales on the European market, where models that sell relatively well in the United States regularly post dismal sales figures. For example, the Grand Cherokee is a seen as a leviathan of a family hauler and the Wrangler is heavily taxed. Peugeot's CMP platform will allegedly underpin the production version of the Alfa Romeo Tonale concept, too. Pegged below the Stelvio, the crossover was originally developed on the Renegade's bones — some sources claim that's still the case, and Alfa Romeo hasn't shed light on the matter. Reportedly, Fiat will later get a CMP-based car.

Zombie cars roundup: Dodge has sold 3 new Vipers this year

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn't just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process. That's the case with the 12 cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up "new" sales with them. There are actually more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we decided to include here. We kept this list to the oldest or otherwise most interesting vehicles still being sold as new, including a supercar. We'll run the list in alphabetical order, starting with *drumroll* ... BMW 6 Series: 55 total sales BMW quietly removed the 6 Series from the U.S. market during the 2019 model year. It had been available in three configurations, a hardtop coupe, a convertible and a sleek four-door coupe-like shape.   BMW i8: 18 total sales We've always had a soft spot for the BMW i8, despite the fact that it never quite fit into a particular category. It was sporty, but nowhere near as fast as similarly-priced competitors. It looked very high-tech and boasted a unique carbon fiber chassis design and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but wasn't really designed for maximum efficiency or maximum performance. Still, the in-betweener was very cool to look at and drive, and 18 buyers took one home over the course of 2021.   Chevy Impala: 750 total sales The Impala represented classic American tastes at a time when American tastes were shifting away from soft-riding sedans with big interior room and trunk space and into higher-riding crossovers. A total of 750 sales were inked last year.   Chrysler 200: 15 total sales The Chrysler 200 was actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Of course, as we said regarding the Chevy Impala, the number of Americans in the market for sedans is rapidly winding down, and other automakers are following Chrysler's footsteps in canceling their slow-selling four-doors. Even if Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, apparently dealerships have a few leftover 2017 200s floating around. And for some reason, 15 buyers decided to sign the dotted line to take one of these aging sedans home last year.

Jeep Super Bowl commercial nets criticism from fish conservationists [Update]

Update. FCA got back to us with the following statement: "The Jeep brand and FCA cooperate with federal/state/local governments and organizations, including Tread Lightly and Access Fund, around the world to help ensure that its vehicles are being utilized in a legal and responsible manner, and follow those guidelines when demonstrating their off-road capabilities. Ecological assessments are made and considered when the Jeep brand conducts demonstrations of a vehicle's off-roading capabilities. The vehicle shown in this video is driving on a designated county road that experiences seasonal runoff and its performance capabilities are authentically portrayed consistent with the Jeep brand philosophy. Other examples of how Jeep demonstrates vehicle capabilities take place at the brand's Camp Jeep activities at auto shows and experiential events." The Super Bowl is always packed to the brim with various car commercials. FCA in particular had a big showing this year with ads from both Ram and Jeep. It's the latter that seems to have drawn the ire of some organizations, particularly one where a new Jeep Cherokee drove up a stream in a commercial called "The Road." Trout Unlimited, a freshwater conservation organization, has criticized FCA for encouraging driving that might endanger fish habitats. Trout Unlimited President and CEO Chris Wood sent a letter to FCA chief Sergio Marchionne, calling the commercial "wrongheaded" and that Jeep got some "bad marketing advice on this one." Wood says many of Trout Unlimited's members are Jeep owners and that he previously owned a Jeep CJ7 that he took all over Vermont. He says that he took it off-roading, though he never drove right up the middle of a stream. We're waiting on a comment from Jeep, but MSN reports that the automaker is defending the ads — though there aren't plans to run them again. Trout Unlimited says driving up and damaging streams can destroy the gravel where fish lay eggs. Either way, off-roaders should always be mindful of their surroundings so they don't destroy the land or sink their vehicles after, say, breaking through the ice on a frozen lake. Related Video: