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What does Jeep have cooking with this stretched Cherokee?

Chrysler has been spotted testing what appears to be a stretched Jeep Cherokee prototype. Which seems odd, considering that Jeep already makes a Grand Cherokee, and that's an entirely different model. The question then is just what the company has in the works here. We don't know for sure – but we do have some ideas. We're anticipating a new Grand Wagoneer to serve as the brand's flagship model, but stretching the Cherokee's wheelbase to leapfrog the Grand Cherokee's would take more than eight inches – and stretching a "compact" platform to get there wouldn't seem to make a lot of sense. Alternatively Jeep could be looking to wedge a new model into its lineup in between the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, potentially offering a third row of seats and wearing the Wagoneer name - sans the "Grand" - as part of a new range of seven-seaters. Just what the point would be, however, when the Dodge Durango already offers three rows based on the same platform as the Grand Cherokee, is a bit of a mystery. Another possibility is that it's not a Jeep at all, but rather a Dodge. The brand is in need of a replacement for the current Journey, and we're also waiting to see what FCA does to replace the Grand Cherokee since it unveiled the Chrysler Pacifica to replace the Town and Country. More of a crossover approach could take the Cherokee's Compact US Wide (CUSW) platform as its starting point, but stretched like this prototype to offer more space. Whatever it is, we're sure this won't be the last we'll have seen of it, so watch this space. Related Video:

Junkyard Gem: 1983 Jeep DJ-5L Mail Dispatcher

When it comes to putting mail in boxes, a simple and reliable vehicle works best. Say, a zero-frills steel box on wheels, with right-hand-drive, a fuel-efficient four-cylinder engine, no-hassle automatic transmission, sliding doors, and a big mail-sorting table instead of a passenger seat. That's what the AM General Mail Dispatcher DJ-5 was all about, and these bouncy little trucks were everywhere for decades. Here's a late-production example, still in USPS colors, spotted in a Denver-area self-service wrecking yard. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stayed this courier from the swift completion of its appointed rounds. Note the "Sonic Eagle" USPS logos on the doors; this became the official USPS logo in 1993, nearly a decade after the final Jeep DJ-5s were built. Plenty of these trucks stayed in service into our current century, and a few are still being used by private mail-delivery contractors in rural areas. During the American Motors era of Jeep DJ production (1970 through 1984), a bewildering assortment of engines went into postal Jeeps. This is a 2.5-liter GM Iron Duke four-cylinder; before that, DJ-5s came with Audi power (more or less the same engine used in the Porsche 924, in fact), AMC straight-sixes, and Chevy Nova four-cylinders. The 1984 DJ-5Ms ran the AMC 2.5-liter four-cylinder. The earliest DJs were equipped with three-speed manual transmissions, but the American Motors-built postal-delivery versions all had automatic transmissions. This one has a three-speed Chrysler Torqueflite A904, a weird engine/transmission combination that should help you stump your friends during car-trivia debates. Check out the ultra-bare-bones heater/ventilation controls! These trucks were badged as AM Generals, not Jeeps (I couldn't find a single Jeep label anywhere on this one), just like the original HMMWV. However, you'd have to be a real hair-splitter to refer to this as an AM General DJ-5 instead of just Mail Jeep or Jeep DJ-5. Next time you complain about your subcompact rental car lacking driver-comfort features, consider this vehicle. I had a few high-school friends who owned DJ-5s, back in the early 1980s when they were available for a couple hundred bucks at government-surplus auctions. The first thing civilian DJ-5 owners always did was tear out the mail-sorting table and replace it with a random junkyard bucket seat (or an aluminum lawn chair). These trucks were very noisy, very bouncy, and very slow, but they always ran.

Forza Horizon 3 adds Ford Police Interceptor, Jeep CJ5

We're only a few weeks past the debut of Forza Horizon 3, and already the folks at Turn 10 are introducing the first of six car packs for the open-world driving game. Focused heavily on performance, there are still a few, um, oddballs, including one we're sure Forza's livery customizers will have a blast with. The Smoking Tire Car Pack brings seven new vehicles to FH3, with the Aston Martin Vulcan, Pagani Huayra BC, GTA Spano, Lotus 340R, and BMW M2 repping traditional performance vehicles. As per usual, FH3 renders each car beautifully and promises a solid approximation of real-world performance – even if you do ditch the roads and opt to rampage through the Australian countryside. While performance is good, the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor and the Jeep CJ5 Renegade bring an off-beat vibe to this particular pack. We aren't certain, but this might be the first time the Police Interceptor appears in a blockbuster driving game. While we expect plenty of police car liveries for the Crown Vic, Forza's rabid community of tuners and customizers are sure to do much more with it. As for the CJ5, is there a better vehicle for tooling about Australia? Yeah, we didn't think so. The Smoking Tire Car Pack is available for free as part of the Forza Horizon 3 Ultimate Edition or Car Pass program. Commitment-phobes can also download this single vehicle pack for $7. Featured Gallery Forza Horizon 3: Smoking Tire Car Pack News Source: Turn 10 StudiosImage Credit: Turn 10 Studios Toys/Games Aston Martin BMW Ford Jeep Lotus turn 10 studios bmw m2 forza horizon ford crown victoria aston martin vulcan forza horizon 3 gta spano