2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport Sport Utility 4-door 3.8l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jeep Wagoneers will be separate from Grand Cherokee line

The new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will be luxury SUVs that will sit at the top of the brand's lineup. Though they will be based on the Grand Cherokee, the reintroduced SUVs will be separate models, Automotive News reports. The new Grand Wagoneer is expected to be a more luxurious version of the standard Wagoneer. The model will be similar in size to the three-row Dodge Durango. The Durango rides on a stretched version of the Grand Cherokee platform. Comments from Jeep brand chief Mike Manley seemed to imply to Automotive News that the two might be high-grade trims on the Grand Cherokee, though a Jeep spokesman later clarified that's not the case. AN predicts the new Wagoneers will debut after 2019, as the Grand Cherokee was pushed back to late 2018 or 2019. Manley says the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer historically represent the best Jeep has to offer. Previous versions were based upon the the Jeep SJ platform that also underpinned early Jeep Cherokees. The Grand Wagoneer name was last used as a trim level on the 1993 Grand Cherokee. Related video: News Source: Automotive NewsImage Credit: Jeep Jeep SUV Luxury

Abandoned Jeep found under twenty feet of snow in Donner Pass

You guys have heard of Donner Pass, right? The dreaded mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevadas out in California where an ill-fated group of mid-19th century pioneers got lost and fell to cannibalism to survive? Of course you have. Well, it seems that the pass has claimed another victim. It's not a pack of overly-optimistic farmers from Illinois this time, but a sad and lonely Jeep Cherokee. Last Thursday, the California Highway Patrol base at Truckee, California, posted a picture of the rear end of a forlorn-looking XJ with a mangled rear end buried under a veritable mountain of snow and ice. Discovered by a CalTrans truck-mounted snowblower around Serene Lakes near Donner Summit, a CHP representative told Jalopnik they believe the old white XJ has been sitting there since the beginning of winter. More than twenty feet of snow and ice are piled atop the Jeep, a winter's worth of snowplow leavings. Thankfully, the CHP found no bodies or anything else untoward in the XJ when they were arrived. CHP Truckee suggested that the Jeep's owner left it there, perhaps after a breakdown, and left it when successive layers of snow and ice entombed it. Since it's not blocking traffic and doesn't pose a safety hazard, CalTrans decided to leave the Jeep where they found it. The XJ's owner hasn't been identified yet. Hopefully they're not in too much of a hurry to get their Jeep back, because that thing isn't moving until late spring at the earliest. Related Video: News Source: CHP - Truckee, Jalopnik Auto News Weird Car News Jeep SUV snow

Maserati Levante crossover not Jeep based after all?

Maserati has been teasing its crossover project since 2011, which is when it first showed off the Kubang concept (pictured above). Still, the production version, rumored to be called the Levante, remains a complete mystery. The CUV was first rumored to borrow the platform from the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but new rumors indicate that the Italian, luxury crossover might actually take the underpinnings from the Quattroporte and Ghibli.
In a brief interview, Maserati CEO Harald Wester told CNN Money that the Levante wouldn't use Jeep's platform. Motor Trend spoke with an unnamed Maserati engineer who confirmed the rumor. Officially, the company says that no decision has been made.
We can add this to another long list of rumors about the Italian CUV. It was originally supposed to be built at Chrysler's Jefferson North assembly plant in Detroit. Then, plans were changed to build it in Italy.