2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara on 2040-cars

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$40M award for boy's death in Jeep fire upheld by Georgia high court

The Georgia Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously upheld a $40 million award to the family of a 4-year-old boy killed in 2012 when the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee in which he was riding was rear-ended and burst into flames. A lower court in 2015 reduced a jury verdict from nearly $150 million to $40 million. Fiat Chrysler spokesman Michael Palese said the company was "disappointed in this decision. We are considering our legal options." The Jeep's fuel tank was placed near the back of the vehicle, which plaintiffs said made it vulnerable to rear-end collisions. The Supreme Court ruling said "evidence showed that Chrysler had long known that mounting a gas tank behind the rear axle was dangerous. Evidence also showed that Chrysler's placement of the gas tank behind the rear axle was contrary to industry trends, which favored placing tanks in front of the rear axle." Fiat Chrysler lawyers said during the trial that the fire did not cause Walden's death and blamed the driver of the pickup truck that hit the vehicle. The company said Thursday it "continues to extend sympathies to the family of Remi Walden for their loss." On appeal, the company contended it was prejudicial to raise Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne's compensation, which totaled more than $68 million, according to a company executive who testified at trial. The automaker had denied there was a safety issue and has said the vehicles were no more dangerous than comparable SUVs built at the time. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) linked more than 50 deaths to the Jeep fuel-tank issue. Under government pressure, Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.56 million 2002-07 Jeep Liberty and 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs in June 2013 to address fire risks and agreed to install trailer hitches to protect the gas tanks. The recall and a "customer satisfaction campaign" that covered the Jeep in the fatal Georgia crash occurred after Marchionne held private talks with senior U.S. Transportation Department officials in 2013. The Georgia Supreme Court opinion said the award was proper in part because Marchionne was "alleged to have specifically interjected himself in a federal safety investigation to the detriment" of the Walden family. In 2015, NHTSA announced Fiat Chrysler would pay a then-record $105 million civil penalty over lapses in safety recalls involving millions of vehicles, including older Jeep SUVs for fire risks. Reporting by David ShepardsonRelated Video:

Chrysler recalls 468,700 Jeep Grand Cherokees, Commanders over rollaway risk

Chrysler has issued a recall covering a combined 469,000 units of the 2005-2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the 2006-2010 Jeep Commander (inset). Of that number, 295,000 are in the US, roughly 33,000 in Canada and Mexico and the remainder in other markets. It seems an electrical fault in the transfer case can allow the affected SUVs to shift into neutral on their own, while an Associated Press report says that Chrysler had "found cracks in a circuit board that turns the four-wheel-drive system on and off." The issue was discovered when an owner started his car remotely and it rolled away.
Chrysler is expected to begin notifying owners in June 2013, who can then take their cars to dealers. The dealer will reflash the final drive controller free of charge. There's a bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration below with more information.

Ram 1500 diesel overlander, off-road Jeep Wrangler show present and future of Mopar

Ram and Jeep both have some heavily customized off-roaders for SEMA this year. The Ram is a 2020 1500 Rebel with the diesel engine and an overlanding theme, and the Jeep is a 2020 Wrangler Unlimited with a general off-road theme. Each features loads of Mopar accessories, and, in the case of the Ram, accessories from other companies. They both have a few parts that haven't made it to market yet. 2020 Ram 1500 Rebel View 16 Photos 2020 Ram 1500 Rebel OTG The Ram 1500 has the suffix of OTG, which stands for off-the-grid. It's designed to be an overlanding vehicle perfect for getting you far away from civilization and still have your needs taken care of. As such, the new EcoDiesel with its strong fuel economy and large amounts of torque is a good engine choice, and the Rebel has plenty of rugged style to begin with. That style is augmented by some special concept Mopar parts such as a high-flow grille complete with flow-through Ram block letters, a la the Chevy "Flow Tie," and steel bumper with a retro-fitted Power Wagon winch. Another concept part is the intake snorkel. Dodge also dug into the existing catalog of Ram parts and added the base Tradesman's vinyl flooring for easy interior cleaning, as well as the Tradesman's rear bumper that doesn't have cut-outs for exhaust. The exhaust was then tucked away behind the bumper, giving the truck a better departure angle. Many ready-to-purchase accessories have been added to the Ram 1500 OTG, too. From the Mopar catalog comes off-road lights, rock rails, wheels and bolt-on fender flares. The utility rack, basket and tent all came from Yakima. A roof-mounted solar array along with sliding cooking areas and bed-mounted cooler all come from Dometic. A representative from Dodge also showed how the split tailgate can be used as an easily accesible place to have fold out cooking or table space. 2020-jeep-wrangler-mopar-accessories-01 View 4 Photos 2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited While the Ram has parts from all around the aftermarket world, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited has been outfitted entirely with Mopar parts. And most of those parts are already available, with two exceptions. On one side of the truck, Jeep is showing off some concept mesh covers for its tube-doors. The idea behind them is that they still allow for plenty of air flow, but help keep shrubbery, mud clods and other things from getting in. They're also simple to install or remove, since the slide on and zip up.