2013 Jeep Wrangler Sport on 2040-cars

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Anton Yelchin's family suing FCA over the actor's death

UPDATE: Anton Yelchin received a recall notification for his Grand Cherokee a week after his death, family attorney Gary Dordick told Variety at a press conference. Dordick called FCA's recall "way too little and way too late." The family of actor Anton Yelchin is suing FCA for negligence and product liability, according to Automotive News. Yelchin was killed in June when his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled away, pinning him against a brick pillar and a gate. The Jeep Grand Cherokee, along with 1.1 million other FCA products, is currently under recall for a poorly designed shifter that may lead drivers to believe the car is in park when it isn't. Vehicles affected by the recall are at risk of rolling away. The recall was issued two months before Yelchin's death on June 19. It's believed that this is the first wrongful death lawsuit related to the recall. Although the shifter recall is linked to hundreds of injuries, Yelchin's death is currently the only fatality. There is a class-action lawsuit currently being filed against the automaker. FCA, in a statement to Automotive News, declined to comment and said it had not been served with a lawsuit. The automaker continues to urge drivers to follow the instructions in their owner's manual and become familiar with the instructions that were included with the recall notice. Related Video:

Jeep CEO a fan of pickup redux

The idea of a Jeep pickup is a hardly a new concept. After all, putting a bed on the company's rugged off-roaders goes back to the '40s, not to mention the more recent Cherokee-based Comanche. There's a very slim chance that a truck could return to the lineup down the line if brand CEO Mike Manley gets his wish. "I remain a big fan of a Jeep pickup. I think we have history that says it belongs in our portfolio," Manley said to The Detroit News. However, there's no need to get any hopes up soon, because a truck doesn't get any mention in the brand's five-year plan. That puts the earliest possible introduction around 2019. Even Manley is tempering expectations. "At this moment and time, I have higher priorities. That doesn't mean to say that we don't work on it, we're not looking at it," he said to The Detroit News. The most likely candidate to support a future Jeep truck is the next-gen Wrangler, according to The News. The rest of FCA's pickups and SUVs are running at capacity, which makes slipping in another variant difficult. However, the future Wrangler is heavily rumored to get an expanded production facility in Toledo, OH, which could make things possible. Anonymous FCA insiders confirmed to Autoblog that the next-gen Wrangler would be offered with a 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 and eight-speed automatic. It's also reportedly using solid axles at the front and rear, a fixed windshield and an aluminum body. That could make for a very fun and practical off-roader. If reading all of this speculation gives you a twinge of deja vu, it should. After the Jeep Gladiator concept (pictured above), there were years of speculation about the brand bringing the pickup back. Even then the plan was for a compact truck to tackle that hole in the segment. It was even believed that the project had a green light for production seemingly with Sergio Marchionne's blessing. Then things were pushed back, and last year, the idea was officially quashed. Related Video:

Mopar teases three concepts for SEMA

Chrysler first used the Mopar name in the 1920s, someone getting the idea to combine the words "motor" and "parts" for a service with that specialty. The automaker trademarked the name in 1937, first applying it to a line of antifreeze sold in cans. This makes 2022 the 85th anniversary of the division that now covers everything from service and parts to additional performance and customer care. We already heard the house of the round red M is going to SEMA with "a different flavor" of the battery-electric Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept that will begin to demonstrate future EV tuning possibilities. Thanks to a trio of concept sketches, we know Mopar's 15,345-square-foot booth will house a couple of Ram concepts and a fantastical Jeep to boot. We know next to nothing about them. The Jeep can be identified as an EV thanks to its Surge name, the circuit board motif on the sketch, and the EV badge behind the front wheel. The rig in the sketch appears to have no doors, and there's some structure ahead of the cabin that looks like a spare wheel, making us wonder at first if we were looking toward the front or the back. The door shutline and curve of the fender clarify the direction. We'll find out in a couple of weeks if Jeep plans on showing off tuning options for its electric wares same as Dodge. Mopar's press release on the show started with claiming it is "Charged Up" for SEMA. We're guessing that after Jeep's electric charge, Ram's talking about a super charge, one of the concepts being what appears to be a TRX in dayglo colors. The second Ram seems less rowdy, painted in a tri-tone 1970's style with a pinstripe and all, and fitted with what looks like a topper extending below the bed rails. The outdoor and overlanding life hasn't abated any since Ram showed its Rebel OTG Concept at the 2019 SEMA Show, so this could be another entirely fanciful take on overlanding. It's also possible that after Ram filed a patent application to trademark a vehicle built similarly to the Rebel OTG, we could see a bugout truck closer to production possibility.    The Stellantis brands could bask in more attention this year, with Ford, GM, Honda, and Hyundai all having pulled out. We'll find out what Dodge, Jeep, and Ram are all charged up about when SEMA happens from November 1-4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.