2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara on 2040-cars

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Work at a Chrysler dealership, get free college education

The cost of a college education in the US can put a student tens (hundreds, in some cases) of thousands of dollars into debt. FCA US wants to give its dealership employees a leg up, though, and the automaker is now offering a completely free education to them through a partnership with Strayer University. The workers can take any of the college's classes online or on campus through program called Degrees@Work. Currently, the offer is only available to employees Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Fiat dealers in the automaker's Southeast region, which includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. However, a national expansion will happen before the end of the year, Strayer spokesperson Cristina Henley tells Autoblog. The program will cover all of the students' expenses, including their books, according to Henley. FCA US sees this partnership as a way to improve the talent of its workforce, retain employees longer and possibly attract people wanting to take advantage of this free education. "Many of our dealers have expressed concern over the availability of talent to fill open positions due to business growth and turnover in their stores, especially in metro markets," Al Gardner, the company's Head of Dealer Network Development, said in the Degrees@Work announcement. Strayer has about 40 programs available, including in business administration, accounting, marketing, and more, and the university offers associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees. It will also give FCA US employees credit for their work experience to get them a diploma even more quickly. FCA US Dealers to Offer Employees No-Cost, No-Debt College Education FCA US teams with Strayer University to develop first-of-its-kind dealer program Degrees@Work program open to all employees of participating dealerships Employees can earn no-cost, no-debt degree through Strayer University All Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Ram and FIAT dealerships may participate First phase of program rollout begins with dealers in the FCA US Southeast Business Center National rollout expected later this year May 4, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Employees of Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Ram and FIAT dealerships will have the unique opportunity to earn a no-cost, no-debt college degree through Strayer University's Degrees@Work program, developed in collaboration with FCA US LLC. FCA US is the only company in the automotive industry to offer the program.

Jeep mixed a CJ, a TJ, and a JK to make this sweet retro CJ66

What do you get when you mash-up a CJ and two Wranglers? Jeep calls it the CJ66, its concept for the 2016 SEMA show. It's a Frankensteined machine done right, another in a long line of fantasies from the back rooms at Jeep. A lot of donor vehicles were sacrificed for this one. The body came from a 1966 Jeep CJ – hence the name – and then was modified to fit on a Jeep Wrangler TJ chassis. The finishing touches, such as the bumpers and lights, come from the current Wrangler JK, and the hood was modeled after a JK's, too. The CJ66 has plenty of other neat details throughout as well, such as the vintage-style V8 badges on the fenders, the chains on the dropdown tailgate, and the custom hood latches. Also, like several other FCA SEMA concepts this year, it gets a pair of Dodge Viper seats. We're suckers for Viper seats. View 17 Photos The custom body also hides some impressive off-roading gear. There's a Warn winch tucked behind the front bumper, as well as an on-board tire inflation system, which makes it easy to deflate and inflate tires as the terrain requires. The truck also has 35-inch off-road tires on readily available wheels, front and rear differential lockers, and a custom roll cage and rock sliders. As you may have guessed from the V8 badges, this CJ66 also packs an octet of pistons. The 5.7-liter Hemi engine (or 345 cu. in. for traditionalists) makes 383 horsepower, and was installed using Mopar's new engine swap kit. The engine is hooked up to a six-speed manual transmission that sends power to Dana 44 axles front and rear. We have a feeling it will handle just fine on the trails. Related Video: Image Credit: FCA and Joel Stocksdale SEMA Show Jeep SUV Concept Cars Off-Road Vehicles SEMA 2016

Jeep Gladiator high-speed off-roader reportedly in development

Before the 2020 Jeep Gladiator was revealed, it seemed like there was a never-ending flow of tidbits leaking out about the truck. Now it's out, and while the flow has slowed, there are still interesting reports floating about. The latest comes from Jeep Gladiator Forum, which cites an anonymous inside source as saying there's a high-performance version of the pickup coming designed for fast off-roading similar to a Ford F-150 Raptor or Chevy Colorado ZR2. We reached out to Jeep regarding the possible truck, and a representative said the company had no comment. That's certainly exciting news if it turns out to be correct, but there are reasons not to get your hopes up just yet. The forum reports that the truck is in the early stages of development, and it's still being decided whether there's enough of a market for it. From our perspective, such a model is neither a dead end nor a shoo-in. Certainly there are people willing to buy fast off-roaders, as the aforementioned Raptor and ZR2 have shown. Also, Jeep has proven that people are willing to spend a lot on Wranglers, both from the factory and on aftermarket parts, so an even more expensive model wouldn't necessarily put people off. So those are two important points in favor of a fast Gladiator. Points against a fast Gladiator start with the existing Gladiator Rubicon. While it isn't necessarily designed for bashing dunes, it does come with a huge amount of trail-ready equipment already. It has differential locks and anti-roll bar disconnects, big tires and burly shocks. On slower trails, it may already be as capable as the Colorado ZR2, which would be the closest competitor to the hypothetical high-po Gladiator. And since the Gladiator Rubicon will be available with comparable engines to the ZR2, would something more potent be necessary? It would seem that to further differentiate, the Gladiator might need more power. That's certainly possible by way of a V8 transplant, but that would mean a lot of money spent on getting the engine to fit, making it reliable, getting it emissions compliant, and ensuring the drivetrain is strong enough. All those costs would make it harder to get approved. We may sound a bit pessimistic, but don't get us wrong, we would be excited to see a high-speed Gladiator, or any other Jeep for that matter. But we also want to be realistic, and there are certainly some significant hurdles to bringing such a truck to market. Related Video: