Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara on 2040-cars

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Build your own: 2017 Jeep Wrangler Willys Wheeler

While still three weeks from the start of summer, it arrived in practical terms with the Memorial Day weekend. And while the country will have worked through its collective hangover (from too much food, drink and shopping) and gotten back to work, it's worth remembering what – automotively – got us here, preserving both democracy and personal freedoms. The CJ-inspired Jeep Wrangler got us here, and in its Willys Wheeler guise the spirit of America rolls on. As the many spy pics have shown, FCA's Jeep division is working hard to replace its current Wrangler within the next few months. With that, we say goodbye to 10 model years of Wrangling with the current model. And that decade has been a good one for Jeep. Despite the economic downturn between 2008 and 2010, Jeep and Jeep Wrangler sales have been consistent bright spots for FCA, along with – of course – Ram trucks and, uh, Ram trucks. With a new Wrangler around the bend, it's worth taking a look at the existing model. And knowing an all-new example is coming, what would be the reason – if shopping – to consider what's on dealer lots now? Despite the numerous areas of improvement the new model will deliver (in efficiency, refinement and safety) , there's something to be said for a vehicle 10 years into its production cycle. While this is wholly anecdotal, for every step forward a manufacturer makes with a new vehicle, the added tech and necessary complexity seem to mandate two steps back. In an Audi A4, tech would seem a good thing, while in a Wrangler, this Jeep enthusiast would see it as a mixed blessing. Almost 80 years into its evolution (the initial Jeep concept came together in the summer of 1940) little has changed in the Jeep's essential mission. A body-on-frame architecture transports a driver and up to three passengers over paved and unpaved surfaces with credible confidence and a modicum of security. Live axles front and rear enhance the Wrangler's off-road capability, but compromise its on-road behavior. And while a significantly wider track mitigates rollovers, the Wrangler is decades removed from "state-of-the-art" when discussing safety or handling. Currently there's but one engine available in the States, a 3.6 liter normally-aspirated V6 producing 285 horsepower at a you'll-rarely-get-there 6,400 rpm. Connected to either a six-speed manual or ($1,400) five-speed automatic, the engine moves the 4,000-pound (loaded) Wrangler with measured confidence.

2020 Jeep Gladiator withstands the pressure in pre-Super Bowl commercial

With hype comes expectation, and with expectation comes pressure. The 2020 Jeep Gladiator has a lot to live up to as one of the most built-up debuts of 2018, but a new commercial promises it's ready to shoulder the burden, quite literally. The Jeep ad is set in a junkyard and opens to the jaws of a scrap crusher. A freight loader is seen putting a beautiful 1963 Jeep Gladiator into the scrapper before it begins to close on the piece of classic metal. Before it's fully demolished, the Gladiator fights back. It finds its inner strength when it transforms into one of the new 2020 models and emerges triumphant against the steel jaws of death. "Gladiator is back" ends the one-minute spot For those worried about the disappointing scene of a '63 getting destroyed, there's bad news and good news. Yes, that was a real car, not CGI, so it did indeed get smashed. But, Jeep says it was sourced from an online scrap site and was "inoperable." Why it couldn't have been restored, though, is beyond us. The Gladiator made its debut at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show as a mid-sized Wrangler-based pickup, complete with removable doors and a folding windshield. It has two Dana 44 solid front and rear axles, and is powered by a 285-horsepower V6, with a turbodiesel V6 on the way. Look to see the Gladiator in plenty of prime-time commercial slots all week leading up to the Super Bowl. Related Video:

Chrysler accelerates Jeep recall repairs from 2018 to March

You may remember that Jeep's unusual fix for this recall involves fitting a trailer hitch.
The recall of about 1.5 million models of the 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty and 1993-1998 Grand Cherokee over fuel tanks may finish far sooner than originally estimated. In a new filing from Jeep's parent, Chrysler Group, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the company says that it can complete the repairs for the affected vehicles by March 2015, much sooner than the previous estimate of sometime in 2018. Jeep predicts the total cost of the campaign will be around $151 million.