We Finance!!! 2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 4x4 Nav Infinity Texas Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Fiat-based baby Jeep spotted testing in US and Europe

Details remain scarce, but our spy photographers have managed to capture the upcoming Jeep B-segment crossover for the first time, testing in both the Alps and in the US. Shown here as a cobbled-together Fiat 500L mule, the new Jeep model is expected to arrive for the 2015 model year and act as a replacement for the current Compass and Patriot models.
According to our shooter, the new "baby Jeep" will share a platform with the Fiat 500X, and both models will be built on the same assembly line in Turin, Italy. We can't tell much from these images, but the added length apparent on this 500L mule would seem to dispel the recent speculation that the new entry-level Jeep model would be sized closer to the Ford Fiesta - since the 500L is already considerably larger than the Fiesta. Powertrain options will likely mirror other Fiat/Chrysler collaborative vehicles like the Dodge Dart, but this Jeep will also try to live up to its off-road roots with an optional all-wheel-drive system.

Off-roader plows through a deep bog like it was nothing

The Facebook page Jeeps With Attitude runs a weekly series called Too Deep Tuesday wherein they post videos of off-roaders running their rigs through bogs and mud holes of surprising depth and coming out the other side soggy but relatively unscathed. This week's video, in which a driver extracts a buried vehicle from the muddiest bog in the land, is the perfect mix of nutso bravery and off-road know-how. The video starts with the vehicle already sunk to its hood and listing to starboard in a deep, sticky bog. Slowly but surely, the vehicle creeps forward through the mud, pushing a heavy bow wave of muck and debris in front of it. Unlike other recent videos where jeep drivers lost their rides in the water and destroyed their expensive toys, this driver keeps his cool and with a steady foot on the accelerator and the help of a winch and a convenient tree, eventually emerges triumphant. What did he do right? Well, using the vehicle's winch to help pull the rig out of the mud was the big thing. Also, he kept his cool and, once committed, never hesitated or deviated from his chosen path. Gunning it blindly or backing up in that mess would have meant almost certain death for that vehicle, a lesson that the aforementioned Jeep drivers learned the hard way. Related Video: News Source: Facebook Weird Car News Jeep Driving Off-Road Vehicles Videos

Jeep in St. Louis hacked from Pittsburgh

One of America's most popular vehicles contains a security flaw that allows hackers to remotely commandeer it from anywhere on the planet. Cyber-security researchers Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller say they've accessed critical vehicle controls on a 2014 Jeep Cherokee that allowed them to remotely control critical vehicle functions like braking, transmission function, and steering. Automakers have downplayed the possibility a car could be remotely compromised, but the significance of the findings detailed Tuesday could cause them to reevaluate the threats posed to hundreds of thousands of vehicles already on the road. A key finding – the pair needed no physical access to the Jeep to pull off the attack. Valasek and Miller accessed the controls via a security hole in the Sprint cellular connection to Chrysler's UConnect infotainment system. In the course of their research, Valasek sat in his Pittsburgh home and remotely manipulated Miller's Jeep as he drove along a highway outside St. Louis. If you know a car's IP address, they say, a hacker could control it from anywhere. "We didn't add anything, didn't touch it," Valasek told Autoblog. "A customer could drive one of these things off a lot, and they'd have no clue it had these open attack surfaces." Remotely, he disabled brakes, turned the radio volume up, engaged windshield wipers and tampered with the transmission. Further, they could conduct surveillance on the Jeep, measuring its speed and tracking its whereabouts. They conducted the experiments over multiple breaches. They made their findings public on the same day the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency in charge of vehicle safety, released its latest report on the readiness of government and automakers to fend off these sorts of cyber attacks. Later today, two US Senators are expected to introduce legislation that would help consumers better understand the potential risks of car hacking. In the early stages of their research, Valasek and Miller found a security flaw in the car's wi-fi that allowed them to remotely manipulate controls from a range of about three feet. But in recent months, they found another vulnerability in the Sprint cellular connection in the UConnect system. That was a key breakthrough. "Lo and behold, we found we could communicate with this thing using cellular, and then more research, and 'Holy cow,' we're using the Sprint network to communicate with these vehicles," Valasek said.