1978 Jeep Cj7 With Supercharged V8 on 2040-cars

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2014 Jeep Patriot and Compass ditch CVT for six-speed auto

It was reported in Automotive News a few months ago, but a new report on Allpar.com adds some details to news that the 2014 Jeep Compass and Patriot will get a six-speed automatic to replace the CVTs they currently use. According to a tip provided to Allpar, the 2014 models will begin production in March and be on sale sometime in the summer. The Jatco-sourced CVT in use until now - Jatco is owned by Nissan and Mitsubishi - has been often criticized, and many won't be sad to see it go.
The incoming six-speed automatic is said to be an all-wheel-drive cog-swapper that's the work of Hyundai and Magna and has been paired with the DynaMax AWD system used in the Hyundai ix35 and Kia Sportage. It won't be the only Chrysler product using a transmission with ties to Hyundai: the six-speed automatic in the Dodge Dart comes from Powertech, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyundai. With the Patriot and Compass said to be driving down the trail for the last time this year, it will be a short run for the new tranny and the rumored addition of a backup camera and power rear liftgate on the Compass.

Jeep's new Chip Away commercial has us hunting Al Pacino's back catalog

Chrysler has done a pretty good job as of late turning its television commercials into pep talks or rallying cries, but for its first ad for the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, it turned to Al Pacino's inspirational speech from the movie Any Given Sunday. In the movie, Pacino's character talks about how football is a game of inches, but the commercial, titled Chip Away, focuses more on the attention to detail that Jeep has exhibited on its updated flagship SUV.
Centering around the newest Grand Cherokee model, the luxurious $47,995 Summit trim level, the commercial shows off some of the hand-stitched leathers and real metal and wood accents found inside the cabin. Check out the new 60-second spot by scrolling below.

NHTSA upgrading Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango headliner fire probe

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into headliner fires experienced by a small number of Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango owners has been upgraded to an engineering analysis, the step before the initiation of a recall. In August last year the investigation began with 146,000 Grand Cherokees from 2012 after three complaints were received, but a report on Edmunds says it has been expanded to include 593,299 vehicles covering the 2011-2013 model years for the Jeep and the Dodge Durango, which uses the same headliner assembly, because of possibly 52 incidents of fire.
In some of those incidents drivers have reported a burning odor, smoke or open flames that were contained to the headliner or migrated to another area of the passenger compartment. The culprit has apparently been found: NHTSA blaming an electrical short in the sun visor vanity light wiring, which is routed under the headliner and held in place by three screws. Chrysler began its own probe into the issue when it was first reported and is still looking into the situation while, "fully supporting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's investigation."