1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo Sport Utility 4-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Total auto recalls already on record pace in 2014

If you've noticed that there have been more recalls than usual this year, you may be on to something. According to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the US market is on pace to break a record for recalls. In 2013, 22 million cars were recalled. We're only a third of the way through 2014, though, and we've already halved that figure, with 11 million units recalled. That's wild.
Considering the past few months, it shouldn't be a surprise that General Motors is leading the charge, with six million of the 11 million units recalled coming from one of the General's four brands. Between truck recalls, CUV recalls and the ignition switch recall, 2014 hasn't been a great year for GM.
Other recall leaders include Nissan (one million Sentra and Altima sedans), Honda (900,000 Odyssey minivans), Toyota (over one million units in a few recalls), Volkswagen (150,000 Passat sedans), Chrysler (644,000 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs) and most recently, Ford (434,000 units, the bulk of which were early Ford Escape CUVs). So while it's been a bad year for GM so far, its competitors aren't doing too well, either.

2014 Jeep Cherokee facing production delay

Jeep's bold-faced new direction spearheaded by the 2014 Cherokee is facing some teething issues. According to a report by the Detroit Free Press, production start-up of the controversial new utility vehicle at its Toledo North facility is running about a month behind schedule "due to a wide range of issues." That's according to Mark Chernoby, senior vice president of engineering at Chrysler.
Chernoby maintains that the issues being encountered aren't unusual for the launch of a new vehicle - particularly one with a new powertrain - and he downplayed the delay, telling Jeep dealers that they "will have ample inventory of the midsize SUV by fall." Among the kinks being worked out? Calibrating the Cherokee's cutting-edge ZF nine-speed automatic transmission and refining assembly line tasks to make the process more efficient.
Chrysler expects to start building retail-ready versions of the Cherokee around mid-June, with official sales slated to start in September.

Jeep Renegade pricing to start at $18,595?

While there's no shortage of excitement surrounding the new Jeep Renegade, one of the limiting factors to the little trucklet will be its price. With the Kia Soul starting at $14,900 and the Nissan Juke kicking off at $18,990, the Renegade can't afford to stray away from that price bracket.
And judging by some potentially leaked pricing info, it won't. A quick Google search of "Jeep Renegade Price" reveals (at least for now) that the Italian-built Jeep will start at $18,595. The "as shown" price of $25,895 seems to indicate the Trailhawk model shown on Jeep's consumer page.
If the $18,595 figure is correct, it's likely for the base, two-wheel-drive Sport model, with the Latitude and Limited trims falling somewhere between there and the $25,895 as-equipped price of the Trailhawk.