Technically, Chrysler had first used monocoque construction on the short-lived 1934 Airflow. Unibody is the term used for a partial monocoque construction that has a subframe.

While it’s true that the Caliber-based Patriot/Compass are also unibody construction, the rest of the current Jeep lineup (Wrangler, LIberty, Grand Cherokee, and Commander) still maintain a traditional truck, body-on-frame construction. I believe body-on-frame construction is what is really meant by the little ‘Trail Rated’ badge on most Jeeps.

I think i just threw up in my mouth a little.

Seriously, could someone who actually cares about the jeep brand please buy it from the .8 before it’s too late?

So they sold themselves out to Daimler and started chopping off some limbs, most importantly the small car team that was responsible for beating the Japanese at their own game with the Neon. Of course, nobody mentions or remembers that the 1G Neons outperformed just about everybody because of the severe cost-cutting that they were doing at the time absolutely destroyed the car’s reputation. This was also the group that was responsible for the original Stratus and the PT Cruiser.

Chrysler probably could have been the best-off domestic today if they would have decided to do something about their quality and reliability issues instead of claiming defeat and running to Stuttgart to sell its soul.

The Big Three remind me of the Black Night from Monty Python. They keep thinking slashing and burning will somehow magically get them to profitability without having products customers want. Each time they slash and burn they cut off another body part. Pretty soon all you’ll see left is a head on the ground yelling “Have at you !” at Toyota.

Scottie I think you nailed it.

Chrysler really is the most intriguing of the detroit 3 to follow. Ford is the most boring, and GM is the most comical.

Not to be disrespectful of our Detroit Dynamos, but when they post losses like that, isn’t it fair to say the whole shebang is “non-earning”?

That to me says car based already, since there isn’t a “REAL” truck on the planet that doesn’t have a frame.

What is supposedly happening is that the Grand Cherokee, Duragon, and possibly Aspen if they decide to are all going to be on the same unibody platform. The GC was already unibody, so this is nothing new. But, with the announcement of the Durango going to a unibody platform, some might equate unibody with car-based.

A sign of the times. Chrysler is up and leaving the large body-on-frame SUV market altogether. Who would have thought that 10 years ago?

windswords – Maybe it’s a sign that they’re not planning on stripping and flipping Chrysler? Call me crazy, I know.