#Jeep

The byzantine House of Stellantis rolled out its own captive finance arm just over a year ago, seeking to pocket some of those sweet loan profits which were flowing out the door whilst the company attempted to rebuild itself following a sojourn through bankruptcy and an embarrassing parade of suitors.

Now, it seems approximately two-thirds of Stellantis dealers in this country are using the captive lender – after, of course, the sales staff pencils a healthy leg in the four-square prior to stuffing them in The Box.

I spent the past few days behind the wheel of a 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe.

Notes? Oh, I have notes.

Last week, we learned that the Jeep Compass and certain Ram trucks were under investigation for loss of power and other issues, which could lead to recalls of those vehicles. At the same time, the automaker issued a formal recall for the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, a recent addition to its lineup. The SUV may experience an engine shutdown caused by the diagnostics system’s “reaction to faults caused by loss of communication.”

Stellantis is going to shutter operations at its plant in Belvidere, Illinois.

This will result in what the company calls "indefinite layoffs."

Jeep is readying an update to the Compass that will bring a new turbocharged engine. Car and Driver located emissions filings from the EPA show the compact SUV is getting a new powertrain that will bring a significant power boost. 

Stellantis is now among the ranks of large companies that have paused or pulled advertising on Twitter.

Today's listing is a no-frills SUV of relatively recent vintage.

We heard them before we saw them.

Our merry band of journalists and PR folks were walking to dinner in Bozeman, Montana on the second night of the 2023 Jeep Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer L press launch when we crossed paths with a bunch of college-aged folks who were walking the opposite way shouting “hi-ho, hi-ho, fossil fuels have got to go!”

If only they could lay eyes on this particular Jeep, which caused one colleague to tweet out a reference to The Simpsons' Canyonero.

The consensus, at least among us shrimp-sucking keyboard warriors who get paid to review cars, is that the Jeep Wagoneer is a bit of a flop, mostly due to an oddly-proportioned exterior design.

Sure, the overfed journo writes between bites of shellfish, the Wagoneer has a nice interior, an excellent stereo, and an unobjectionable, if unremarkable powertrain. But its looks frighten small dogs.

This year’s Auto Show in Detroit is notably light on introductions compared to its heyday in the ‘90s and 2000s when Cobo Hall was packed with announcements and bombastic reveals. Still, some hometown players are showing off new wares – including Ford with the Mustang later tonight – and Jeep with the pair of machines shown here.

You may have noticed a dearth of posts today. That's because one of us was driving to Detroit for the North American International Auto Show and at least one of us has been working on some news we cannot yet share...look for that info as embargoes lift.

Preparing for a future in which there are a lot more batteries than spark plugs, Jeep has whipped the covers off a trio of electrified vehicles bound for the American market – and at least two of the all-electrics will be stateside in 2024.

The idea of a plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler intrigues me. Wranglers that run exclusively on dead-dino juice have never been terribly fuel efficient. That’s true of recent efforts, too, despite overall improvements in automotive technology/design/engineering that have helped even the thirstiest of gas guzzlers become, well, less thirsty.

So it makes sense that a Wrangler that can run at least part of the time on electrons would pique my interest. Even if the alternative powertrain underhood changes little else about the Wrangler experience.

This post is less about bringing breaking news to the B&B and more about giving your author a chance to run photos of a Jeep in an obnoxious color which he greatly enjoys. The brand calls it High Velocity Yellow; I call it fantastic.