Jeep News & Rumors
Weird photo op: Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro race drivers, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, posed on a Wrangler at the Wrooom 2011 F1 & MotoGP Press Ski Meeting (yeah, ski meetinggood luck using that with your tax guy), an event in Italy for which Fiat Group Automobiles was the sponsor and official vehicle. The Rubicon had the new standard 200hp 2.8L turbodiesel (worth up to 339 lb-ft of torque, depending on the trans).
Did you like the Eminem/Chrysler Imported from Detroit commercial? Don’t be surprised if there’s more Marshall Mathers/Chrysler product intertwinement in the future.
Theirs is bigger than ours....
Theirs is bigger than ours. Make it stop.
Jeep’s Facebook page had more than one million fans as we went to press. As we went to press, Jp’s Facebook page had 5,800 fans. How can you like one and not the other? Get to work clicking the thumb’s up, people.
Grand Cherokee SRT? Expect the new 6.4L Hemi (which is estimated at 465 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque in the ’12 Dodge Charger) and possibly even paddle-shift abilities.
Your only glimpse of the Grand...
Your only glimpse of the Grand diesel?
Oh, and the Grand Cherokee’s gettin’ a diesel! (Void in Florida, Mississippi, and all North America for that matter, and any market that isn’t a diesel market while we’re at it). The new 3.0L V-6 with Fiat’s MultiJet II technology will make an estimated 241 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. There will also be a low-output version worth about 190 hp and 324 lb-ft of torque.
The ’11 Grand was named Official Winter Vehicle of New England.
Right now, the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau is all about Jeep’s 70th (since Butler, Pennsylvania, is pretty historic in Jeep’s family tree). On August 12, there will be a parade and cruise in downtown Butler, with the goal of setting a new Guinness Book of World Record for longest Jeep parade. Then on the 13th and 14th, the Butler County Fairgrounds will hold a pretty massive festival, complete with a playground designed by Rausch Creek Off-Road Park, which will include rockcrawling and a mud pit. The days will also contain off-site trail rides, a history exhibit, a Jeep show-’n’-shine, and military exhibits. The hope is that proceeds from the event will save the Bantam factory building. Head to bantamjeepfestival.com for more info.
A document has been released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration/Recovery Act called Individuals Received Millions of Dollars in Erroneous Plug-In Electric and Alternative Motor Vehicle Credits. Uh, it’s a comedy? Well, if you say so: 9,621 people, who e-filed tax returns with $27.1 million in bogus claims. And, great, Jeep ended up being listed among the vehicles.
It has arrived: the Jp iPhone/iPod Touch app. You can get Jp exclusives, wallpaper, breaking Jeep news, and much more, plus the ability to share on Facebook/Twitter/email.
Employee Quote Without Story
Sweet! I’ve already killed all the squirrels in my yard and need something new to shoot at.
-Editor Cappa to Pete, after Pete said he would come over to pick up a spare exhaust manifold located at Cappa’s compound.
Quote Without Story
It was a seven-passenger vehicle, but if you looked at the overall accommodations, it was quite cramped in the back. It was compromised compared to what our vision is for the new Grand Wagoneer
-Jeep’s Mike Manley, according to Automotive News. Rumor is the new GW will be based on the Grand Cherokee platform, but with a third row.
Industry News
Thousands of submissions later, Bobby McCloskey from Texarkana, Arkansas, was named winner of Corbeau’s seat-design contest. The new Baja XRS is a reclining suspension seat, with injection-molded memory foam and technology to absorb bumps. It will be a direct bolt-in for most CJs, all YJs, and any Jeep with Corbeau custom brackets, and be available in vinyl or a vinyl/cloth combo. The introductory price tag will be $349.
Get a $50 mail-in rebate from Bushwacker on Flat Style fender flares for the ’07-’11 JK or ’84-’01 XJ, and a $25 rebate for ’97-’06 TJs. Buy by April 30, and mail it in the proof of purchase by May 30. Forms and info are at bushwacker.com.
More rebates: Rancho has a No Limits promotion going onprepaid debit cards are being offered from $50 to $500, depending on which qualifying suspension system and shocks you purchase. The offer is good through August 31; the rebate form and receipt must be postmarked by October 1. Get the scoop at
gorancho.com.
DynoMax is holding a Sound Off promotion. Now through August 31 (but with a postmark of your paperwork by October 1), there will be a $75 mail-in rebate if you buy a qualifying cat-back system. Head over to dynomax.com for details.
We’ve talked about the proactive-ness of the SEMA Action Network with regard to protecting four-wheeling and all things related to the automotive world. If you haven’t joined yet, go next door and ask your neighbor to punch you. Once you’re back home, head right over to semasan.com and become a member. One of our favorite features on the site is the ability to track legislation in our state. You’ll see a section on the left of the site called My State. There, you’ll be able to stay up to date on new and existing issues that need your help to fight or support. For example, as we went to press, aftermarket exhaust was being threatened in Oregon.
Mopar is going to add 1,500 accessories this year. Yes, we can answer your question of how many are currently offered: more than 8,000. Yes, you should buy and install them all at once, because we’re curious if your Jeep will still be able to move under its own power.
Put it on the calendarJuly 8 is Collector Car Appreciation Day. SEMA and its councils, the Automotive Restoration Market Organization and Hot Rod Industry Alliance, worked with the senate to pass last year’s day of the same name. This year, there will again be celebrations nationwide on July 8, so keep checking semasan.com for a list of haps.