• A diesel for the Grand Cherokee. It’s a plan, and we’re talking to you for once, North America. (For the Wrangler, too? We’re only going to say that you are now officially permitted to get your hopes up.)
• New Jeep alert: The Wrangler Mojave is based on the Sport model and has 32-inch rubber paired with 17-inch rims, a body-color hardtop and flares, the Sahara’s side steps, and, yes, Mojave and lizard decals (hope you like lizards; they’re inside as well). The MSRP is $29,195.
A nod to the 138-mile Mojave...
A nod to the 138-mile Mojave Trail.
There’s a lizard at the other...
There’s a lizard at the other end, too.
• Looks like Wrangler importation to China is on hold because of reports of vehicles catching on fire. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine pointed to the automatic transmission and related components/systems as the problem.
Restored in 2002. Will be...
Restored in 2002. Will be at the museum.
• In last month’s Dispatch, we told you about lecture workshops at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum (
wpchryslermuseum.org), including one on Jeep’s heritage. That exhibition will feature a ’41 Willys MA78621. Other vehicles due to make the rotation include a ’64 Gladiator fire truck; concepts such as the Hurricane, Treo, Willys II, and Dakar; and an M38.
• Oh, that’s great! Jeep came in right behind Land Rover in the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study! Duh, that’s not great: That ranking was second from the bottom, with about 32 brands ranking higher than Jeep. It did beat out Mini though. Only Mini.
Quote Without Story
“Diesel in some of our models makes absolute sense”
—Mike Manley, Jeep CEO, according to Automotive News
Readers’ Rebuilds
We still want to hear about your project Jeep, so if you haven’t yet sent us photos of your garage project under construction, what the H are you waiting for? Give us some details about your Jeep and its evolution. Pics and info should be sent to
pete.trasborg@jpmagazine.com with Readers’ Rebuilds in the subject line, or snail-mail them to Pete Trasborg, Jp Magazine, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, CA 90245.
Industry News
• Holleytv.com—It’s where new content includes EFI videos and instruction on how to assemble hose.
• By now you’ve heard of the BFGoodrich Outstanding Trails program, but what you probably hadn’t heard was that for 2011, enthusiasts were fully responsible for picking one of the three trails to make the cut. Interlake Trail 19 in Indiana and Morrison Jeep Trail in Wyoming had already been selected, so head to bfgoodrichtrails2011.outdoorhub.com and read up on the contenders that were vying for that final spot: Golden Spike in Utah, Dusy-Ershim in California, Blanca Peak in Colorado, and Mirror Lake, also in California. A $4,000 grant for trail conservation and maintenance goes to the winning trail.
• Looking for a forest, park, BLM site, or chunk of land? There’s an app for that (of course). Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder, available for iPhone and iPod touch, is a database of every federal and state park in the U.S. You’ll learn where to camp and what to see, find directions, and oodles more. You can also go to ohranger.com to get your park on.
• Collector Car Appreciation Day: It’s happening again this year, so mark your calendar for July 8 and head to the SEMA Action Network (semasan.com) for happenings festing collectors cars in your ‘hood.
• Speaking of the SEMA Action Network, a bill it aggressively opposed that would have limited suspension, wheel, tire, and body lift alterations in Oregon has died.
• However, not dead as we went to press is a bill that would ban “use and sale of any exhaust pipe that increases the sound emission of any vehicle” in Massachusetts.
• It’s called DIY Garage and it’s a, well, DIY garage in Escondido, California. The 4,800-square-foot joint offers full-service auto repair, instruction, and tool rental, but the interesting aspect is that it allows customers to work on their own vehicles, a godsend for any of you who don’t have space or a location to tweak your rig. More info can be learned at diygarageca.com.
• Kinda dig the Bonneville Salt Flats? There’s a nonprofit coalition called Save the Salt that is trying to preserve this historical landmark. Head to savethesalt.org for more info about the organization’s goal and how you can help.
Not based on a girl surfing...
Not based on a girl surfing movie.
Mopar is responsible for this Jeep specimen called Blue Crush (you can check out plenty of other Mopar-inspired Jeep concepts in Hazel’s Moab coverage, starting on page 24). King of the Hammers is a California desert race, and Blue Crush points to that for its existence, making this Jeep a hybrid of racing and rockcrawling. Therefore, there’s an off-road suspension designed for high speeds (with internal bypass shocks and hydro-steering) and a Mopar 426ci Hemi worth 540 ponies. A 545RFE performance tranny and gear-driven T-case round out the experiment.