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Toledo gets proactive in fight to keep Jeep Wrangler

Let's make this very plain - the city of Toledo, OH loves its Jeeps. It loves them so fervently that the very rumor of the Jeep Wrangler moving out of its traditional home prompted the city's mayor, D. Michael Collins, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich to hold a weekend conference call with Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.
"The purpose of this call was for the mayor and governor to gain clarity on Mr. Marchionne's comments last week regarding the possibility of the next generation of Jeep Wrangler being built at a location other than the Toledo North Assembly Plant," a spokesman for the mayor's office told The Toledo Blade.
While no further commitments were made by any party, Collins and Kasich's statement was quite unequivocal about keeping Toledo's unwillingness to let the Wrangler go, saying "the city and its partners will again rise to the occasion to ensure that the new Wrangler is made in Toledo." According to the newspaper, the next step is for face-to-face meetings between officials from Ohio and FCA.

Chrysler defies NHTSA, says it won't recall 2.7M Jeep Grand Cherokee, Liberty models

Facing a possible recall totaling around 2.7 million of its most popular SUVs, Chrysler remains insistent that the 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty are safe vehicles. This comes on the heels of a recall request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for these two models due to fuel tanks mounted behind the rear axle, which could possibly be ruptured during severe rear-end collisions, leading to an increased risk of fire. In response to the allegations, Chrysler says that it does not agree with NHTSA nor does it plan on recalling either vehicle.
Chrysler said both SUVs "met and exceeded" the requirements for fuel-system integrity, and cooperated fully with NHTSA since the investigation was opened in 2010. While 15 deaths and 46 injuries have been reported from fires caused by rear-end collisions on these models, Chrysler is claiming that the vast majority of incidents cited by NHTSA were "high-energy crashes," including one where a stopped Grand Cherokee was rear-ended by a tractor trailer going 65 miles per hour.
The automaker wraps up by saying "NHTSA seems to be holding Chrysler Group to a new standard for fuel tank integrity that does not exist now and did not exist when the Jeep vehicles were manufactured." Scroll down for Chrysler's official response to NHTSA, but we're pretty sure this isn't the last we've heard on this issue.

The 2019 Jeep Grand Wagoneer looks like a Grand Cherokee on steroids

It's a special day for Jeep fans. Thanks to the same dealer meeting leak that gave us a look at the 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL, here is our first glimpse of the new Grand Wagoneer. When it arrives for 2019, this three-row crossover SUV will be the top model in Jeep's range. We knew the Grand Wagoneer would be expensive – Jeep CEO Mike Manley said not to rule out prices upwards of $130,000 for this Range Rover fighter – but now we know it looks like it wants to pick an actual fight with its competitors. What's visible of the front and rear styling is very reminiscent of the current Grand Cherokee, but it's muscled up a bit and gets a set of sinister seven-element headlights. The seven-light theme is carried to the rear as well, and we have a feeling the number is a not-so-subtle reference to the seven-slot grille that all Jeeps wear. That said, here the grille is a short, wide-mouth affair that is a bit of a departure from those of other models. And there's a lot of brightwork in these renderings, not just on the grille but for similar pieces that connect the exhaust tips in the rear and tow-hook surrounds up front. Either by design or engineering, the Grand Wagoneer also looks wider than the two-row Grand Cherokee. The Grand Wagoneer will be about the size of the Dodge Durango three-row crossover and will be based on the platform used by the next-generation Grand Cherokee. The GC and Durango currently share a platform based on one used by Mercedes for its large SUVs, and it is not yet known whether the new Jeeps will use an evolution of that platform or something new. Hemi V8 and diesel and gas V6 engines are the likely powertrain options, and we wouldn't be surprised to see a Hellcat-powered version of this mean-looking luxury SUV at some point. Or at least we can hope. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Dealer Leak Spy Shots Image Credit: KGP Photography Design/Style Spy Photos Jeep Crossover SUV