1989 Jeep Cherokee Lifted, Built, And Arb Locked on 2040-cars

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2022 New York Auto Show, and Subaru Solterra driven | Autoblog Podcast #725

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. This week was the return of the New York Auto Show, and it was a busy one. Our editors run down some of the reveals, including the updated Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade, the long-wheelbase Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer L, refreshed Subaru Outback, the gorgeous Genesis X Speedium Coupe concept EV, the 2,200-horsepower Deus Vayanne electric hypercar, a new generation of the Kia Niro family, and the updated Nissan Leaf and Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek. Then they discuss the news surrounding Elon Musk's offer to purchase Twitter before diving into reviews of the cars we've been driving, including the new Subaru Solterra, Subaru Forester Wilderness and our long-term BMW 330e xDrive and Hyundai Palisade. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #725 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2022 New York International Auto Show 2023 Kia Telluride revealed at NY Auto Show, adds X-Pro trim 2023 Hyundai Palisade revealed with new styling, features, trim level 2023 Jeep Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer gain L models, Hurricane I6 power 2023 Subaru Outback gets new cladding and lights, more tech Genesis X Speedium Coupe is an electric shooting brake Deus Vayanne EV hypercar reaches for 2,200 horsepower 2023 Kia Niro Hybrid, PHEV and EV debut 2023 Nissan Leaf debuts a mild refresh 2023 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek gets a lift and more power Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter for $43 billion Cars we're driving 2023 Subaru Solterra 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness Long-term 2022 BMW 330e xDrive Long-term 2021 Hyundai Palisade Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video:

China-FCA merger could be a win-win for everyone but politicians

NEW YORK — Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has said the car industry needs to come together, cut costs and stop incinerating capital. So far, his words have mostly fallen on deaf ears among competitors in Europe and North America. But it appears Marchionne has finally found a receptive audience — in China. FCA shares soared Monday after trade publication Automotive News reported the $18 billion Italian-American conglomerate controlled by the Agnelli family rebuffed a takeover from an unidentified carmaker from the Chinese mainland. As ugly as the politics of such a combination may appear at first blush, a transaction could stack up industrially, and perhaps even financially. A Sino-U.S.-European merger would create the first truly global auto group. That could push consolidation to the next level elsewhere. Moreover, China is the world's top market for the SUVs that Jeep effectively invented, so it might benefit FCA financially. A combo would certainly help upgrade the domestic manufacturer; Chinese carmakers have gotten better at making cars, but struggle to build global brands, and they need to develop export markets. Though frivolous overseas shopping excursions by Chinese enterprises are being reined in by Beijing, acquisitions that support the modernization and transformation of strategic industries still receive support, and the government considers the automotive industry to be strategic. A purchase of FCA by Guangzhou Automobile, Great Wall or Dongfeng Motors would probably get the same stamp of approval ChemChina was given for its $43 billion takeover of Syngenta. What's standing in the way? Apart from price (Automotive News said FCA's board deemed the offer insufficient) there's the not-insignificant matter of politics. Even as FCA shares soared, President Donald Trump interrupted his vacation to instruct the U.S. Trade Representative to look into whether to investigate China's trade policies on intellectual property. Seeing storied Detroit brands like Jeep, Chrysler, Ram and Dodge handed off to a Chinese company would provoke howls among Trump's economic-nationalist supporters. It might not play well in Italy, either, to see Alfa Romeo and Maserati answering to Wuhan instead of Turin — though Automotive News said they might be spun off separately. Yet, as Morgan Stanley observes, "cars don't ship across oceans easily," and political considerations increasingly demand local manufacture of valuable products.

Jeep still working to improve Cherokee's 9-speed auto

Fiat Chrysler is hoping an upcoming software update will stem the tide of consumer complaints surrounding its nine-speed automatic transmission. Owners of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee have reported a number of problems on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's SaferCar.gov website, since the new model and its troubled gearbox arrived way back in October 2013. The software update is "intended to keep the vehicle performing as intended, and to prevent durability issues from occurring in the future," an FCA spokesperson told Automotive News, and will be available to owners of both the 2014 to 2015 Jeep Cherokee and the 2015 Chrysler 200, which also uses the 9AT. While FCA will be notifying consumers of the update, owners can also request the software reflash if they happen into their dealer before then. Despite the widely documented problems with the transmission, the only complaints on NHTSA's website relate to the 2014 Cherokee – neither the 2015 Jeep nor the 200 have received any complaints. That bodes well as FCA prepares to begin deliveries of the 2015 Jeep Renegade and launch the Fiat 500X, both of which pair the 9AT with the 2.4-liter Tigershark four-cylinder. "We have had to do an inordinate amount of intervention on that transmission, surely beyond what any of us had forecast," FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne told Automotive News. "There are things that we have done – that we continue to do. Our proactive customer care intervention has actually increased in intensity on these vehicles in 2014, especially in the second half." What's fascinating about the 9AT's problems are that they haven't been the fault of manufacturer ZF, but have related to software that wasn't "mature" and had "teething problems," Marchionne has said previously, AN reports. With the lack of criticism for the 9AT in 2015 models and this pending software update, though, here's hoping that FCA has finally figured out its fuel-sipping gearbox. Related Video: