2007 Jeep Gr Cherokee Overland Rust Free Original Az Owned, Serviced And Driven on 2040-cars

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2014 Jeep Cherokee: Long-term wrap-up [w/video]

Sorry, Sweet Brown. Your place in Autoblog history as the most highly demanded long-term car has come to an end. We just finished a one-year test of a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, and after 27,000 miles of hard use, one thing is very clear: this is one of the best all-rounders we've ever tested. The Jeep Cherokee isn't perfect, and our long-term tester proved that. But no compact crossover is. Still, the Trailhawk oozed personality where other small CUVs seem bland, and the Jeep felt more like a trusty companion than just another test car. For road trips, the requests weren't, "Can I have a long-term car this weekend?" They were specific: "I'd like the Cherokee, please." No matter the season, the driver, or the situation, the Jeep was always a sure fit. Fiat Chrysler bet big with this one. It had a global platform, a new engine, and one heck of a funny face. The end result was a CUV that we'd gladly welcome back into our fleet any day. View 51 Photos Our car carried a sticker price of $38,059, but that's without goodies like HID headlamps, a sunroof, or even full leather seats. Lots To Like Admittedly, we picked the Trailhawk trim for cosmetic reasons (more on it's off-road capability in a second). To this day, many of us still think the Cherokee is a homely little thing, but its inherent weirdness doesn't stand out as much when you add the black accents and big, knobby tires of the Trailhawk model. The butched-up look really works here, and we wouldn't have wanted the Jeep any other way. Of course, opting for Trailhawk package meant getting one of Jeep's more expensive Cherokees. Our car carried a sticker price of $38,059, but that's without goodies like HID headlamps (which we could have used – the halogens were pretty weak), a sunroof, or even full leather seats. This car genuinely felt premium, though. Right off the bat, the Cherokee received compliments for its comfortable, supportive seats, not to mention the high quality of interior materials and the general fit and finish. Specifically, the interior packaging won us over early on. We appreciated things like the higher-end stereo, smart layout of the center console, and ample storage, including a bin under the front passenger seat cushion. (That said, we also found that this bin becomes a catch-all for wrappers, french fries, and anything else that might get dropped on the seat.) The Uconnect infotainment system was a joy to use, never giving us any finicky problems or usability issues.

FCA inline-six rumored to be real, headed for Jeep Wagoneer

In September, Allpar reported that that clues being dropped at Fiat- Chrysler headquarters, in the carmaker's factories, and on engineer resumes pointed to the development of an inline six-cylinder engine. The site has just proclaimed the rumor is reality, writing that the straight-six, "turbocharged to meet or beat 5.7 Hemi power ratings, with a smoother torque curve, is on the way." The motor's first outing is expected to be either the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, debuting perhaps next year, or the Jeep Wagoneer, debuting in 2020 or 2021. "Tornado" is the purported codename for the power plant said to be just under three liters in displacement, expanding the family begun with the Global Medium Engine 2.0-liter turbo codenamed Hurricane. Engine bay constraints and a long use horizon mean engineers won't simply add two more cylinders to the GME, however. Allpar says the brief is to keep the Tornado GME-T6 — the alphanumeric for "turbocharged six" — no more than three inches longer than the Tigershark 2.4-liter four-cylinder. That means "major design changes" that could include a space-saving head, more closely spaced cylinders, and no cylinder liners. An FCA division called Comau could be called on for its "SmartSpray" plasma lining technology. Allpar muses that the standard version of the engine for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram could get a single twin-scroll turbocharger. Performance trims for Alfa Romeo and Maserati could get different heads and maybe twin turbos, an SRT version might also get both those tweaks. History shows that the Italian versions would make changes to the block, as well. Even so, the Tornado would be less expensive than any Ferrari-supplied V6. A straight-six would put FCA in company with current adopters BMW and Mercedes-Benz, future users like Jaguar, and perhaps Aston Martin. The engine would span the widest range of use cases in the U.S. carmaker's portfolio, though. Potential applications include being a base engine for Ram trucks, serving double duty as a base engine and 5.7-liter Hemi replacement for the Dodge Charger and Challenger, working in the high-end Jeeps, and as a properly hot trim — with Ferrari-designed heads — in the luxury Italian sports cars. The Alfa Romeo Giulia begs for just such motivation to fill the gap between the 280-hp, $42,695 Ti Sport RWD and the 505-hp, $73,700 Giulia Quadrifoglio RWD. And a twin-turbo inline-six in a Maserati Alfieri would stack up nicely with the Germans.

Six 'shut up and take my money' cars

Any time you see this iconic moment in pop culture - Shut up and take my money! - posted in response to a new car reveal, rumor for an upcoming model or even lip-service to a vehicle that should exist, you can bet there's some intrinsic good in the idea. Though depending on the person offering up the cash, that good could take the form of extraordinary form, functionality, weight savings, power, handling, etc. You get the idea.
In fact, when I first proposed this list, I reached out to the Autoblog staff to help me brainstorm. Here are some of the ideas they offered up that I ultimately didn't use: Jaguar XE Coupe, Pagani Huayra Roadster, Mercedes-Benz S-Class "parade car" (cabriolet), Morgan 3-Wheeler with Ducati V-twin, Ford Transit Connectamino (pickup), Mercedes CLA63 AMG, Ford Fusion 5.0, BMW i8 Spyder, Lexus RC-F Shooting Brake, Volvo XC90 Polestar. Oh, and things we collectively wanted to stick Dodge's Hellcat in were almost as numerous as models that Fiat Chrysler Automotive currently makes (though none quite so compelling as the Grand Cherokee you see above.)
Ultimately though, while I used a couple of ideas from my colleagues, the list of cars I'd shell out for unquestionably is very personal. Though it isn't complete, what follows is a selection of cars whose very existence would prompt me - or the trust-fund-baby versions of me - to utter without hesitation: "Shut up and take my money."