2014 Jeep Patriot Latitude on 2040-cars

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Jeep pickup truck apparently will be named Jeep Gladiator

For months we — we, meaning the automotive world in general — have been operating under the assumption that the Jeep pickup truck would be named Scrambler. For those of us who always thought that sounded like a breakfast at Denny's, vindication: According to Jeep Scrambler Forum — yes, they were so sure, they named themselves that — the truck will carry a different name: Jeep Gladiator. Gladiator, we salute you. Jeep Scrambler Forum says it'll roll with the changes: "Stay tuned as we'll be making the switch to JeepGladiatorForum.com in the coming days (smiley face, thumbs up)." The discovery came when a forum "longtime trusted source" found a web page with the new name that went up momentarily on FCA's media site. No sense looking for it, it's not there now. But here's the screen grab: Gladiator is not new. It was the name, way back in 2005, for the Jeep pickup concept: View 5 Photos Could this still be a mistake, and Scrambler will stick? It seems more likely that this is it. One thing's for sure: We're so close to finding out, we can almost taste it. The truck has been testing everywhere, from the Rubicon Trail to the streets of Detroit and Auburn Hills, where it's pretty easy to see a camouflaged example on most any morning commute. The wait is almost over: The wraps will come off later this month at the L.A. Auto Show. So what do you think of Gladiator? Let the movie quotes fly ... Related Video:

Land Rover Defender V8 vs. Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 | V8 4x4s square off on paper

Land Rover pulled the sheet off its 2022 Defender on Wednesday, introducing another high-performance V8 to the off-road segment. This time, it's a 5.0-liter, supercharged V8 boasting 518 horsepower. It will be available in both the Defender 90 and 110 models. In the former, Land Rover says it can crack off a 0-60 run in just 4.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 149 mph. The long-wheelbase 110 will be a bit slower, but "slow" probably isn't the right adjective to use here at all.  But Land Rover isn't the only automaker offering a high-performance variant of its off-road SUV. While Jeep may have been sneered at for presenting the 2021 Wrangler Rubicon 392 on the heels of the 2021 Ford Bronco's introduction, it starts to make a lot more sense in this context. There's reportedly a high-output Bronco on the way, too, so call Jeep the dinosaur of the group all you want, but you can't put a price on being first. Well, you can, actually, but that's not the point.  Thankfully, both Land Rover and Jeep have provided enough specs for us to rough out a comparison chart. Since the Rubicon 392 is offered only in four-door guise, we're looking at the long-wheelbase Defender 110 as its direct competitor here. Have a look: There are a few caveats to mention off the top. For starters, we don't have an official curb weight for the V8-powered Defender yet, as Land Rover has not finalized its U.S. specs. We used the European figures (as provided by a spokesperson), which we expect to be accurate within about 50 pounds. The 0-60 time provided by Land Rover was for the Defender 90, which is smaller and somewhat lighter than the 110. When equipped with the inline-6, the Defender 110 is about a tenth of a second slower to 60 than the Defender 90, so we figure it should be roughly the same for the V8.  While the Defender has nearly 50 horsepower on the Wrangler, that advantage disappears thanks to the Land Rover V8's monster weight penalty, which will fall somewhere between 600 and 700 pounds depending on equipment. Yikes. On the flip side, however, the Land Rover has the edge in top speed, and it's not even close. Chalk that up to the tires, we suspect. We know for a fact that the Rubicon 392's all-terrains dictate its speed limiter; Jeep's own engineers told us as much. This could make for a (hypothetically) interesting drag race, as the Jeep's advantage off the line may evaporate once triple digits come into play.

2014 Jeep Cherokee starting price set at $22,995*

Love it or hate it, the 2014 Cherokee is on its way to a Jeep showroom near you this fall. Today, Chrysler announced the different trim levels, features and pricing for its new compact utility with a starting price of $22,995 (*not including $995 for destination), which is $400 less than the 2012 Liberty it ostensibly replaces.
Available in four trim levels - Sport, Latitude, Limited and Trailhawk - the new Cherokee will come standard with Chrysler's 2.4-liter Tigershark inline four-cylinder engine with the upper three levels offering the option of the company's 3.2-liter Pentastar V6. The base Sport is your typical entry-level model, featuring equipment including manual cloth seats and black exterior mirrors and door handles, but it also has a five-inch Uconnect media center, LED taillights and 10 standard airbags. Stepping up from the Sport model, Latitude and Limited trims bring increasing levels of luxury starting at $24,495 and $27,995, respectively. All three of these trims are front-wheel drive in standard configuration and offer varying versions of Jeep's Active Drive four-wheel-drive system.
The range-topping $29,495 Cherokee Trailhawk (shown above) comes standard with four-wheel drive and numerous upgrades to earn Jeep's Trail Rated fender badge. These changes include a unique design that adds an off-road suspension with taller ride height giving more aggressive approach and departure angles, underbody skid plates, distinguishing exterior design elements and a seven-inch, reconfigurable instrument gauge cluster similar to what it found in high-trim Dodge Dart models. Scroll down for a full breakdown of the 2014 Cherokee pricing and trim levels, and let us know what you think of the model's pricing and equipment in Comments.