1999 Jeep Wrangler 2dr Sport on 2040-cars

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Jeep Renegade gets new duds courtesy of Mopar

In a uncommon move, Jeep has found itself with customized versions of a car we've become quite familiar seeing on auto show floors well before it's actual on-sale date. But that's okay – we're pretty fond of the little Renegade, and we're even more keen to get behind the wheel, something that's scheduled to take place in just a few weeks. The two Renegade models you see here have been blessed with bits and pieces from the Mopar parts catalog. These Jeep Performance Parts and Authentic Accessories will be made available to buyers of the Renegade who want to add some factory-backed custom flair to their rough-and-tumble baby crossovers, whether they plan to stay on the asphalt or head off the beaten path. Starting on the street, the Urban Jeep Renegade doesn't really have any major modifications, its factory-spec bike carrier, mirror caps, grille rings, taillamp surrounds and roof rails in Omaha Orange paint over an Anvil-color base serving more to make it stand out from the crowd than actually offer any additional capability. The interior of the Urban Renegade also gets Omaha Orange highlights to go along with Katzkin leather seats. On the dirtier side of the crossover equation, the Commando Green off-road Mopar-modded Renegade gets concept skid plate, prototype rock rails, rear valance and production roof rails provide some added protection and carrying capabilities. X-shaped graphics mimic the jerry can-style motif of the Renegade's tail lamps. Inside, Commando Green bits again join Katzkin leather. Take a good look at all the images above, and feel free to read more about the Mopar-spec Jeep Renegade models below. Mopar to Showcase Trio of Customized Vehicles at NAIAS 2015 - Mopar display at 2015 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit to spotlight how Mopar parts help customers personalize their rides - Off-road Mopar-equipped Jeep® Renegade makes Trailhawk model of Jeep brand's all-new small SUV even more trail tough using Jeep Performance Parts - Urban Mopar-equipped Jeep Renegade enhances city-sized proportions and versatility of the all-new 2015 Renegade with selections from Jeep Authentic Accessories catalog - Dodge Challenger T/A Concept blends vintage design cues with cutting-edge Mopar performance mods January 9, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich.

New Barracuda, Grand Cherokee Trackhawk coming soon

As we write this, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is conducting a major dealership event in sunny Las Vegas. New vehicles are being announced, redesigned offerings are being teased, and promises are being made to the sprawling company's dealer body. And, as all these announcements are meant to be tip-top secret, they're leaking out left, right, and center. Naturally. FCA is telling its dealers all of the vehicles shown at the Vegas gala will be in showrooms within 12 to 24 months, and that the product offensive will include at least 30 new or significantly refreshed models. Some of those we've known about since FCA boss Sergio Marchionne unveiled his highly ambitious five-year plan in May 2014, while we're hearing about others for the very first time. We've reached out to our sources within FCA, and will update this post as we learn more. It should be noted that while we've tried to rely on concrete sources or corroborations from multiple sources, some of the news here comes from people claiming to have been in attendance and posting in forums like Allpar and Jalopnik's Opposite Lock. Unless corroborated by a mainstream source or confirmed by our own sources within FCA, we're listing each item that comes from a forum. Have those grains of salt at the ready. Chrysler Dodge Durango-sized SUV with stow-and-go was shown. A poster on Allpar Forums claims it had a Durango's interior. New Aspen? Town and Country PHEV confirmed (again). A plug-in minivan was originally announced as part of five-year plan. No news on 200 or 300. Dodge The redesigned Charger will use the Alfa Romeo Giulia's rear-drive platform and, according Automotive News, draw inspiration from 1999's Charger concept car. We're wagering the 24-month time frame specified to dealers will move the new sedan's arrival up from 2018 to mid-2017. Jalopnik's Opposite Lock claims two new Challenger models are coming. Challenger ADR (American Drag Racer) and T/A. ADR should appeal to bracket racers and is more powerful than the SRT Hellcat, while T/A is for track rats, just like Viper T/A. Automotive News claims the legendary Barracuda nameplate will be revived as a Dodge. The Barracuda will be smaller than Challenger, offered as both a coupe and a convertible. Allpar claims it will feature modern styling. A Dodge Durango SRT was announced with 6.4-liter Hemi V8 and rear-drive. Sources within FCA confirmed its arrival with Autoblog. Apparently, dealers were shown an example in B5 Blue.

Vile Gossip: Ladies who launch

Jean Jennings has been writing about cars for more than 30 years, after stints as a taxicab driver and as a mechanic in the Chrysler Proving Grounds Impact Lab. She was a staff writer at Car and Driver magazine, the first executive editor and former president and editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine, the founder of the blog Jean Knows Cars and former automotive correspondent for Good Morning America. She has lifetime awards from both the Motor Press Guild and the New England Motor Press Association. Look for more Vile Gossip columns in the future. The year was 2006. We were driving a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 across the Florida Panhandle from Jacksonville to Panama City, only because I couldn't convince Bugatti to let me be the first to drive its exotic powerhouse, the world's fastest car at that time, all the way across America. One gleaming example had arrived in time for the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, where the journos massed for their quick test drives out the front drive of the Ritz Carlton, down a short stretch of the A1A, and back to the Ritz. Not far enough for me. I wanted to take the Veyron in all of its 16-cylinder, 1,001-horsepower, $1.3-million-dollar glory on a coast-to-coast extravaganza of a road trip. Never hurts to ask. I asked. Once the Bugatti guys stopped hyperventilating, I explained that the coastal adventure would be contained wholly within the state of Florida, from the Atlantic coast to the Gulf of Mexico. My secret destination, however, was to be Vernon, Florida, home of the great Errol Morris' classic documentary about a town in the Panhandle with the highest per-capita population of citizens who'd blown off or whacked off a limb for insurance money. (Google "Nub City.") The Swiss head of Bugatti public relations thought it hilarious. He showed up in a van with a couple of German mechanics to follow us and a failed French Formula 1 driver to serve as my chaperone. I came with a photographer from Germany and one of the most infamous of bad-boy auto magazine tech editors, the irrepressible Don Sherman. Sherman had his own reason for going, and it had nothing to do with a Veyron to Vernon. Once we gave up looking for nubbies, he ordered me to veer south to the handgrip of the Panhandle, familiarly known as the Redneck Riviera. The Don was aiming to secretly execute the Veyron's first Launch Control blastoff in captivity.