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Chrysler's Jefferson North plant builds 5-millionth SUV [w/video]

Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant opened in 1992 for production of the first Jeep Grand Cherokee, but in the subsequent years, the Detroit plant has gone on to produce some of the company's biggest SUVs including the Jeep Commander and Dodge Durango. Earlier this week, the plant produced its five-millionth SUV, which, fittingly, was a Grand Cherokee.
Celebrating the plant's five-millionth unit, the silver 2014 Grand Cherokee was promptly donated to the USO. In addition to this milestone SUV, Chrysler also had a near-perfect 1993-95 ZJ Grand Cherokee on hand for the photo op. Scroll down for the Chrysler press release as well as a video showing some of the speeches from the celebration.

Dodge Challenger Hellcat valet mode angers parking attendant

I spent over three years as a valet. It was good money and an excellent second job when I was getting my start as a writer – ten hours per week at the small restaurant I worked for was good for anywhere from $150 to $250. Over those years, I can say with absolute confidence I never goofed off in someone's car. Unfortunately, not all valets are so trustworthy. Like these idiots. Apparently, a Dodge Challenger Hellcat owner captured the valets at Universal Studios in Florida on his dashcam messing about behind the wheel of his 707-horsepower muscle car. One valet is behind the wheel and there's another riding shotgun as they aimlessly wander about the parking lot, lamenting the fact that the owner (wisely) engaged valet mode before handing over the keys. "We can't do anything," they whine. The owner, for his part, seemed pretty cool about the whole thing, writing in the YouTube description that he purposely kicked up the exposure at the end of the video to hide the identities of the valets. He also added that they didn't do anything wrong – this former valet agrees to disagree, based on the over four minutes it takes to actually park the car – and that he was thankful for valet mode. You can check out the video above – be warned, though, there is some language in it. And remember, if you valet your car, use valet mode, check the odometer when you drop off and pick up, and if everything checks out, give the poor guys a tip. Want more recent Hellcat news? Check out the Wrangler Trailcat concept headed to the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, photos of a possible Hellcat HD Ram pickup, and spy shots of the Hellcat-engined Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. It's been a good week for 707-hp Mopars. Related Video:

Hypermiling a Ram 1500 EcoDiesel to 38.1 mpg

You never quite know what Wayne Gerdes has up his sleeve. The man who coined the term hypermiling is always looking for adventurous ways to prove that anyone – even you... yes, you – can eke out more miles per gallon just by changing the way you drive. Saying that is easy. Proving it by going on outlandish cross-country drives is hard. But for Gerdes and his team of fuel economy fiends over at CleanMPG, hard is half the fun. Our latest adventure appeared, at first glance, to be nearly impossible. Which is why we always answer the phone when Gerdes calls. He likes to take journalists along on his drives, not only to try teach us how to hypermile but also to prove that we can be taught. The first time I 'helped' him and his team was when we got over 30 miles per gallon in a 2011 Ford F-150 XLT with the EcoBoost 3.5-liter V6. The EPA rated that truck with at just 16 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway. So, we'll count that trip as a success. Next up was a cross-country drive last fall in a trio of Audi TDI vehicles to prove that you don't need to drive extra slow to beat the EPA numbers. In fact, we made it from Los Angeles to New York City in just over 46 hours, cramped but not cranky. We had once again proven that how you drive is hugely important to your fuel usage. Our latest adventure appeared, at first glance, to be nearly impossible. The EPA says that the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel we would be driving gets just 22 combined mpg (19 city and 27 highway). Gerdes' idea was to drive it as far north from Houston, TX towards Detroit, MI as we could go on one tank. The day before we left, our itinerary got an extra stop. Instead of taking one of the official Shell Eco-marathon prototype vehicles to Detroit, it was decided to bring the winning diesel-powered prototype from the just-finished event to The Henry Ford Museum, where it had been arranged the car would be displayed. The winning car was built by a small team (just four students) from Sullivan High School in Sullivan, IN, who managed to beat a number of college teams with a score of 1,899.32 mpg. That target would be a bit out of reach for the Ram, but could we get 1,000 miles from the tank? Since the truck has a 26 gallon tank (officially, anyway), that would mean the EPA says we could only go 702 miles, assuming all highway driving. Could we make up 300 miles with careful driving? That spells both challenge and fun.