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Updated 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee ace same controversial moose test it failed in 2012 [w/video]

Some background: one of the more scandalous international incidents of he-said/he-said from 2012 was when Swedish magazine Teknikens Varld put the Jeep Grand Cherokee through its "moose (or elk) test" and reported that the SUV nearly rolled over. That lead to a whole lot of accusations and rebuttals: more than one website and Chrysler's own blog reported that the Jeep was overloaded; Chrysler said Teknikens printed the magazine then let Chrysler respond, Teknikens answered all of the charges in a lengthy post and said Chrysler was given a chance to comment before it went to print; when Chrysler sent investigators to oversee the test and the Jeep didn't go up on two wheels as it did in the first test, furthermore all four wheels stayed on the ground when Auto Motor und Sport tested a Grand Cherokee in the same way.
Teknikens then re-ran the test with a new vehicle and said it's been doing this test since the 1970s, uses the loading information that Chrysler provides to the Swedish motor authority and the previous Grand Cherokee passed with no problem. In the second test, the Jeep failed again, then it gave Chrysler engineers access to the car's electronics and ran the test again. In that second round the Grand Cherokee didn't repeat the lurid two-wheel action, but in eleven runs it blew out front left tire seven times. Chrysler still objects to the results of all of those tests and maintains that vehicle was safe.
The 2014 Grand Cherokee was given its shot at the gauntlet in the latest round of moose tests, and Teknikens Varld reports that it passed without any problem at all, its stability control working perfectly, controlling motion at low speeds and all the way up to 44.1 miles per hour. You can watch the video of the new test and read the press release from the magazine on the updated Grand Cherokee below.

Feds fretting over remote hack of Jeep Cherokee

A cyber-security gap that allowed for the remote hacking of a Jeep Cherokee has federal officials concerned. An associate administrator with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that news of the breach conducted by researchers Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller had "floated around the entire federal government." "The Homeland Security folks sent out broadcasts that, 'Here's an issue that needs to be addressed,'" said Nathaniel Beuse, an associate administrator with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Valasek and Miller commandeered remote control of the Cherokee through a security flaw in the cellular connection to the car's Uconnect infotainment system. From his Pittsburgh home, Valasek manipulated critical safety inputs, such as transmission function, on Miller's Jeep as he drove along a highway near St. Louis, MO. The scope of the remote breach is believed to be the first of its kind. The prominent cyber-security researchers needed no prior access to the vehicle to perform the hack, and the scope of the remote breach is believed to be the first of its kind. A NHTSA spokesperson said the agency's cyber-security staff members are "putting their expertise to work assessing this threat and the response, and we will take action if we determine it's necessary to protect safety." A Homeland Security spokesperson referred questions about the hack to Chrysler. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has already been the subject of a federal hearing this month, in which officials scrutinized whether the company had adequately fixed recalled vehicles and repeatedly failed to notify the government about defects. But cyber-security concerns are a new and different species for the regulatory agency. Only hours before the Jeep hack was announced by Wired magazine earlier this week, NHTSA administrator Dr. Mark Rosekind said hacking vulnerabilities were a threat to privacy, safety, and the public's trust with new connected and autonomous technologies that allow vehicles to communicate. NHTSA outlined its response to the cyber-security challenges facing the industry in a report issued Tuesday. In it, the agency summarized its best practices for thwarting attacks and said it will analyze possible real-time infiltration responses. But the agency's ability to handle hackers may only go so far.

FCA CEO Mike Manley will run Americas for Stellantis after PSA merger

DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley will run operations in the Americas when his company merges with FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot early next year. FCA Chairman John Elkann announced ManleyÂ’s new post on Friday in a letter to employees. ManleyÂ’s role in the merged company had been a mystery. PSA CEO Carlos Tavares will run the overall company, to be named Stellantis. Shareholders of both companies will vote on the merger Jan. 4 to seal the deal creating the worldÂ’s fourth-largest automaker. The merger is expected to be completed by the end of March. PSA will get six seats on the new companyÂ’s 11-member board, which will be chaired by Elkann. The Americas, especially the U.S., are key to the new companyÂ’s success. Fiat ChryslerÂ’s Jeep and Ram brands are highly profitable, and Tavares has long wanted to sell PSA vehicles in the U.S. Manley has been the Italian-American automakerÂ’s CEO for 2 1/2 years, taking over when Sergio Marchionne died in 2018. Stellantis will have the capacity to produce 8.7 million cars a year, just behind Volkswagen, the Renault-Nissan alliance and Toyota. Related Video: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Peugeot Mike Manley Stellantis