2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee on 2040-cars

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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.

Chrysler set to make $266M-investment into 8-speed transmission production

Chrysler will shortly make a significant $266-million investment into its Kokomo, IN transmission factory in a bid to expand production of its eight-speed automatic transmissions. The gearboxes, which are built under license from Germany's ZF Friedrichshafen, have been well received by customers and critics, and according to an SEC filing obtained by Automotive News, the transmissions will eventually find their way to all of Chrysler's rear-drive offerings (Viper and heavy-duty Ram models, aside). According to AN, a Chrysler spokesman says the investment has not been confirmed, but once it is, it'll mark the company's latest in a growing line of investments at the facility. Chrysler has poured $1.5 billion into Kokomo since 2009.

FCA's Pentastar V6 gets more power, efficiency for 2016

Already a vital member of FCA's powertrain lineup, the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 is receiving major efficiency improvements for 2016. Thanks to a massive amount of new tech attached to the mill, fuel economy is up six percent, and torque below 3,000 rpm jumps nearly 15 percent. The updates arrive first in the 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee, but they should proliferate to other models eventually. At least in the Grand Cherokee, the tweaks push power up five horsepower to 295 ponies. FCA's engineers went through the Pentastar from top to bottom to eke out as much efficiency as possible. For example, there's now a two-speed variable-valve lift system that can run in low- or high-lift modes. This upgrade is responsible for 2.7-percent better economy, the company claims. A new intake manifold with longer runners and updated variable-valve times also helps boost the torque output. Further improvements come from pushing the compression ratio to 11.3:1, from 10.2:1 before. Perhaps most impressive is that despite all of the innovations, the latest Pentastar actually weighs four pounds less than the current version. Beyond the Pentastar improvements, all of the FCA US gasoline engines, except for the Viper's 8.4-liter V10, will be E15-compatible for 2016. The company says that it wants to be ready for the higher ethanol content fuel's greater use in the near future.