2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo Low Miles Clean Title on 2040-cars

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FCA and Peugeot reportedly agree on merger

Citing a Wall Street Journal report, the Detroit Free Press says "Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe have agreed to merge." The Journal reported on talks between the two car companies only yesterday. It's said that Peugeot's board met yesterday to approve the deal, FCA's board met today, and an announcement could come as soon as tomorrow, Thursday. Both automakers have released statements, but neither company has released any information beyond admitting to ongoing talks. If the merger happens, the combined entity would become the world's fourth-largest carmaker with a $50 billion valuation, slotting in behind Toyota, the Volkswagen Group, and the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi alliance. Among the merger options possible, "an all-stock merger of equals" is the one analysts and Moody's seem to give the best grade. The reported merger would come about four months after FCA walked away from merger talks with Renault. FCA said the French government scuppered those talks over the role of Nissan in a reformed entity, but there were also brewing issues with French unions, and ongoing turmoil among Renault and Nissan leadership thanks to continuing fallout from ex-CEO Carlos Ghosn's arrest last year. FCA makes most of its revenue in the U.S. and rules Italy, while Peugeot is the second-best-selling automaker in Europe with its own brand in France and Opel in Germany. The two companies already have a partnership in Europe making vans, one that FCA CEO Mike Manley has spoken highly of. Among the list of obvious benefits in a potential merger, FCA would get access to Peugeot's small, modern platforms, $10.2 billion in cash, and electrified and hybrid architecture developments, the latter especially important to FCA as those are fields where it lags. Peugeot would get much easier access to the U.S. market, and the money-printing brands Jeep and Ram. A merged carmaker would have combined sales of nearly 9 million a year, based on 2018 results. By comparison, both Volkswagen and Toyota sell over 10 million cars a year, while the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance almost 11 million. Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares has proved he knows how to do turnarounds and mergers. After leaving a position as Carlos Ghosn's right-hand man in 2012, Tavares took over Peugeot in 2014, navigated a bailout from the French government and China's Dongfeng Motors in 2015, and turned PSA into a regional powerhouse.

Dream Cruising in three Jeep concept cars

Those of you that have attended the yearly Woodward Dream Cruise, know that the rolling car show is many things to many people. A chance to pull the Corvette out of the garage; a time to ogle rare models you've never yet seen in the metal; a weekend for drinking a cold one with friends and simply taking in the festivities. But for our roving editor Brandon Turkus, this year was a chance to cruise in some concept Jeeps that most people will never see, let alone drive. As Turkus aptly points out from the start, Woodward isn't exactly Moab. But wheeling the off-roaders is nevertheless an eye-opening experience; they may not be upcoming products, but these Jeeps tease out a lot we'd like to see from the brand in the future. You can find these mini Short Cut reviews above, and below, but here's a recap of what Turkus got to drive. Jeep Wrangler Staff Car Concept This one's a proper salute to the Jeep military service vehicles of yore. It's an open-air concept based on the four-door Wrangler, with tons of heritage design cues. It looks old, but we promise, it's totally new. It's got basic steel wheels, a stretched canvas roof, bench seats, a painted steel floor, a built-in cooler that accommodates up to 85 cans, and is painted in an iconic Sandstorm color. When the going gets tough, the Staff Car can handle it with aplomb, thanks to the Jeep Performance Parts two-inch lift kit, Fox shocks, Dana 44 axles, and the Wrangler's 3.6-liter V6. Jeep Chief Concept This Wrangler-based concept is an excellent tribute to the classic, fullsize Jeep Cherokee from the 1970s. It's painted in a vintage Ocean Blue color, with a white, "French Bread" roof. There's also a custom razor grille (something made famous on the original Wagoneer), removable sides, chrome bumpers, and classic-looking, 17-inch wheels. Inside, there's surfer-inspired pink, blue, and white cloth mixed with leather trim, with more fun details like a Rosewood front passenger grab handle and tiki-look shift handle. Of course, this thing looks to be truly capable off-road, too, with a two-inch lift kit, Fox shocks, Dana 44 axles at the front and rear, and a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 underhood. Jeep Wrangler Africa A take on the Wrangler Unlimited, painted in Desert Tan, and powered by a 2.8-liter diesel engine. It looks killer, with 17-inch, body-colored steel wheels wrapped in 35-inch BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires. There's a two-inch lift kit, Dana 44 axles, and Fox shocks.

Lexus gets top brand marks from Consumer Reports; Ford, Jeep hit hard

Consumer Reports has released its 2014 Car Brand Report Cards, with Lexus again reigning at the top and doing so with the same industry-topping score of 79 that it registered in last year's Report Cards. This year, the institute credited its lineup for being "usually quiet, comfortable, and fuel-efficient," noting it's the only brand on the list "to achieve an excellent average overall reliability score." The Car Brand Report Cars list is meant to rank the best all-around vehicles based on CR testing and reliability results tallied by subscribers it surveyed. Each brand included must have sufficient test and reliability data for at least three models, a standard which left out 11 marques including Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover and Porsche.
This 2014 Brand Report Cars edition is the first of a new format in which sub-brands have been broken out from their parent brands, with Acura using this year to move up the leaderboard into second place with a score of 75 for its "reliable, well-finished and somewhat sporty models." The top three was rounded out by Audi, climbing from eighth to third by scoring a 74 for "well-crafted interiors, nice handling and good gas mileage." Audi scored highest in the road-test portion, its improved reliability aiding its rise. The top nine was completed by Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz.
Ford and Jeep weighed in at the other end of the rankings, Jeep taking the lowest overall score in the road tests and hampered by "a mix of spotty reliability." Ford was sunk by reliability issues with its MyFord Touch infotainment system which consumers found troublesome enough to negate its cars earning "solid test scores" for being "very nice to drive." Perhaps the rumored switch from Microsoft to Blackberry's QNX for the next generation SYNC will help them out. Cadillac's score also took a hit for infotainment reasons after it was the leading US brand last year, the CUE system in the XTS dragging Cadillac to the bottom of all General Motors brands.