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Chrysler delays 2014 Jeep Cherokee media launch

Chrysler is making the unusual move of delaying the first media drives of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, which were slated to start next week in Seattle. And while something like this is a rare occurrence, and one that most of the Autoblog staff can't recall happening this publicly or so close to the event itself, it won't effect the actual on-sale date of the new Cherokee, which is set to hit showrooms in September.
"Over the last couple of weeks during final quality and durability testing, we have discovered the opportunity to further improve powertrain calibration," Chrysler told Automotive News. This marks the second notable delay in the Cherokee's short life, after production was delayed for roughly a month earlier this summer.
Still, we'd rather Chrysler make sure the Cherokee is ready for primetime before flying media in from around the country. It shows a willingness to get things right the first time, rather than offering media drives and then tweaking the car after the fact.

Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection

Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage.  One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.

Chrysler says its 8-speed transmissions will save 700 million gallons

Chrysler Group's TorqueFlite eight-speed transmission could be earning some serious green bragging rights if the company's projections are correct. The recently widely proliferated automatic gearbox, which is now in more than a million vehicles around the world, is poised to save drivers an estimated 700+ million gallons of fuel over the vehicles' lifetimes (an expected cost savings of $2.5 billion). In addition, Chrysler expects a reduction in CO2 emissions by more than six million metric tons. According to Chrysler, and depending on the vehicle, the TorqueFlite can improve fuel economy. The TorqueFlite autobox features particularly close ratios from fifth to eighth gear (see the press release below for the specific numbers), and uses low-viscosity fluid that doesn't need to be replaced. Transmission software adapts to the driving situation to optimize efficiency based on driver behavior, temperature, grade, stability control, and longitudinal and lateral acceleration. The TorqueFlite is capable of handling a variety of duties. As evidenced by the wide range of vehicles Chrysler Group has seen fit to equip with the eight-speed transmission, the TorqueFlite is capable of handling a variety of duties. Since its 2012 introduction, the TorqueFlite has gone from performing cog-swapping duties in Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 models equipped with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 to changing gears in vehicles such as the Pentastar- and Hemi-powered Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee and even the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. For the 2015 model year, the eight-speed is finding its way into even more vehicles with the addition of a third version. In addition to the American-made TorqueFlite 845RE and 8HP70, the new 8HP90 will be manufactured in Saarbrucken, Germany. The 8HP90 is designed for higher torque loads, making it ideal for high-performance vehicles like the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. The already-in-use 8HP70 will expand its duties to be used in 2015 Hemi models such as the Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Challenger SRT8. You can see the list of those benchmarks in Chrysler's press release below.