2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo on 2040-cars

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Government Ending Jeep Investigation

The government is closing its investigation into older-model Jeeps with fuel tanks that could rupture and cause fires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday it has "no reservations" with Chrysler Group's plans to recall the vehicles. The agency is expected to release a report on its investigation in a few weeks. The decision ends an unusually public struggle between Chrysler and NHTSA. The agency asked Chrysler to recall 2.7 million Jeeps last June, contending that their gas tanks - which are positioned behind the rear axle - were at risk of rupturing and catching fire in rear-end crashes. Involved were Grand Cherokee SUVs from the 1993 to 2004 model years and Liberty SUVs from 2002 to 2007. Chrysler initially refused to recall the vehicles. The company said the rate of fuel leaks and fires after crashes was similar to comparable vehicles that were sold during the time in question. It was the first time in two years that an automaker had refused NHTSA's request for a recall. Chrysler later agreed to recall 1.56 million of the Jeeps and install trailer hitches on them to help protect the gas tanks. The company sent notices to the remaining customers saying their vehicles were fine if they have factory-installed or Chrysler-made trailer hitches. NHTSA said late Friday that it has been in close contact with Chrysler and will monitor the recall as it continues. Chrysler has told customers that it will start installing the hitches soon. "Consumers should have their vehicles serviced promptly once they receive final notification from Chrysler,"NHTSA said in a statement. In its own statement Friday, Chrysler said, "We share NHTSA's commitment to safety." NHTSA's outgoing chief, David Strickland, told The Associated Press in an interview last month that Chrysler had convinced NHTSA that the Jeeps were no more dangerous than similar vehicles sold at that time. "Those vehicles performed at a rate similar to their peers. That is the keystone analysis as to whether something poses an unreasonable risk to safety," Strickland said. Friday was Strickland's last day at NHTSA. He is joining Venable, a law firm. NHTSA began investigating the Jeeps at the request of the Center for Auto Safety, a Washington-based advocacy group. "It is tragic that NHTSA approved Chrysler's sham trailer hitch recall for Jeeps that explode in rear impacts," the Center for Auto Safety's director, Clarence Ditlow, said Friday.

Jeep Renegade configurator switches on

Less than a week after letting loose with pricing information for its 2015 Renegade, Jeep has powered up the configurator for its new compact CUV, giving us our first complete look at pricing for the model's healthy options catalog. If you've messed around with any of FCA's other online configurators, the Renegade's will be immediately familiar. Pick a trim, interior and exterior color, optional extras and packages, and you're done. Of course, we don't write these posts just to let you know about a configurator going live. We do them because it gives us an excuse to mess about with all the different varieties of a new model, and, on occasion, to build something surprisingly expensive or cheap, just to see if it can be done. The Renegade certainly has no issues when it comes to the former. If you want the priciest model, you'll need the $25,995 Trailhawk, which can be priced up to $33,330. We got to that figure by adding the $1,495 Trailhawk Premium Group (heated, powered leather seats, dual-zone climate control, heated steering wheel, 40/20/40 split-rear seats), the $595 Safety and Security Group I (blind-spot monitoring with cross-traffic assist and an alarm), the $395 Trailer Tow Group, the $1,395 powered MySky system, a $150 hood decal (which might mean that you can get a Trailhawk without a black stripe), a $1,295 navigation system with satellite radio, a $495 nine-speaker stereo, a $295 push-button starter, a $200 remote starter and a $75 tonneau cover. Will you need all of those options? Not really. But many of them would certainly fall into the "must-have" category for customers. Head over to Jeep's consumer page and mess about with the configurator, and let us know what you think of the full pricing (and what your ideal spec looks like!) in Comments. Related Video:

Jeep Chief and Wrangler Red Rock Responder teased ahead of Easter Jeep Safari

Jeep is being coy about it's lineup for the 2015 Moab Easter Jeep Safari, releasing just a pair of shots and an exceptionally brief press release on two of the seven concepts coming to the desert later this month. So, what can we glean from the limited assets that have been given to us? Well, as we said, we know Jeep is bringing seven vehicles to its big festival. We also know the names of two vehicles, shown above – there's the Chief and the Wrangler Red Rock Responder. Which is which? A fair question. We're betting the second image is the Wrangler-based Red Rock Responder. As for the Chief, well, we've absolutely no idea what to expect there. Jeep's Moab concepts generally include the model name on which their based – see the Grand Cherokee Trail Warrior and Cherokee Dakar from last year, or even the Wrangler Red Rock Responder, mentioned above. There's no such moniker on the Chief. As for the Chief's illustrated teaser image, as we said, it doesn't reveal much. The body is angular, and quite Jeep like, with squared-off wheel arches and decidedly old-school taillights. Beyond that, though, we don't have much to go on. Expect much more not just on the Chief and Red Rock Responder, but on all seven of the concepts Jeep is bringing to Moab. The party starts on March 28 and runs until April 5. Be sure to check back then for full coverage. Related Video: