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Jeep Cherokee sales rival Wrangler after two months

In our First Drive article on the 2014 Jeep Cherokee we said, "our informal and thoroughly unscientific opinion is they're going to sell tons of them. Why? Because it is very good." So far, it appears the public concurs. Of course, it's very early - the new compact utility has logged just one month of confirmed sales, but Larry Vellequette at Automotive News says dealers have told him that the second month of sales will be even better, a message that mirrors what we've heard from company execs.
In its first, severely truncated month on sale, the Cherokee sold 579 units. With all of November to play with, though, dealers moved 10,169 of them - compared to 11,753 Wranglers and 14,798 Grand Cherokees. That helped propel Jeep to a 30-percent year-on-year improvement for the month, Chrysler Group to a 16-percent improvement and the group's 44th consecutive month of sales growth, exceeding analyst expectations in posting its best November numbers since 2007.
If it can just keep replicating the its first month of sales, the finalist in North American Truck of the Year voting will smoke the trade done by the outgoing Liberty, which didn't break 7,900 units in a month in the last four years of its life (and normally didn't get close to even that). In March this year, Chrysler said it wants to build 250,000 Cherokees in its Toledo assembly plant for global sales. It's early yet, but with second-month sales quoted as being as "strong as death," the bookies might be resetting the odds.

EU finds Jeep Grand Cherokee and Suzuki Vitara break emissions rules

AMSTERDAM — Fiat Chrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee and Suzuki's Vitara diesel models both break emissions rules and must be fixed or face a ban on sales across Europe, the Dutch road authority ruled on Thursday. The RDW authority, acting as the reference regulator for across the European Union, said Jeep had developed a software fix and that the authority had ordered the company to recall the model across Europe to roll it out. It added Suzuki had yet to find a credible solution for the Vitara. "Suzuki must come with adequate improvement measures or the RDW will begin the process of revoking its European type approval," the RDW said in a statement, adding it had also started the process of revoking approval for the Jeep Grand Cherokee as a "precautionary measure." Regulators across the world have been testing diesel models since Volkswagen admitted in 2015 that it used illegal software to cheat U.S. emissions tests. The RDW said it had found both the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Vitara had used "prohibited emissions strategies" that led them to emit higher levels of harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) on the road than under testing conditions. Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure, Stientje van Veldhoven, said in a letter to parliament she would inform prosecutors of the RDW's findings. Fiat Chrysler and Suzuki could not immediately be reached for comment. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

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.