2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport Utility 2-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Car Club USA: Louisiana Mudfest

There's nothing quite like mudding. Big tires, huge power, and crazy-wild gearheads that like to throw down on a mud pit almost as much as a thirty rack of Coors. In the latest, and some might argue greatest yet episode of Car Club USA, we head to Louisiana to throw some dirt at Mudfest. As Louisiana's one and only Mouth of the South puts it, "If you don't mud ride... go to Texas I guess." Joining The Mouth and friendly rivals The Most Hated Mud Sluts, we dive in. Beyond the obvious V8 blasting and tractor-tire spinning, those who know best describe Mudfest as, "Good cooking, good friends, good fun, and a lot of partying." It's a motorsport spectacle unlike any you're likely to find up North or out West, though no less impressive to behold. Follow along with the fun, the impromptu drag racing, the trash talking, and the mechanical madness. And find out why, at Mudfest, "if we don't tear it up, we ain't done it right." Each Car Club USA episode features a different car club or event from across the US, where passionate owner communities gather to share automotive experiences and embark on incredible adventures. From Main Street cruises to off-road trails, catch all the latest car club activity on Autoblog. Chevrolet Ford Jeep RAM Truck Off-Road Vehicles Car Club USA Videos autoblog black

Jeep's Wrangler Hellcat and six other sweet concepts for Moab

Jeep. Wrangler. Hellcat. You read that correctly. And while it's just a concept for this year's Moab Easter Jeep Safari, it has us dreaming about blasting through the desert at 200 miles per hour. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles released a whole slew of Easter Jeep concepts at an event at the company's Auburn Hills, MI, headquarters today. The 50th annual Moab Safari will take place in just a couple of weeks – it's a sort of mecca for Jeep owners, and for the past few years, FCA brings its concepts out to the rocks and trails of Moab to prove that these are more than mere one-off, delicate showcars. Our own Brandon Turkus was live at FCA's reveal event, and he passed along a bunch of notes, in addition to the official stuff from Jeep. Here are some details about each concept, with full photo galleries and videos of each Jeep creation.

Maserati Levante crossover not Jeep based after all?

Maserati has been teasing its crossover project since 2011, which is when it first showed off the Kubang concept (pictured above). Still, the production version, rumored to be called the Levante, remains a complete mystery. The CUV was first rumored to borrow the platform from the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but new rumors indicate that the Italian, luxury crossover might actually take the underpinnings from the Quattroporte and Ghibli.
In a brief interview, Maserati CEO Harald Wester told CNN Money that the Levante wouldn't use Jeep's platform. Motor Trend spoke with an unnamed Maserati engineer who confirmed the rumor. Officially, the company says that no decision has been made.
We can add this to another long list of rumors about the Italian CUV. It was originally supposed to be built at Chrysler's Jefferson North assembly plant in Detroit. Then, plans were changed to build it in Italy.