2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Fiat Chrysler's profit boosted by Ram and Jeep in North America

MILAN/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler took the market by surprise by sticking to its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday after a strong performance from its Ram pickup truck in North America helped it defy an industry slowdown. Chief Executive Mike Manley, in FCA's first earnings release since a failed attempt to merge with France's Renault, also left the door open to that or other deals. "We are open to opportunity," Manley said on a call with analysts. "I have no doubt why there still would be interest in it," he added, when pressed on what it would take to revive talks with Renault. Manley declined to comment further. FCA last month abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker. Manley said a merger was not a must-have and Fiat Chrysler's business plan was strong. The company said it remained confident its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would top last year's 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion). Given disappointing forecasts from other automakers this earnings season, FCA's confirmation of the outlook sent Milan-listed shares in the Italian-American automaker, whose other brands include Jeep, up over 4%. A broad-based auto sales downturn has rattled the sector, forcing FCA's competitors — including Renault, Daimler and Aston Martin — to cut their sales forecasts after second-quarter results, while U.S. carmaker Ford gave a weaker-than-expected 2019 profit outlook. Japan's Nissan, a long-term partner of Renault, said it would cut 12,500 jobs by 2023 after its earnings collapsed. In the second quarter FCA's adjusted EBIT totaled 1.52 billion euros, versus analysts' expectations of 1.43 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. FCA's U.S. shipments were down 12% in the second quarter but the group said that the successful performance of its Ram brand resulted in an enhanced share of the large pickup truck market of 27.9%, up 7 percentage points from last year. Adjusted EBIT margin in North America rose to 8.9% from 6.5% in the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for the heavy-duty Ram and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer also said FCA expected to report up to 10% margins in the region in both the third and fourth quarters.

Reveling in the reveals: BRZ, Civic, Wrangler, QX55

It’s almost like there should have been an auto show this week. If youÂ’re an enthusiast, you know the week before Thanksgiving is when the Los Angeles Auto Show kicks off. This year, thereÂ’s no L.A. show, at least until next May. But Subaru, Honda, Jeep and Infiniti rolled out significant new products this week, making us almost nostalgic for auto shows. Serendipity, or more likely previously allocated marketing budgets, gave us a familiar feel of new products, even though we couldnÂ’t feel or touch them under the bright lights of the Los Angeles Convention Center. LetÂ’s break them down: 2022 Subaru BRZ 2022 Subaru BRZ View 62 Photos Subaru stuck to basic formula here: The 2022 BRZ remains a rear-wheel drive sports coupe thatÂ’s supremely lightweight, adequately powered and attractive. Subaru debuts its new boxer four-cylinder in the BRZ. ItÂ’s rated at 223 hp and you need to rev all the way to 7,000 rpm to achieve that output. I'd prefer a bit more than the 184 lb-ft of torque the powerplant offers (reasonably low in the band at 3,700 rpm), for some more off-the-line grunt. Say 200 lb-ft, though itÂ’s almost a cliche to argue the BRZ is underpowered.  The outgoing BRZ is one of the purest cars IÂ’ve driven, so rather than harp on the power, which will ultimately be fine, give Subaru props for focusing on chassis improvements to improve rigidity by 60 percent and aid turn-in. Admirably, the curb weight is less than 2,900 pounds, and the manual in Premium trim checks in at the lowest, just 2,815 pounds.  Aesthetically, I like it. ItÂ’s busier than before, and thereÂ’s a lot more going on with the front fascia, wheel arches and fenders. ThereÂ’s a bit of a Porsche vibe up front, which is good, and a bit of a Honda Civic vibe in back (think 2010) thatÂ’s not.  ItÂ’s impressive that Subaru resisted the urge to gratuitously power up the BRZ and remained focused on the essence of its goodness and appeal to enthusiasts. 2021 Jeep Wrangler 392 2021 Jeep? Wrangler Rubicon 392 View 75 Photos What effect will the 2021 Ford Bronco have on the Jeep Wrangler? One school of thought is that it will actually make the Jeep better, and the 2021 Wrangler 392 is proof positive that will be the case. With the Bronco attracting spectacular levels of attention, Jeep could not sit idly by and remain focused on incremental changes. It needed to make a splash.

Jeep team takes a field trip to Wagonmaster; researching next Grand Wagoneer?

They have the very best intentions of rolling out a seven-passenger vehicle.
Wagonmaster has made a name for itself restoring and selling factory-perfect Jeep Grand Wagoneer models, bridging the gap between when the last production machine rolled off the line in 1991 and present day. The company's efforts haven't gone unnoticed. The entire Jeep product planning team took a little field trip to the company's facility in Kerrville, Texas back in December, and they weren't just there to take in the sights. According to owner Leon Miller's son, Chip Miller, the Jeep team was there to do research for the successor to the Grand Wagoneer throne.