2024 Jeep Wrangler Sport Rhd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jeep Cherokee won't get diesel until sales of oil-burning Grand Cherokee improve

Okay Jeep fans, you want more diesel options? Time to step up and prove it. The only way Jeep will offer a diesel powerplant in the Cherokee, according to brand head Mike Manley, is if sales of the Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel nearly double.
Currently, about eight percent of the Grand Cherokees sold feature the 3.0-liter, EcoDiesel V6. That's simply not enough to warrant the bringing an oil-burning Cherokee to the US market, despite the vehicle's presence in Europe, where it's sold with a 2.8-liter diesel V6.
"Cherokee is slightly different because of its weight and size. When I think about bringing Cherokee diesel here, I would like to see Grand Cherokee diesel get much higher than eight percent," Manley told Automotive News. "It would have to be in mid-double digits."

Top horsepower-per-dollar cars in 2017

Bang for the buck. That quasi-scientific statistic is bandied about by motor heads everywhere from classrooms to barrooms, though the truth of the matter is that it's exceedingly complex to measure. A fair performance-per-dollar index would include something like cross-referencing MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) with point-to-point times on a track or driving route, which is obviously hard to do comprehensively. But, for the sheer joy of talking about cars and playing with a big spreadsheet, there's always the horsepower-per-dollar index, which is more straightforward, albeit hilariously flawed. There are vagaries even with this simple formula, of course: MSRP for vehicles can change at a moment's notice, to say nothing of the bottom-line shifting that happens with local deals or showroom negotiation. For this list we're running with the straight MSRP wherever possible, and as recently reported as we can get it. All the vehicles on this list are 2017 models, and all trims are reported where the lowest price and differing power levels intersect. Some choices were made for personal preference and some for sanity, avoiding things like all 48 trim levels of the Ford Transit, all with the same horsepower). If this list were a simple top ten, or even a top fifty, you'd be bored to tears with all the red, white and blue that is represented. Following perfectly with conventional wisdom, American cars really do lead the world where hp/$ is concerned. So, for the sake of variety (and the sheer joy of seeing a minivan 'win' one round of this thing) I've sorted out some top five and bottom five lists for broad power categories. Let's dive in. Less Than 100 Horsepower Okay, okay, this is hardly a category we'll grant you. But we've often tried to click off all the sub-100-hp cars on sale in the US, and making this list gave us an excuse. It also illustrates that none of these smallish vehicles bring cheap horsepower to the table - for that you'll need a motorcycle. The segment-leading Chevy Spark (above) asks just over $139 for each hp, and that Smart Fortwo Electric Drive has hp on sale for about the same price as its very distant family cousin, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG (insert your favorite Smart joke here... we know you want to).

First Jeepster prototype spotted with final, boxy form

The long-awaited baby Jeep is getting closer to production, as evidenced by these spy photos. Previously, the only images of the so-called Jeepster saw it wearing a Fiat 500L body (see below), while this new batch of photos show hefty amounts of camouflage. How is that better? Well, it's very likely there's a production body hiding under all that cladding.
While picking out styling details is virtually impossible thanks to all the camo, as our spies point out, this gives us a very sound idea of the Jeepster's final size. It's small, although we'd argue that it's only slightly smaller than the current Jeep Patriot, based on the images of the newest Jeep sitting in front of an Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
As we reported previously, this little bambino will be built on a Fiat platform, but the styling should be uniquely Jeep - likely to include a somewhat vertical seven-slat grille and round headlights. We can expect to see a production Jeepster, if that ends up being the actual name (Latitude has been rumored, although as that's traditionally a trim level, we imagine there'd be some confusion), when it debuts at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show.