Jeep Cherokee is a beloved brand in the U.S. But for reasons that escape knowing, Chrysler discarded the name when the Germans were running the company and replaced with the Liberty SUV.
The Italians from Fiat, though, who run Chrysler now, didn’t get that strategy. Indeed, Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne told us at the Detroit Auto Show, “We have a Grand Cherokee…wouldn’t it make sense that we also had a Cherokee?…I mean what were they thinking?”
Indeed, even though the Mercedes-Benz people running Chrysler ditched the Cherokee name here, they kept it in Europe, so all those Fiat people were confused by seeing a Liberty when they took up residence in the U.S. in 2009.
The Cherokee was a star player in killing the station-wagon in the 1980s and 90s. Along with Ford Expllorer, and Chevy Blazer, the Cherokee was a more masculine expression of a hatchback than, say, a Buick Roadmaster wagon.
There are four-cylinder and six-cylinder options, and a new 8-speed transmission designed to provide better fuel economy. The SUV also rides on the same vehicle architecture as the Dodge Dart, which is a new platform adapted from a Fiat platform. It may not sound like a Dart platform is rugged enough for a Jeep Cherokee and off-roading, but don’t sell it short. A special Trailhawk trim level is the Cherokee that is “Trail rated” for serious off-roading on the Rubicon Trail.
The only glitch in the new Jeep is that the new 8-speed transmission is creating some software headaches for Chrysler and the engineers are still tweaking the power-train before they ship it t dealers. Assume they will sort it out. For the whole review of the all new Jeep, read the review here at AOL Autos.
