I want to give some background on this video. To be frank, I debated whether or not this video would ever see the light of day. By popular demand (by a very small, annoying group of people who just will not leave me alone about the darn thing) the decision has been made to post it. With that said, some background is needed before watching the video.
The goal when I had the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited was to take it off-roading. Unfortunately I do not exactly live by mountains. I was asked not to take it to the one place in Minnesota that is a true off-road park, mainly because it is known as the place you take to destroy your vehicle. I decided to take it through a muddy field that a friend of a friend’s dad owns.
The videos turned out more then boring. Though one hilarious gem of a clip did come through entertaining enough to post. When I entered the field, it was decided that we should test the Jeep to see how well it would do in two wheel drive. Then once stuck, I would move to four wheel drive, then if I continued to have issues, put it in four low and lock the differentials. I ended up in four low but never needed to lock the differentials. Once in four low, I never ended up getting stuck again. This video is a clip from the first part in two wheel drive. It took less then two minutes to get stuck in two wheel drive. I hope you enjoy. Oh and Ross, now you have nothing on me about this Jeep thing.
This past weekend the Jeep Rocks and Road Tour visited Minneapolis. The tour is supposed to let people experience the capabilities of Jeep’s legendary vehicles. There is both on-road and off-road demonstrations provided, along with other fun-filled activities.
The tour in Minneapolis took over and transformed a vacant parking lot across from the Mall of America. The end result? A mud pit. Well it wasn’t a mud pit on Friday and Saturday. However, when I arrived on Sunday morning it was, due to rainfall Saturday night.
Though that did not make the event any less fun. The first thing I took part in was the Jeep Owner’s Playground. This was a course set up exclusively for current Jeep owners. If you brought your own Jeep you could take it through this course. The course had everything from a few high banked sand hills and rock trail, to a large hill with three humps to climb.
I was the first to hit the Owners Playground for the day. After about four runs, the large hill started to get too slick and the sides started to let me slide just a bit too much. The issue was all the rain from the night before. The entire course was becoming a sloppy mess. For safety, they shut down the large hill not long after my fourth run.
They also had plenty to do for non-Jeep owners. The main attraction was clearly the ability to drive the current line up of Jeeps on the main off-road course. Unfortunately the course had become so slick due to the rain that consumers were not allowed to drive.
Instead you were taken on the course with a professional driver. I was told a consumer did go first thing in the morning and walked away with eyes wide open. I took that to mean: “we could’ve had a problem, but we had the right staff on hand.” I was glad to see safety was the first priority.
I went for a ride in the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited (Unlimited means four door). Naturally, the course was nothing this Jeep couldn’t handle – it took each obstacle in stride. Though the large 20 foot mountain was closed due to being too slick, I was told the Jeeps could make it up the mountain just fine. However, due to being so slick they might come down with more speed then they felt was safe.
Next up I visited the on-road course. This time I chose the new 2011 Grand Cherokee Laredo for the drive. The new Grand Cherokee handled the washboard section much better then my current 1999 Grand Cherokee would have, mainly due to the new suspension. The vehicle also had a decent turning radius. The steering was on center, though maybe too light? I would need more seat time to give that statement without a question mark.
For the kids Jeep had both a climbing wall and Jeep branded Power Wheels mini vehicles. This set up satisfied the different age groups. No matter what, families had something to do for the kids. Also on hand was a Jeep Wrangler Islander edition. The task was to see who could unlatch and take down the soft top the fastest. The last station/task was essentially a balancing act, literally.
They had a Jeep Compass on a wooden platform that was set on a log. The goal was to balance the Compass on the platform so either side of the platform was not touching the ground. I was informed only a few people have achieved the task, and it really is almost luck. I tried for over ten minutes, only to get severely frustrated. I failed, though for the record, I came close. Finally I gave up, but only because another person wanted a try.
Of course, other things were on hand to look at. The new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland was in a tent to sit in and play with. A very old Jeep Willys (?) was on hand, though no touching was allowed. Also on site were quite a few modified Jeep Wranglers, one with a regular 5.7 liter HEMI and another with a 6.7 liter HEMI. Both were quite beastly.
Overall the Jeep Road and Rock Tour was a very entertaining way to spend my Sunday morning. Even with some drizzling rain and the course turned to a mud pit, it was a blast.
Everyone there seemed to be enjoying themselves, even the staff! You can tell many of the staff are true enthusiasts themselves. That really does add to the experience and energy level. Until the Jeep Rocks and Road Tour rolls through town again, drive safe and clean the mud off your undercarriage.
As many have reported the 2011 Jeep Wrangler will have an all new interior. Allpar had some terrific spy shots anonymously sent into them of the new interior. It appears a low sheen soft touch pad will be on top off the dash and on the door panels. The steering wheel is either lifted from the new 2011 Grand Cherokee or is very similar along with the shift knob. The 2011 Wranglers will also have the option of the hard tops painted to match the exterior color. For all the changes and details of the 2011 Jeep Wrangler head over to Allpar.
Episode 24 starts with introductions including Justin Loyear from Cheers and Gears and this weeks guest William Maley also known as realmudmonster on Twitter. Moving into the garage we talk about the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon I was in for the past week along with the Chevrolet Equinox Colin was in. We then move along to the major news of the week segment. This week included-
Dates have been leaked out onto Allpar, a site devoted to all things Chrysler past and present, with the production start dates for many of the new or refreshed Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Jeep models.
Things to note:
The LX based cars now have the same date as each other
It was originally stated that production of the new Charger and 300C would be staggered and now they are pegged to enter production simultaneously
The Wrangler date has also been moved up slightly
Rumors now peg the 200C name plate to be replacing the Sebring name
The Avenger name may soldier on for the Dodge counterpart
Production Start Dates:
2010 Viper – March 29
2011 Ram Chassis Cab – April 5
2011 Grand Cherokee – May 10
2011 Ram 1500/2500 – July 5 (one plant; second plant for Ram 1500 starts July 26)
2011 Caliber, Dakota, Liberty, Nitro – July 26
2011 Wrangler – August 16
2011 Jeep Patriot – October 4
2011 Dodge CUV (Durango replacement, possibly Magnum) – November 8
The better part of yesterday journalists spent over 6 hours in a Chrysler press conference listening to their detailed plans for the coming 5-years. Of course most of the people there, including Ray Wert from Jalopnik, were live tweeting all the information for our viewing pleasure. We now know what will be coming out from Chrysler and can start evaluating the actions they are taking to achieve their plans. Seems the twitterverse started doing that immediately. So what exactly happened? Below I will touch on the highlights.
Ram-
Ram will no longer be known just as the full size pick-up name plate. Instead it will be known as the truck line of Chrysler vehicles. All trucks going forth in the future will be known as Ram. The brand is going to appeal to the commercial side of business.
Dakota will be dead after 2011
A new midsize unibody truck is under consideration to replace the Dakota in 2012
Light duty full size pick up (current Ram) major refresh in 2012
Heavy duty full size pick up (current Ram Heavy Duty) major refresh in 2012
Chassis cab pick up (current Ram chassis cab) major refresh in 2012
New large and small commercial vans from Fiat come branded as Ram’s.
Jeep-
They said Jeep is going “back to its roots”. What that means is yet to be seen.
Small SUV based off a Fiat comes in 2013
Current Compass gets refresh (mostly interior) for 2010
Current Patriot gets refresh (mostly interior) for 2010
Compass and Patriot merge into one new small CUV in 2013
Wrangler to get major refresh 2010/2011
Liberty gets a mild refresh in 2010 and will be replaced in 2013 with a Fiat SUV
Commander will probably be killed off after 2010
Brand new Grand Cherokee in 2010
2011 Grand Cherokee coming in 2010
Fiat-
500 coming in 2010 as coupe, convertible, and hot Abarth form
Fiat 500 Abarth
Chrysler-
Supposed to be up market and have style with class. This will remain to be seen.
Town & Country will get a major overhaul in 2010
Brand new 300/300C in 2010
All new crossover coming in 2013
Sebring will get refresh in 2010.
Brand new Sebring in 2013. Unknown if it will retain the Sebring name.
The PT Cruiser is finally being killed after 2010. No seriously, this time they are for real.
Brand new compact sedan will arrive in 2012
Brand new small car will arrive in 2013 that will come from Fiat
Dodge-
Full size CUV arrives in 2010 most likely the next Durango based off of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee
Grand Caravan gets major refresh in 2010 with a all new model in 2014
Brand new Charger will arrive in 2010
Challenger will receive a mild refresh in 2011
Viper is being killed summer of 2010. All new Viper arrives in 2012
Nitro gets refresh in 2011 and the future is uncertain going on from that
Journey gets a refresh in 2010
Avenger gets a refresh in 2010 with a all new model arriving in 2013
Brand new compact sedan arrives in 2012
Caliber is killed after 2012 and will receive a mild interior refresh next month
Brand new small car arrives in 2013 based off a Fiat
Engines/Transmissions-
Fiat 1.4 liter Multiair in Fiat 500 in 2010
Fiat 1.4 liter Multiair turbo in Fiat 500 in 2011
Phase out quickly all 4-speed transmissions
Pentastar V6 debuts in new Grand Cherokee. Will spread across the line over time
Pentastar V6 turbo/twin turbo coming in late 2010/early 2011
Start/stop technology to debut in Jeep Wrangler diesel in late 2010
Dual clutch transmission debuts in late 2010
Diesel engines coming late 2010/early 2011
Ram will keep the current ram’s head as the logo. Dodge’s logo will be Dodge spelled out in black and red. Chrysler is receiving a new logo which looks very similar to the Aston Martin logo. Fiat and Jeep will retain their current logos. It has been confirmed a 6.4 liter Hemi is coming, and will have 450 hp. Also confirmed is next year the Sebring, 300, PT Cruiser, and the Town & Country will all have special editions next year before the refreshed models (or in the PT Cruisers case, dies) hit the showrooms. The PT Cruisers special edition, fittingly, will be “Final Edition”. The 300C will have a “sport” edition while the Sebring’s special edition will be known as “Ocean Edition”. The Town & Country’s special edition will be a “Fashion Edition”. Also shown were two photos of the next Dodge Charger. One photo was the new gauge cluster while the other was of the side of the car looking from the rear fender. The photo of the outside looks very similar to the 1999 Dodge Charger RT concept car. The major take aways from the announcement is that maybe Fiat did know what they were getting into and possibly, just maybe, Chrysler could turn out to be on the right course. The above is a lot to accomplish in a small amount of time so time will tell how this “plan” turns out.
I want to give some background on this video. To be frank, I debated whether or not this video would ever see the light of day. By popular demand (by a very small, annoying group of people who just will not leave me alone about the darn thing) the decision has been made to post it. With that said, some background is needed before watching the video.
