New Jeep Cherokee

[Scout26]

What's up with the squinty eye headlights?

[Hawkmoon]

This is what a cherokee should look like

NOT!

(Mine's blue.)

[Gewehr98]

The new Grand Cherokee doesn't look much better.

[Doggy Daddy]

I can't look at this without picturing some poor schmuck who was told to "park it there, then lay down in the front seat until we take some pictures so we don't have footprints in the sand."   

[Tallpine]

I can't look at this without picturing some poor schmuck who was told to "park it there, then lay down in the front seat until we take some pictures so we don't have footprints in the sand."   

I don't see any tracks on the left side of the car, from whence it would have come.

It's probably not really anywhere near a beach. 

[Doggy Daddy]

I don't see any tracks on the left side of the car, from whence it would have come.

It's probably not really anywhere near a beach. 

Spoilsport! 

[dogmush]

I don't see any tracks on the left side of the car, from whence it would have come.

It's probably not really anywhere near a beach. 

It came from the other side of the headland to the vehicle's starboard.  you can see the tracks behind it.  just looks carefully staged to me.

[Tallpine]

It came from the other side of the headland to the vehicle's starboard.  you can see the tracks behind it.  just looks carefully staged to me.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a199/dogmush/2014-jeep-cherokee-xl_zps6c3eb897.jpg

Except the tracks to the right and immediately behind turn much too sharp to line up with the distant tracks - looks like it would have to have been driven over those rocks. 

[Hawkmoon]

Except the tracks to the right and immediately behind turn much too sharp to line up with the distant tracks - looks like it would have to have been driven over those rocks.  

Proof of its awesome off-road capability?

I don't see any "Trail rated" badges. Have they given up that pathetic attempt to conceal the fact they no longer dare prove each new vehicle by driving it across the Rubicon Trail? (For those who don't know or don't remember, for decades Jeep introduced each new vehicle by crossing the famous Rubicon Trail. They had some problems with the 1999 Grand Cherokee -- it made it, but it was badly beat up at the finish. When they did the then-new Liberty, they didn't allow press along on the trip. The Liberty made it, but spies along the trail reported that not only was the vehicle thoroughly trashed at the end, it also couldn't make it over many points in the trail until the crew stacked small rocks to smooth the way for it. After that, Jeep stopped using the Rubicon and resorted to a doofus artificial course at the factory test area, after which they awarded the successful vehicles the coveted "Trail Rated" badge.

So perhaps Jeep has now abandoned even the pretense that Jeep vehicles have off-road capability.

:barf:

[Tallpine]

Proof of its awesome off-road capability?

You got me there.  They jumped it clean over the rocks and skidded sideways to a stop.  The door flew open and the driver was propelled into the surf.  Meanwhile, the door bounced shut again.

I don't see any "Trail rated" badges. Have they given up that pathetic attempt to conceal the fact they no longer dare prove each new vehicle by driving it across the Rubicon Trail? (For those who don't know or don't remember, for decades Jeep introduced each new vehicle by crossing the famous Rubicon Trail. They had some problems with the 1999 Grand Cherokee -- it made it, but it was badly beat up at the finish. When they did the then-new Liberty, they didn't allow press along on the trip. The Liberty made it, but spies along the trail reported that not only was the vehicle thoroughly trashed at the end, it also couldn't make it over many points in the trail until the crew stacked small rocks to smooth the way for it. After that, Jeep stopped using the Rubicon and resorted to a doofus artificial course at the factory test area, after which they awarded the successful vehicles the coveted "Trail Rated" badge.

So perhaps Jeep has now abandoned even the pretense that Jeep vehicles have off-road capability.

:barf:

There is certainly a place for an "off-pavement" vehicle without climbing over ridiculous piles of rocks.  But this one isn't that vehicle. 

What I need is an outfit that will handle:
- muddy roads without clogging up the underside and fenders
- snow up to a couple feet, and ice
- two track roads with steep hills and ruts
- cargo!  Make the back end square so you have room to put stuff!

[Gewehr98]

Actually, "Trail Rated" had measurable performance criteria, quite clearly spelled out by Jeep.  There were Rubicon Editions sold, but I'm not sure "Trail Rated" had anything at all to do with the Rubicon Trail.

That having been said, I wouldn't take my wife's '07 Liberty through the Rubicon Trail without expecting at least some beauty marks in the paint.

I'm not even sure a Wrangler would run that gauntlet without getting dinged up pretty good.

I'm quite pleased with the Liberty with respect to crappy (snow) road performance, and out in the woods come deer season. 

I don't like the driver's side head and legroom, but that's why I'm buying a FJ Cruiser this summer. 

For my 5'2" wife, she's just fine with the Jeep, and she can throw a manual transfer case into 4WD just as fast as others would push a button on the dash.

That spruced-up Dart II in the photos?  It wouldn't even hold a candle to the older Liberty it replaced IMHO, let alone the econobox FWD Compass or Patriot.

We've seen the tactic before.  The PT Cruiser was based on the Dodge Neon.  The Chevy HHR was a Chevy Cobalt.  The new Ford Explorer is also a FWD unibody.  Even the new Dodge Durango went unibody, albeit RWD. 

[Tallpine]

Honestly, sometimes I think about trying to find a 1980s full size RWD car.   

[RoadKingLarry]

I'll stick with my old school Jeep.

[Gewehr98]

That's "Kaiser Jeep", IIRC.   

(Back when they were made of real metal...)

[mtnbkr]

What I need is an outfit that will handle:
- muddy roads without clogging up the underside and fenders
- snow up to a couple feet, and ice
- two track roads with steep hills and ruts
- cargo!  Make the back end square so you have room to put stuff!

My '97 4Runner (stock except for slightly larger tires) has handled each of those fine except the cargo requirement.  I think the snow part was only 20" at it's peak, but that not a common snowfall around here.  That's why I want to keep it even after getting another DD.

Chris

[dogmush]

What I need is an outfit that will handle:
- muddy roads without clogging up the underside and fenders
- snow up to a couple feet, and ice
- two track roads with steep hills and ruts
- cargo!  Make the back end square so you have room to put stuff!

I miss my full size Bronco. That was a good truck.

[Ben]

I miss my full size Bronco. That was a good truck.

In many ways, I miss mine too. It was probably the best looking vehicle I've ever owned, had great power, and a ton of room inside. I have to say though, that my Trooper has outperformed the Bronco in the offroad department. I've had my Trooper in some of the same places I had the Bronco, including a couple where I had the Bronco stuck, and the Trooper powered through them.

I'll admit part of that could be that the Bronco had manual locking hubs, and there were plenty of times when I would hit an area and think, "should I get out and lock the hubs?", but the lazy part of me would say, "Nah, you can make it through this!". With the Trooper, I just press a button on the dash, so I'm much more apt to already be in 4WD when I hit bad spots.

[wuluf]

It's as "Cherokee" as Elizabeth Warren..

[Tallpine]

My '97 4Runner (stock except for slightly larger tires) has handled each of those fine except the cargo requirement.  I think the snow part was only 20" at it's peak, but that not a common snowfall around here.  That's why I want to keep it even after getting another DD.

Chris

Buying a used Toyota is a risky proposition.  Didn't they used to advertise "get your hands on a Toyota and you'll never let go" ?  Seems like all the ones on the used market have something wrong with them or they wouldn't be on the market.  We came this close -->| |<-- to buying a 4 cylinder 4Runner once.  But then it started boiling over on a test drive around town on a cool day  

We told the dealer that if they would fix it, then we would come back and buy it.  They never called us back  

I miss my full size Bronco. That was a good truck.

In many ways, I miss mine too. It was probably the best looking vehicle I've ever owned, had great power, and a ton of room inside. I have to say though, that my Trooper has outperformed the Bronco in the offroad department. I've had my Trooper in some of the same places I had the Bronco, including a couple where I had the Bronco stuck, and the Trooper powered through them.

I'll admit part of that could be that the Bronco had manual locking hubs, and there were plenty of times when I would hit an area and think, "should I get out and lock the hubs?", but the lazy part of me would say, "Nah, you can make it through this!". With the Trooper, I just press a button on the dash, so I'm much more apt to already be in 4WD when I hit bad spots.

We have a full size Suburban with manual hubs (changed them out when the mechanical auto-lock hubs started not locking).  It will go pretty darn good just in 2wd (RWD).  But it's old and rusty and drinks a lot of gas.  I've thought about just getting another one a little bit newer.

The Chevy HHR was a Chevy Cobalt.

I never had any illusions that our HHR would be anything except a car.  It was a fuel efficient car with more cargo space and a more user friendly (for us) configuration.  Plus, it was available at that moment.  It works good for us most of the time as long as the roads aren't too bad.


The crazy thing to me is that back when most cars were RWD, almost nobody needed a 4wd/AWD.  Everybody got around fine 99% of the time with RWD cars with snow tires in the winter.  Now all the cars are FWD and if there is a half inch of snow then everybody needs 4wd or AWD.  

Back in the 1980s, we had some good friends with a big 4-door Olds that as I remember got 20+++ mpg.  And they lived way up in the mountains where we did.

[mtnbkr]

Buying a used Toyota is a risky proposition.  Didn't they used to advertise "get your hands on a Toyota and you'll never let go" ?  Seems like all the ones on the used market have something wrong with them or they wouldn't be on the market.  We came this close -->| |<-- to buying a 4 cylinder 4Runner once.  But then it started boiling over on a test drive around town on a cool day 

We told the dealer that if they would fix it, then we would come back and buy it.  They never called us back 

I've noticed you've had a lot of bad luck with cars. 

I've purchased 3 used Toyotas since 1996 and only got rid of one with less than 200k on the odometer.  The issue here is finding one at a reasonable price for the age and mileage.  They hold their value too well here.  I think I test drove 6-7 4Runners before we bought this one in 2002, none had any issues except for sticker shock and more cosmetic wear/tear than I'd like.

Other than normal wear and tear items (brakes, etc), ours has been trouble free.  We did replace the manual transmission at the 200k point, which I've been told numerous times by factory and independent mechanics was highly unusual.  We probably could have driven it another 20k, but the clutch needed replacing and it made sense to do it all at once.  Frankly, I think the previous owners were towing loads in excess of the rated limit for it to wear out that soon.  The trailer hitch showed signs of significant use when we bought it.

Chris

[Gewehr98]

Oh, I know the HHR is a big FWD car.

I came really close a year or so ago to buying a silver HHR Panel (Sedan Delivery) model so I could haul dogs and guns around.

Then I found out they made an SS version of the HHR Panel, but everybody in the family called it a mini-hearse, so I dropped the idea. 

[Lee]

The front end is hideous. Other than that, I think it looks pretty sharp. I wouldn't buy one myself, but I could see it competing pretty well with the other soccer mom SUVs out there.

[Marnoot]

Buying a used Toyota is a risky proposition.  Didn't they used to advertise "get your hands on a Toyota and you'll never let go" ?  Seems like all the ones on the used market have something wrong with them or they wouldn't be on the market.

There's enough people that can't fathom having a car older than 2 or 3 (etc.) years selling and trading them in to keep the used market supplied with perfectly fine vehicles.

As for me, I'm very highly unlikely to every buy an actual new car. That depreciation in the first year or two is just too nasty. Far better to let someone else pay it, then buy it from them when they decide they'd like to pay for it again on a newer car.

[Tallpine]

I've noticed you've had a lot of bad luck with cars.

Actually, no - except for the few non GM ones that we've had.

I've bought a lot of used pickups and a couple trucks over the years, and had pretty good luck with most of them.  I'm just kicking myself that I ever sold or traded some of them.

There's enough people that can't fathom having a car older than 2 or 3 (etc.) years selling and trading them in to keep the used market supplied with perfectly fine vehicles.

As for me, I'm very highly unlikely to every buy an actual new car. That depreciation in the first year or two is just too nasty. Far better to let someone else pay it, then buy it from them when they decide they'd like to pay for it again on a newer car.

Ha!    I don't even start looking at vehicles anymore until they are at least 10 years old.  The exception being the HHR which I got from my dad as a 2yo demonstrator.

[mtnbkr]

Actually, no - except for the few non GM ones that we've had.

That's funny because one of the two worst cars I've owned was a GM (Pontiac Grand Am).  That car actually tried to kill me by engaging autopilot, I mean cruise control, in rush hour traffic on I66.  Traffic is creeping along at 10 miles an hour and the stupid thing tries to accelerate as if someone stomped the gas pedal.  I stood on the brake pedal while I wrestled it over to the breakdown lane.  Then there were all the "minor" issues such as the idle so rough it shook the car, the power windows that weren't, etc.  I would have written it off as a bad car, but my FIL's Pontiac Grand Am had its own set of problems, up to and including an engine that self destructed at about 120k.  My parents' Bonneville was better, but still not "good".

My Nissan Altima (Worst Car Contender #2) wasn't much better, but was more passive aggressive in its hatred of humans rather than outright murderous.

My next vehicle may be a Ford.  I've been hearing good things about them and I like the current generation Mustang V6.  Though, if gas gets much worse, I may look at one of their gas-sippers.

Chris