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.