News

Ram is looking at reinventing the tailgate, albeit along the lines of venerable van setups. A Chrysler patent filed on February 20, 2013, by five different inventors (Danja McGoff, David Anderson, Gary Bastian, Trevor Garvey, and Eugene Paik), shows a split tailgate which can either open wide, like a door, or be laid down like a traditional truck tailgate.

As Allpar previously reported, the individual tailgate-halves, or “doors,” can be actuated by touchpads. They can be operated together, as a single tailgate unit, or separately, as a pair of doors.

Steven St. Laurent referred us to patent 8,740,279…

Jeep cleaned up at the Northwest Automotive Press Association (NWAPA)’s twentieth annual “Mudfest” competition.  The 2014 Jeep Cherokee took home top honors, “Northwest Outdoor Activity Vehicle of the Year,” while the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee won the Premium Standard Utility class.
 
“The 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk was named the winner based on its outstanding performance, off-road capabilities, features, fuel economy and value after rigorous testing,” said Ryan Douthit, co-chair of the event.  

NWAPA automotive journalists spent two days testing 23 vehicles from 16 automakers on autocross, paved, and off-road routes at the 310-acre DirtFish Rally School site in Snoqualmie…

After years of coming in behind Honda in retail sales, Chrysler surpassed the Japanese automaker by around 7,100 cars in April, according to U.S. sales data from Automotive News. For April 2014, 77% of Chrysler’s sales were to retail customers, a greater proportion than GM (73%) or Ford (67%).

Sergio Marchionne said the ideal number seemed to be around 80% retail sales, 20% fleet.

Chrysler remained the #3  automaker in fleets with 41,700 sales, behind GM and Ford, which have similar fleet sales (69,500 and 69,200). Hyundai-Kia, Toyota, and Nissan have all been increasing…

The members of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press association have named the 2014 Jeep Cherokee as their “SUV of the Year.”

The announcement came Tuesday evening during the Denver Auto Show Charity Preview .

“The Rocky Mountain region challenges any vehicle to the maximum with high altitude and constantly changing weather conditions,” said Andre Smirnov, the association’s president. “The 2014 Jeep Cherokee is equipped to handle this tough environment, while also offering comfort, utility, and…

Vincentric has named the Ram ProMaster Diesel 1500 standard roof van with the 118-inch wheelbase its “Best Fleet Value” in the Full-Size 1/2-Ton Cargo Van category.

“Starting off its first model year with a bang, the Ram ProMaster 1500 wins its first Vincentric Best Fleet Value in America award in the full-size ½-ton cargo van segment. The ProMaster used low fuel and maintenance costs as the key components of its success, while unseating the…