Can Jeep Grow And Keep Its Jeepness?

Jeep is synonymous with rugged, manly adventures. The label instantly conjures back roads (also known as "jeep trails") and wilderness. That unshakeable identity is one reason Chrysler has survived through two different suitors (three if you count us, the taxpayers). Despite everything its parent companies got wrong pre-bailout, Jeep continued to be a cash machine. This is still the case post-bailout, with new Jeeps like the Grand Cherokee that are just plain excellent.

Waiting for a "but"? There is one, and a big one. Like lots of long-established names, Jeep finds itself constantly walking a thin line, trying to grow its offerings more broadly without alienating its hardcore fan base (and few automotive marques inspire the loyalty that Jeep does). This struggle is particularly evident in the cushier, softer Jeeps unveiled in recent years.

I recently test-drove a Jeep Compass Altitude. The Compass, you probably know, is the twin of the Patriot, and both are based on the Dodge Caliber. The last part of that Compass name, Altitude, indicates a bunch of trim additions, including blacked out windows, body-color trim and grille, all-season performance rubber (Firestone Firehawks, not exactly touted for their off-road chops), black wheels to go with the black paint, and other options.

In total, the package boosted the $23,445 Compass to $27,000. Not a terrible price for a five-passenger SUV... or is it a crossover? There you have the issue of what makes a Jeep a Jeep.

The Compass I tested had AWD and a switch to "lock" the vehicle into a mode that keeps all the wheels churning, not swapping motive force among the fronts and rears. But it?s not really a 4x4?it?s a crossover, and not a particularly great one. Its CVT transmission (about to be booted in 2013 for a six-speed auto) likes to drone and is loath to provide acceleration. But the biggest sin of the Compass is that the interior looks cheap and plasticky compared to the vast majority of competition in the segment. And the body doesn?t look particularly butch, a big no-no for Jeep.

Pity the Compass then. It?s not cut out to be a Wrangler, and it?s also fighting with one hand tied behind its back against stalwart crossover names like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Toyota RAV-4. What all those have in common, besides besting the sales of any Jeep by up to double (in the case of the CR-V), is that each is a superb crossover. They ditch the locking four-wheel-drive in favor of better fuel economy, and ground clearance is barely better than some wagons.

Through August of this year sales of the Compass are down, while the rest of the entire Jeep division is soaring. Over 96,000 Wranglers sold in eight months of 2012, a nearly 20 percent increase over 2011, while a scant 28,000 Compasses sold in the same time period. (Patriot, which happens to look more like the Wrangler, is selling better?about 12 percent better than 2011.) Look out on the roadways and you?ll see that a lot of the Wranglers that are selling are the $25,545 Unlimited editions, the stretched Wrangler that gets an extra set of doors and costs about four grand more than the Compass 4X4, and closer to $6000 more than a 2WD Compass.

To be fair, the Wrangler?s a dinosaur. It?s an icon of the brand and hugely loved by its core fan base but highly unlikely to pass future safety standards, and very difficult to make fuel-efficient. Fixing the Wrangler is a big struggle for Jeep.

But a bigger one is how to sort out what to do about its smaller utes, and fast. Chrysler?s plan is to stop selling the Liberty and replace it next spring with an all-new Cherokee based on a Dodge Dart platform. A year later, the Compass/Patriot twins will go away, to be reborn (rumors say) on that same Dart platform. But are would-be customers expecting those smaller utes to be downsized Wranglers, with all of the Jeep capability that implies, or just plain old crossovers?

The situation only gets more complicated when you factor in the condition of Chrysler?s latest owner, Fiat, which is facing plant capacity at a mere 50 percent in Italy and major worker unrest. Recently Fiat chair and Chrysler group boss Sergio Marchionne has suggested building Chrysler (and presumably Jeep) products in Europe and exporting them to the U.S. There?s also a rumor that Jeep may spawn a tiny ute-let based on the mechanicals of the Fiat Panda. Are you ready for a Fiat-built Jeep?

Let?s say Jeep can navigate these very choppy waters and launch three new crossovers in the next three years, all sized below the Grand Cherokee. And let?s say they are built with modern unibodies that give up a lot of off-roading ability in exchange for fighting back harder on fuel economy against the likes of Toyota, Honda, and Ford?but look a lot more rugged. We think that?d be a smash hit. And if the look and feel and build quality carry through from the Grand Cherokee, it could even do something iconic brands are supposed to do: turn up the heat on the soft-roader competition.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/can-jeep-grow-and-keep-its-jeepness-13890828?src=rss

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