Jeep Plans Luxury Model to Target Mercedes SUVs, Range Rover

[Wretched]

Jeep is developing a luxury sport utility vehicle to rival the Range Rover.

It’s a bold gambit that will test anew the elasticity of a brand that started life selling army trucks in World War II and has so far managed not to alienate hard-core off-roaders. Based on Range Rover prices, a luxury Jeep could command as much as $100,000 and help shore up margins as parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV spins off money-minting Ferrari SpA.

Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne mentioned the vehicle while opening an Alfa Romeo and Maserati dealership near Toronto last week. While Jeep’s global sales have soared more than fourfold since 2009, helped by broad demand for SUVs and the popularity of new models, Marchionne said the brand is missing an opportunity.

“When I see a Range Rover on the street, my blood boils, because we should be able to do a thing like that,” he said with characteristic forthrightness. “And we will.”

The priciest Jeep now is the Grand Cherokee, which starts at about $30,000 and can top twice that fully loaded. Jeep has said it will bring back the larger Grand Wagoneer by 2018. A Range Rover rival would sit above that in the lineup, which also includes the entry-level Cherokee and Renegade, both hits with buyers and critics.

Marchionne, who declined to provide specifics about the luxury SUV, said his company didn’t mention the vehicle in a five-year plan laid out last year because he didn’t want to tip his hand too soon.

“Would I tell you that?” he said. “No, but we’re working on it now.”
Maserati Levante

David Kelleher, who owns a Jeep Chrysler dealership near Philadelphia, said he’s been pushing Fiat Chrysler for several years to expand Jeep into the high-end.

“You put Jeep on the front of anything right now and you’re OK,” he said.

Fiat Chrysler rose 1.6 percent to close at $15.04. The shares gained 30 percent this year through Wednesday’s close after gaining 30 percent in 2014.

SUV sales are booming and luxury models account for about half of that market. Still, the new Jeep will face plenty of competition. Fiat Chrysler’s Maserati plans to debut an SUV called Levante next year; Bentley is developing the Bentayga, which it bills as the most luxurious and expensive SUV. Audi plans to roll out a new full-sized sport-utility vehicle, the Q8, by 2020 that will challenge the $63,600 Mercedes-Benz GL and BMW is developing the X7. Jaguar will start selling its first crossover, the mid-sized F-PACE, next year.

Porsche’s Cayenne is its top-selling model this year through April and GM’s Escalade and Ford’s Lincoln Navigator are their brand’s fastest-gaining vehicles this year.

Jack Nerad, an analyst at KBB.com, said an expensive, luxury Jeep may take Americans by surprise.
Unique Brand

“But Jeep is unique,” he said. “There’s really no substitute for it in the market and that puts them in a pretty good position. There’s a lot of opportunity there.”

A luxury Jeep may do well overseas too, Nerad said.

Jeep is expanding production outside North America, adding lines in China, Italy and Brazil, to push the brand’s sales to 1.9 million cars in 2018 from a record of more than 1 million last year. It’s also increasing its dealerships in China by about a third this year and plans to start to build its Cherokee in November followed by the Renegade next year in 2016.

“In some markets, they know about Jeep, but they don’t know what the product line entails,” Nerad said. “In China, other parts of Asia and Europe, there’s an opportunity to do a high-end Jeep. I really think that’s a possibility.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...nd-range-rover

On top of the planned 2018 Wagoneer.

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/new-je...wag-1572352639

[Morexbs]

Don't they have enough warranty work as it is?

[Raptor]

What a joke.

The only decent Jeep, the current Grand Cherokee is only good because it is heavily based on the Mercedes ML anyway.

Ref. http://www.autotrader.com/research/a...car-review.jsp

The 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee can trace its roots to when the merger between Chrysler and Mercedes was still alive and well. As a result, the Grand Cherokee benefits by having its platform and some suspension parts shared with the rock-solid Mercedes-Benz ML. This odd union has created a Grand Cherokee unlike any before it, with a rigid chassis, meticulously tight-fitting body panels and an interior that can finally compete with overseas rivals....

.

[Spurious]

Ask Ashton Wood to test drive one!

[cheap]

Onward they go!

Unless Jeep improves their reliability, customer service approach and generally poor market perception, the new Luxury Jeep will be an expensive, massively depreciating POS.

Or is that what they mean when they say they're targeting Range Rover!

[sprintman1]

Who the faark would be silly enough to buy one???

[Dr Smith]

I'd love to know how much repeat business Jeeps is getting?

[Warrenk]

I believe this saying reflects the knowledge of some people commenting in this thread.

Ignorance is Liberating
You're not restricted by facts or knowledge.
You're a Free Person and, as such, able to form your own conclusions.

Warren

[AndyXR6T]

I know plenty of people who own jeeps without any issues. I'm not sure where all this bad stigma is coming from?

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by AndyXR6T

I know plenty of people who own jeeps without any issues. I'm not sure where all this bad stigma is coming from?

Brother in law's sister's uncle's father's cousin who knows a guy who worked with a woman who's husband owned a Jeep and may have had a few issues, can't be confirmed but best to assume it ;)

Cause...no other make including Ford have had issues.

[SumoDog68]

Some of reputation is also based on direct ownership or ownership in the family . Jeeps generally populate last spots in reliability studies around the world.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/...st-021214.html

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/m...cars/index.htm

[cheap]

Originally Posted by AndyXR6T

I know plenty of people who own jeeps without any issues. I'm not sure where all this bad stigma is coming from?

How about doing a search. Of course these stories and many other stories could all be BS.

Jeep Laredo 2014 4x4 - Like everyone says, Chrysler really does suck!! Transmission problems on 33k miles shifter recalls, wheel alignment shifts to the right. Transmission kick down to 50 when doing 60mph, dangerous. Chrysler will not help. They know everyone is having the same problem and their priority is to have the vehicle fixed so everyone buy one so they all sit in the shop while they get paid and we pay bs. Anyone know of a lawyer something? It's time the U.S. opens their eyes because they think they will always get away with it. It's not just one vehicle, it’s multiple vehicles. Chrysler tells you they will fix it while people are being told the same thing. Well you go ahead believe that.

Or

While on an out of town trip, the car's dashboard display notified me that I needed to get to a dealership within 200 miles. Since I was in rural Arizona, it was difficult to find a dealer, but I managed. 10 weeks later, my car still isn't repaired. Chrysler's customer service has been erratic and unhelpful, they claim that there are problems locating the parts needed to repair the car. Most disappointing, however, is the company's complete lack of concern for my dilemma. My personal expenses have been significant, the company barely communicates with me, and won't commit to anything at all. No car, no repair, no compensation and above all, NO APOLOGIES.

One could go on, but then the capacity of AFF's storage would be placed at risk.

[Express]

Originally Posted by cheap

How about doing a search. Of course these stories and many other stories could all be BS.

I’m not defending Jeep but I guess what AndyXR6T is saying is for every Jeep owner that has a problem there is another owner that doesn’t.

I have a friend who has one and he says he’s heard of all the problems and dissatisfaction but can’t fault his.

Similar I guess to some Ford owners who have serious concerns with Ford’s after service approach and others who say Ford have been nothing short of great to deal with.

There are good and bad experiences to be heard from most manufacturers.

[AndyXR6T]

Originally Posted by cheap

How about doing a search. Of course these stories and many other stories could all be BS.

Jeep Laredo 2014 4x4 - Like everyone says, Chrysler really does suck!! Transmission problems on 33k miles shifter recalls, wheel alignment shifts to the right. Transmission kick down to 50 when doing 60mph, dangerous. Chrysler will not help. They know everyone is having the same problem and their priority is to have the vehicle fixed so everyone buy one so they all sit in the shop while they get paid and we pay bs. Anyone know of a lawyer something? It's time the U.S. opens their eyes because they think they will always get away with it. It's not just one vehicle, it’s multiple vehicles. Chrysler tells you they will fix it while people are being told the same thing. Well you go ahead believe that.

Or


While on an out of town trip, the car's dashboard display notified me that I needed to get to a dealership within 200 miles. Since I was in rural Arizona, it was difficult to find a dealer, but I managed. 10 weeks later, my car still isn't repaired. Chrysler's customer service has been erratic and unhelpful, they claim that there are problems locating the parts needed to repair the car. Most disappointing, however, is the company's complete lack of concern for my dilemma. My personal expenses have been significant, the company barely communicates with me, and won't commit to anything at all. No car, no repair, no compensation and above all, NO APOLOGIES.

One could go on, but then the capacity of AFF's storage would be placed at risk.

I have done my research, I've been in the process of looking for a new larger car for about 7 months now. Whilst looking i found that ALL manufacturers have had problems at some time. Admittedly I've seen a couple bad reviews on some jeeps but no more than I have seen of other models. It just seems so many here slag the jeep off, but like a lot of other manufacturers they have certainly improved from what I have heard. 2 close friends have a grand Cherokee and a 4 door wrangler, both with nothing but smooth sailing, so this is what I'm basing my question on

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

Some of reputation is also based on direct ownership or ownership in the family . Jeeps generally populate last spots in reliability studies around the world.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/...st-021214.html

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/m...cars/index.htm

The issues with these type of survey's too are they are based on user perception. Some react differently to issues encountered and some based on the market they are in will have a different expectation of how the car will perform. Personally if I were to buy an Audi for example I would have a higher expectation of quality over that of a Toyota Yaris for example, the latter I would have an expectation of lower quality.

[cheap]

Originally Posted by AndyXR6T

I have done my research, I've been in the process of looking for a new larger car for about 7 months now. Whilst looking i found that ALL manufacturers have had problems at some time. Admittedly I've seen a couple bad reviews on some jeeps but no more than I have seen of other models. It just seems so many here slag the jeep off, but like a lot of other manufacturers they have certainly improved from what I have heard. 2 close friends have a grand Cherokee and a 4 door wrangler, both with nothing but smooth sailing, so this is what I'm basing my question on

Then why wait any longer, 7 months research should have you convinced? Go for it, buy a Jeep.

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by AndyXR6T

I have done my research, I've been in the process of looking for a new larger car for about 7 months now. Whilst looking i found that ALL manufacturers have had problems at some time. Admittedly I've seen a couple bad reviews on some jeeps but no more than I have seen of other models. It just seems so many here slag the jeep off, but like a lot of other manufacturers they have certainly improved from what I have heard. 2 close friends have a grand Cherokee and a 4 door wrangler, both with nothing but smooth sailing, so this is what I'm basing my question on

I know 3 GC owners, 2 x SRT's and 1 x Overlander CRD. 1 SRT is around 2 years old now, the owner loves it and had no issue (it replaced a Commododre wagon and his other car is a G6ET), the other SRT is a few months old, same story (replaced a Territory and he has a Clubsport), Overlander same story and has around 60 odd thousand K's, in 18 months, previously a die hard Landcruiser owner and will be replacing the GC with a new GC.

I also have a GC turbo diesel, had a few problems - DAB radio dropping out and not recovering, clunky low speed gearchange (TSB fix), slight pull to left (wheel alignment), HVAC not linear when going from cold to hot (TSB fix). Other than that, this vehicle continues to impress me.

I also took a long time to go for it and freely admit Jeeps past reputation worried me after reading owners comments all over the web. Snatching a few comments on the WK GC and using them here does not necessarily show the true story.

Two things that concern me -
1. CJD Australia's attitude (they kicked the last CEO out I think)
2. the Stealers service costs are robbery. I won't use them though so all good ;)

[MITCHAY]

I think Jeeps bad rep comes about because they don't have massive volume but plenty of horror stories.

There's one parked down the street often with a lemon sticker on it and one of many I have seen.

So they are outright POS and/or their dealer network is so bad that issues are not resolved and they become a PR nightmare.

The end result is they have no hope in hell in cutting it in the high end market unless they solve that I reckon.

[chrisandsharon]

The top end Grand Cherokees are one beautiful bit of gear.

[AndyXR6T]

Originally Posted by cheap

Then why wait any longer, 7 months research should have you convinced? Go for it, buy a Jeep.

To be honest I would of bought one if they had a 7 seat option for the Cherokee. I ended up buying a Hyundai Santa Fe instead, but my point was I've had the time to research and from my findings (with the odd lemon story) they aren't nearly as bad as people (or this thread) make them out to be

[FG50T]

Originally Posted by sprintman1

Who the faark would be silly enough to buy one???

There's more Jeep Grand Cherokee's on the road here than any other car

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by Wretched

The issues with these type of survey's too are they are based on user perception. Some react differently to issues encountered and some based on the market they are in will have a different expectation of how the car will perform.

This is true to some extent of owner-satisfaction surveys. The funniest one I saw was an industry survey in Australia a few years ago. They found that one of the brands with a higher level of faults was VW, but strangely enough owner satisfaction was quite high. They concluded that VW owners were in denial that their "prestige" European brand could possibly have anything wrong with it!

I prefer the UK Reliability Index which reflects the warranty and repair industry's direct experience with working on cars. I note that in the manufacturer ranking, Jeep is a bottom-dweller, sharing such illustrious company as Bentley, Land Rover, Porsche, Alfa and Audi!

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer

Originally Posted by Wretched

Personally if I were to buy an Audi for example I would have a higher expectation of quality over that of a Toyota Yaris for example, the latter I would have an expectation of lower quality.

Then refer to the manufacturer ratings above!

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by new2ford

This is true to some extent of owner-satisfaction surveys. The funniest one I saw was an industry survey in Australia a few years ago. They found that one of the brands with a higher level of faults was VW, but strangely enough owner satisfaction was quite high. They concluded that VW owners were in denial that their "prestige" European brand could possibly have anything wrong with it!

I prefer the UK Reliability Index which reflects the warranty and repair industry's direct experience with working on cars. I note that in the manufacturer ranking, Jeep is a bottom-dweller, sharing such illustrious company as Bentley, Land Rover, Porsche, Alfa and Audi!

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer



Then refer to the manufacturer ratings above!

Jeep generally sits at the bottom of any type of survey , owners or manufacturers ...
Having said that JGC is outselling Prado ( best selling in its category) maybe they are turning it around .

[Franco Cozzo]

The funniest Jeep I've worked on was one of those 90s Cherokee things, it broke the wires controlling the electric mirrors and windows because the door hinges, holding the door broke off the body of the car, and had to be re-welded on again.

Then 2 years later the other side did the same thing.

But thats not really indicative of whats coming off the production line in 2015.

I'd be willing to give Jeep a crack if they made something that I liked.

[sprintman1]

Originally Posted by AndyXR6T

I know plenty of people who own jeeps without any issues. I'm not sure where all this bad stigma is coming from?

Ask the NRMA, any mechanical workshop, or most Jeep owners. Have you been 'off planet' for a while??

[AuFairlaneV8]

Originally Posted by new2ford

This is true to some extent of owner-satisfaction surveys. The funniest one I saw was an industry survey in Australia a few years ago. They found that one of the brands with a higher level of faults was VW, but strangely enough owner satisfaction was quite high. They concluded that VW owners were in denial that their "prestige" European brand could possibly have anything wrong with it!

I find it amusing that people consider a VW as a 'prestige' car, it seems to be a lot of aspirational types that have bought into the 'German Engineering' advertising but can't afford a BMW or Merc.

[sprintman1]

Originally Posted by AuFairlaneV8

I find it amusing that people consider a VW as a 'prestige' car, it seems to be a lot of aspirational types that have bought into the 'German Engineering' advertising but can't afford a BMW or Merc.

\

Worked for a stealership that majored in VW. 40% of daily service bookings were warranty. I put 'em in the same class as Jeep, the vehicles for the brain dead!

[Grunter]

They are such a horrendous piece of crap, that I traded the Jeep with another Jeep this past weekend.

Given how much (trouble free) enjoyment I've had driving the last one, it's good being brain dead.

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by sprintman1

Ask the NRMA, any mechanical workshop, or most Jeep owners. Have you been 'off planet' for a while??

I haven't asked 'most' of the Jeep owners, but I have talked to the 4 guys at work that have them, as well as my cousin and her hubby who have just bought one. And all of them are extremely happy! Sure, not a great sample size, and my cousin's vehicle is lucky to have 10,000km on the clock, but finding out from those who I know personally (the 4 work colleagues above are all in engineering fields within a heavy industrial environment, so have a pretty good mechanical background) gave me enough confidence to look at buying one as a replacement for our Territory.

Mind you, the $1400 price tag for the 30,000km service that two of the above guys paid for their diesel certainly put me off!!!

Craig H

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by Grunter

They are such a horrendous piece of crap, that I traded the Jeep with another Jeep this past weekend.

Given how much (trouble free) enjoyment I've had driving the last one, it's good being brain dead.

The point is that the risk factor is statistically higher. Most owners will undoubtedly have a clear (if apparently expensive) run but many factor in potential risk and cost of downtime when buying a car.

Bad publicity is sometimes a good thing too. In a few years the company might work hard to turn its reputation around by putting its back into the problems. This has happened with French cars.