Unlimited 4 door

I have seen them too and I thought, "Excellent parade vehicle."

Earle

I poked around one that was parked on the lot, and I thought it was pretty cool! I'd buy one as an alternate rig. Not for playing in, but as a people hauler.

If it's the sort of rig you're looking for, why ask the folks here, go drive one !!

Kate

06 Rubicon

They are 13 inches longer than the grand Cherokee and 500 pounds heavier.

On the plus side you get an extra quarter inch ground clearance.

Cause they ain't none around here...

I think DaimlerChrysler AG headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg (Germany) and Auburn Hills, Michigan (USA), is a prominent automobile and truck manufacturer and financial services provider (through DaimlerChrysler Financial Services). The company also owns a major stake in aerospace group EADS. DaimlerChrysler was formed in 1998 by the merger of Daimler-Benz (Germany) and the Chrysler Corporation (USA). The transaction was announced on May 7, and took place on November 12. In the early 2000s, several lawsuits were filed based on the allegation that the transaction was a takeover, not a merger, consisting in the former buying out the latter (see below). It is interesting to know that the largest shareholder in DaimlerChrysler is currently the Government of Kuwait - one of the world's leading oil producers. The company produces cars and trucks under the brands Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Smart, and Maybach, among others. The Chrysler Group (Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge) also provides its customers with parts and accessories marketed under the Mopar brand name.

:-)

There are a number of governments more fascist than Kuwait's, number one being Red China.

Jeff DeWitt

L.W.(Bill) Hughes III wrote:

Why yes, it is one of the countries that has most favored nation trade status.

Jeff DeWitt

L.W.(Bill) Hughes III wrote:

Which Bush the First worked hard to get.

I took one for a test drive. Was an automatic. Interior wise its not bad. Updated but still some utility. One thing with it is I found the seats to be positioned to close to the doors. I'm not a very big person but I felt very crowded up against the doors. Ride was pretty good with very little road noise heard from the 32" MTR's. Only one thing kept me from picking one up: Lack of power. Around the city it was okay, but as soon as I hit the highway and was trying to even get to 110kph it was painful. They really need to offer a bigger engine for the extra size of the vehicle. Rearward visibility between the rear seat headrests, the spare tire, and the wiper motor was quite terrible. You end up having the top passenger side of the rear glass to see out of.

I was extremely turned off by motor performance and sound. A Wrangler shouldn't drive and sound like a minivan. With the 6 speed this may be less of a problem. I am going to get back and try one with a 6spd when I get a chance.

Overall it was only mediocre. Has some really nice off the lot features, but the added down falls push me towards a different 4x4. For the time being, I'll just keep my YJ.

JimG wrote:

I figured as much. DC will spend 5 years playing with HP and torque numbers until sales drop to the point where they will either dump the entire line or bring back the straight-6, which ain't bloody likely in my lifetime.

Whoever says the V-6 is a smart replacement for the I-6 is full of HORSEHOCKY. I was RIGHT. Mess with something that just flat-out WORKS, and you shoot yourself in the foot.

A minivan engine in a Wrangler. Who, in their worst nightmare, could have ever imagined such horror. Worse, I'd bet that V-sucks is heavier than the I-6 as well. So much for progress. Newer ain't better.

Phoenix Engines: Chrysler - Mercedes V6 Engines for 2010 and Beyond The Phoenix engines were first discussed by "superduckie" way back in March

2006. "ask1919" wrote in April, "Phoenix will be a collection of V6 engines to replace the whole line." oh20, whose track record has been 100% accurate on such breakthroughs as the Caliber and Sebring, wrote in July that the engines would include:

a.. 1... 3.0L V6 base Phoenix (next gen LX, J1, L2, R2) b.. 2... 3.0L V6 premium Phoenix (L2) c.. 3... 3.3L V6 base Phoenix (current gen JS Avenger/Sebring, next gen RT Minivan) d.. 4... 3.3L V6 premium Phoenix (current gen JS Avenger/Sebring, next gen RT Minivan) e.. 5... 3.6L V6 base Phoenix (current gen JS Avenger/Sebring, current and next gen KA Nitro, next gen KK Liberty, next gen RT minivan, next gen LX, Grand Cherokee current and next gen, next gen Commander) f.. 6... 3.6L V6 HEV Phoenix Engine (next gen RT minivan) g.. 7... 3.6L V6 premium Phoenix Engine (current and next gen LX, next gen RT minivan) h.. 8... 3.6L V6 PZEV Phoenix Engine (next gen RT minivan) i.. 9... 4.0 V6 base Phoenix (next gen Pacifica, next gen NE Dakota, next gen Ram, next gen KK Liberty, current and next gen KA Nitro, next gen LX, next gen Grand Cherokee, next gen Commander, next gen JL Wrangler) j.. 10... 4.0 V6 premium Phoenix (vehicles unknown) Apparently the design is advanced enough that the oil pan is being subbed out: "Oil pan for a Phoenix Engine from Chrysler had some very odd oil diverters...nothing I've seen before."

The new Phoenix line of V-6 engines will debut for model-year 2010 vehicles, which is to say, probably in the year 2009. Chrysler has announced details, including the investment in plants ($2 billion, not including engineering of the engines themselves) and the fact that Mercedes will share the basic engine architecture. The Phoenix engines, long discussed on Allpar's news and rumors forum, will be made in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Trenton, Michigan (with parts machined in Toledo, Ohio), as well as in Germany for Mercedes. Allpar at least is happy that development of these engines appears to be centered in the US though no doubt Mercedes will get most of the credit for their success.

The old Trenton Engine plant will close in 2014; the new Trenton Engine plant, if one is indeed built within Trenton, will cost $800 million and open in time for the 2010 model year, with groundbreaking scheduled for or before November 1, 2006.

At the latest, the current V6 engines (dating back to around 1990 but with strong reliability and nice power/economy) will be phased out in 2013 and the 3.8 and 4.0 V6 should finished by 2014.

Dieter Zetsche, DCX and Mercedes CEO, said the new engine family would operate on a modular base, reducing the corporation's V6 engine families to one (from five - four at Chrysler and one at Mercedes). The World Engine experience may provide some illustration of how that will be done, though hopefully the Phoenix will prove to be quieter and less peaky. The world's best V6 engines are being benchmarked; and Mercedes has a camless design that may be integrated into Auburn Hills' work, since Zetsche is determined that all corporate divisions share technology as needed.

The engines will, not surprisingly, be built on flexible assembly lines that will allow the mix to be changed quickly and easily, to adjust to market demands.

Plants will switch to new job rules that include 10 hour four-day work weeks and a much smaller number of job classifications (two). Production will begin for the 2010 model year, with final phaseout of the existing Chrysler V6 engines in calendar-year 2012.

Mercedes versions will most likely have more expensive features such as direct injection.

I'd think it would be about the closest thing you'll ever get to a new XJ, wouldn't it ('cept for the loss of the 4 litre, of course)?

Mark '93 XJ

It was in a Jeep before it was in a Pacer, so you could say it was a Jeep engine in a Pacer .

Although actually it's roots go a LONG way back as a Nash/Rambler engine, and a great engine it is.

Guys correct me if I'm wrong, but if I were to do something stupid like trade my XJ in for the nearest equivalent Liberty wouldn't I get something heavier, slower, with worse gas mileage, lower reliability, and of course a REALLY big hole in my bank account?

Jeff DeWitt

Matt Macchiarolo wrote: