A nice feature for those in back is Jeep's Command-View skylight, a fixed sunroof mounted over the second row of seats, which incidentally comes complete with a sunshade if you're trying to keep infants out of harm's way.
Speaking of keeping occupants safe, the Commander should not only provide top-of-class handling, critical for avoiding potential accidents, but it will also be the first Chrysler Group vehicle to feature "electronic roll mitigation." This system integrates a variety of sensors throughout the SUV, which detect a potential rollover and immediately deploy a series of multistage airbags. It's a pre-collision system, similar in context to that developed and offered by Chrysler Group's Mercedes-Benz sibling.
Other crash avoidance features include standard Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) and an All-Speed Traction Control System (TCS). A tire pressure monitoring system is also included, plus the ParkSense rear parking assistance system. Other features that are not only safety related but also convenient include Uconnect hands-free communications, a DVD-based navigation system, SmartBeam headlamps and rain sensitive wipers. The Commander will arrive in showrooms later this year as a 2006 model, and be priced higher than the Grand Cherokee. Jeep will release final prices and Canadian specifications closer to its
launch date. And now that the Commander is filing off of the Jefferson North assembly line, that launch date is arriving sooner than later.
Like Jefferson North, Chrysler Group is adding flexibility to all of its plants, with the next two to receive the fully flexible treatment being the Belvidere, Illinois plant, where Dodge Caliber production will begin in 2006, and the Sterling Heights, Michigan plant, which produces the Chrysler Sebring, and also the Dodge Stratus, the latter no longer sold in Canada but still available in the U.S. By next year, both facilities will have the ability to produce multiple models simultaneously.
The Jefferson North plant required a few specific modifications in order to accommodate the Commander, being that it is slightly longer than the Grand Cherokee, features three rows of seats, and incorporates a unique sunroof over the second row of seats, requiring additional robots for installing the overhead glass.
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| The Commander should not only provide top-of-class handling but it will also be the first Chrysler Group vehicle to feature "electronic roll mitigation." (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada) |
Other crash avoidance features include standard Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) and an All-Speed Traction Control System (TCS). A tire pressure monitoring system is also included, plus the ParkSense rear parking assistance system. Other features that are not only safety related but also convenient include Uconnect hands-free communications, a DVD-based navigation system, SmartBeam headlamps and rain sensitive wipers. The Commander will arrive in showrooms later this year as a 2006 model, and be priced higher than the Grand Cherokee. Jeep will release final prices and Canadian specifications closer to its
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| The Jefferson North plant required a few specific modifications in order to accommodate the Commander, being that it is slightly longer than the Grand Cherokee, features three rows of seats, and incorporates a unique sunroof over the second row of seats, requiring additional robots for installing the overhead glass. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada) |
Like Jefferson North, Chrysler Group is adding flexibility to all of its plants, with the next two to receive the fully flexible treatment being the Belvidere, Illinois plant, where Dodge Caliber production will begin in 2006, and the Sterling Heights, Michigan plant, which produces the Chrysler Sebring, and also the Dodge Stratus, the latter no longer sold in Canada but still available in the U.S. By next year, both facilities will have the ability to produce multiple models simultaneously.
The Jefferson North plant required a few specific modifications in order to accommodate the Commander, being that it is slightly longer than the Grand Cherokee, features three rows of seats, and incorporates a unique sunroof over the second row of seats, requiring additional robots for installing the overhead glass.