DETROIT: Having recently fallen back into the beleaguered status of its past, DaimlerChrysler is counting heavily on the most famous name from its past to bring it back to health by fooling with its pure off-road breeding.
So the re-beleaguered company hopes that the replacement for its Cherokee can help it regain some of the thousands and thousands of customers who fled the Jeep brand for something more sophisticated and well-built.
That's a lot of baggage for the 2002 Liberty model that was revealed at the auto show here to carry, but the German-controlled DaimlerChrysler (DCX) has little choice. After it launches the replacement for its way-outclassed Ram full-size pickup this fall, it will be some time before DCX has anything new to offer consumers.
Jeep has long promoted itself as the only real off-road vehicle on the market and has lost many customers who don't like the rougher ride that that requires. Well, now they're trying to put Liberty on both sides of that fence, claiming that it delivers "a unique combination of ruggedness, capability and superior on-road refinement."
The key to this shift away from "pure laine" off-road ability is Liberty's suspension.
According to Rich Schaum, general manager of passenger car operations at DCX, "An all-new Jeep-engineered coil sprung independent front suspension combines excellent overall ride and handling and precise steering control with Rubicon-tested capabilities."
Schaum says the generous 8-inch suspension travel "ensures hallmark Jeep off-highway performance."
Meanwhile, Schaum claims, cast iron lower and forged steel upper control arms coupled to a cast iron steering knuckle with permanently lubricated ball joints provide a stable base for the front suspension.
"This design not only gives consumers confidence about the vehicle's robustness and durability," Schaum maintains, "but it improves rough road ride by reducing the vehicle's unsprung weight."
At the back there's a link-coil rear suspension similar to that on the Grand Cherokee, and again Schaum claims it will provide a smooth and comfortable ride.
Schaum says Jeep engineers were able to strike the same balance between off-road and on-road demands with the steering system. It's engineered to maintain Jeep off-highway ruggedness," he says, with a precise rack and pinion steering system that provides on-road steering control.
Power for all of this will come from the 2.4-litre inline-4 that most people will find woefully inadeqaute for the job, meaning most people will have to come up with even more money for the optional 3.7-litre V6.
The bigger engine has a cast-iron block and bedplate and aluminum cylinder heads and a balance shaft. Its 210 horsepower peak comes at 5200 rpm, and its maximum torque rating of 225 pound-feet arrives at 4000 rpm.
Both engines come standard with a 5-speed manual shifter, but there's also an optional 4-speed automatic transmission.
Jeep thinks its onto something with Liberty's single-action swing gate/flipper glass system. The gate swings from the curb-side for safe, convenient loading, while the "unique pull-type latch mechanism makes the opening of the flipper glass window and swing gate an intuitive, one-motion operation versus competitive multiple step operation"
To hold on to the ability to go off-roading that Liberty needs to survive in a hyper-competitive SUV market, Jeep engineers included:
So the re-beleaguered company hopes that the replacement for its Cherokee can help it regain some of the thousands and thousands of customers who fled the Jeep brand for something more sophisticated and well-built.
That's a lot of baggage for the 2002 Liberty model that was revealed at the auto show here to carry, but the German-controlled DaimlerChrysler (DCX) has little choice. After it launches the replacement for its way-outclassed Ram full-size pickup this fall, it will be some time before DCX has anything new to offer consumers.
Jeep has long promoted itself as the only real off-road vehicle on the market and has lost many customers who don't like the rougher ride that that requires. Well, now they're trying to put Liberty on both sides of that fence, claiming that it delivers "a unique combination of ruggedness, capability and superior on-road refinement."
The key to this shift away from "pure laine" off-road ability is Liberty's suspension.
According to Rich Schaum, general manager of passenger car operations at DCX, "An all-new Jeep-engineered coil sprung independent front suspension combines excellent overall ride and handling and precise steering control with Rubicon-tested capabilities."
Schaum says the generous 8-inch suspension travel "ensures hallmark Jeep off-highway performance."
Meanwhile, Schaum claims, cast iron lower and forged steel upper control arms coupled to a cast iron steering knuckle with permanently lubricated ball joints provide a stable base for the front suspension.
"This design not only gives consumers confidence about the vehicle's robustness and durability," Schaum maintains, "but it improves rough road ride by reducing the vehicle's unsprung weight."
At the back there's a link-coil rear suspension similar to that on the Grand Cherokee, and again Schaum claims it will provide a smooth and comfortable ride.
Schaum says Jeep engineers were able to strike the same balance between off-road and on-road demands with the steering system. It's engineered to maintain Jeep off-highway ruggedness," he says, with a precise rack and pinion steering system that provides on-road steering control.
Power for all of this will come from the 2.4-litre inline-4 that most people will find woefully inadeqaute for the job, meaning most people will have to come up with even more money for the optional 3.7-litre V6.
The bigger engine has a cast-iron block and bedplate and aluminum cylinder heads and a balance shaft. Its 210 horsepower peak comes at 5200 rpm, and its maximum torque rating of 225 pound-feet arrives at 4000 rpm.
Both engines come standard with a 5-speed manual shifter, but there's also an optional 4-speed automatic transmission.
Jeep thinks its onto something with Liberty's single-action swing gate/flipper glass system. The gate swings from the curb-side for safe, convenient loading, while the "unique pull-type latch mechanism makes the opening of the flipper glass window and swing gate an intuitive, one-motion operation versus competitive multiple step operation"
To hold on to the ability to go off-roading that Liberty needs to survive in a hyper-competitive SUV market, Jeep engineers included:
- Standard Command Trac and optional Selec Trac transfer cases that include a low range mode to provide traction on the all-wheel drive vehicles
- A uniframe construction that Jeep says is both stiffer and lighter than the body-on-frame construction used by some competitors
- Generous suspension travel, approach and departure angles
- Unique engine and ABS calibrations, and a clutch interlock defeat in low range
- Water-fording capabilities for off-highway trails and flooded underpasses
- An optional off-road group that includes Trac-Lok, all-terrain tires and skidplates
- A sturdy construction with high-strength alloy steel
- Multi-stage front airbags that deploy at different levels depending on the severity of the crash and whether the occupant is buckled in or not
- Optional side curtain airbags for extra head protection for both front and rear outboard occupants, and
- Seatbelt pretensioner in the driver's position and constant force retractors for both the driver and the front passenger