2006 Jeep Commander Preview

The Commander solves a problem which those who built the old Cherokee, a model that incidentally was a co-development between

The Commander now gives Jeep buyers with large families something to consider purchasing. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada)

Jeep's previous parent, American Motors (AMC) and Renault of France, the latter which owned the former struggling domestic automaker prior to selling it to Chrysler Group, could never have imagined. Back in the early '80s, five passenger vehicles were the norm. If you wanted to seat seven or more, you bought a van. Now, seven-occupant SUVs are becoming extremely popular, which may be a contributing factor to why sales of the recently updated Grand Cherokee have been slow.

The Commander now gives Jeep buyers with large families, or who regularly take other kids along with their children to soccer games, and who occasionally need to throw the little ones on the back bench in order to accommodate the grandparents - you get the message, right - something to purchase without sending them across the street to the Chevy dealer

The first Jeep with three rows of seats should be extremely competitive in the marketplace. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada)

to buy a Suburban, Ford retailer to purchase an Expedition, or any number of competitive seven-seaters.

And the first Jeep with three rows of seats should be extremely competitive in this marketplace. As previously mentioned, it doesn't look like the full-size pickup truck derived Suburban, Expedition, Sequoia and Armada, the latter two from Toyota and Nissan respectively, in case you weren't up on mammoth SUV designations, and looking different is quite often a good thing when trying to purvey something altogether new. The Sequoia and Armada, for instance, are so similar in overall shape and size to their domestic rivals that they've had a difficult time giving good enough reason for an already happy camp of Chevy and Ford customers to change horses, so to speak.