We got an up close and personal look at the Mopar’s take on the Jeep Compass, which they call the “True North” edition, today at the Chicago Auto Show.

The modifications gave a bit of practical improvement while leaving the SUV’s off-road ability untouched. Among those changes, front and rear brush bars offer the Compass’ underside some protection. Beyond that, the Mopar treatment is strictly cosmetic. A two-tone burnt orange and matte black finish make it look more aggressive, as do the larger fenders.

Inside, the car gets neoprene seats, which is a cool touch for a vehicle aimed at outdoorsy types. The dashboard also gets tilt and pitch gauges, which would be a cool edition for a trail rated vehicle if we hadn’t touched them and the carbon fiber shifter knob was also a cool touch. Unfortunately, the unit felt like flimsy and poorly attached. Finally  The car also got an improved sound system which we could see working well during beach nights or camping trips where the flip-down rear speakers get their best use.

Have a look through our gallery and lend us your thoughts in the comments section.

GALLERY: Mopar Jeep Compass “True North”

Plans for a new Jeep model below the Compass and Patriot have been pushed back as part of a larger financial reorganization within Chrysler parent company Fiat. The new model, code named B-SUV, was to be built at the automaker’s Mirafiori plant in Italy, but a $1.3 billion expansion of that facility has been pushed back a year.

Further delaying the process, Fiat will first move ahead with a sister-vehicle to the B-SUV for sale in Europe to replace the Sedici model, which is currently based on the Suzuki SX4. That model will begin production in later 2013, with the Jeep not planned for assembly until mid 2014. Once the expansion is completed, Fiat expects to built up to 280,000 of the compact crossovers based on the new Small Wide platform, which underpins the recently revealed Fiat 500L.

The new platform is capable of running all-wheel drive and so it’s expected the B-SUV will get Jeep’s “Trail Rated” stamp of approval.

[Source: AutoNews]

Two very special Jeeps were recently handed over to F1 pilots Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso to help the two pro drivers get around all the snow falling in Maranello these days. The pair of Scuderia Ferrari drivers each received a Ferrari-styled Grand Cherokee SRT8, the quickest and most powerful Jeep ever built.

Both vehicles feature a special trim with exclusive styling details and the bright, Rossa Corsa shade from Italian exotic automaker, Ferrari. Now that Chrysler-Fiat is all one happy family, it makes sense for the Chrysler Group to leverage the most valuable asset in its alliance, the Ferrari brand.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 packs a 6.4L Hemi V8 with 465-hp and 465 lb-ft of torque and has a 0-60 mph time of just 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 160-mph. The pair of personalized Grand Cherokees are the first of the new SRT8 high performance version to hit European shores. It will go on sale this summer in Europe.

“We are excited and proud to be able to hand over the exclusively personalised ‘Ferrari-style’ versions of the most powerful and fastest Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 of all time to two of the most talented drivers in the world,” said Beth Peretta. “We are sure Fernando and Felipe will feel perfectly at home at the wheel of these cars that take styling cues from Ferrari with Rosso Corsa bodywork and that represent the pinnacle in terms of performance for the Jeep brand. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 offers all who love driving, a unique combination of the amazing capacity of the Jeep on road and track, with the pinnacle of personalised style and technology.”

GALLERY: Ferrari Style Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8

Chrysler released details on the Mopar Jeep Compass “True North” today, along with three other vehicles meant to mark their 75th anniversary, all of which will be on display at the 2012 Chicago International Auto Show.

Here’s what we’ve learned about the modified Compass since we published our earlier story featuring photos of all four cars.

First, we’ve found that Mopar knows better than to tinker with a Jeep owner’s pavement-optional perspective. They say it’s still an off-road capable, trail-rated vehicle, though nothing Mopar does really adds, or subtracts anything. The only modification that makes the “True North” Compass any more viable in the bush is the added brush bars on the front and back that might keep your undercarriage a bit safer from rocks.

That said, this is anything but a rock crawler. Realistically, most Compass owners probably don’t go off-roading unless you count driving on the beach or through a snowy parking lot.

The modifications are superficial, but at least they make the Compass look a lot cooler. For example, the two-tone burnt orange and matte black grille and bumper make the car look less like a boring suburb spelunker and more like a stylish SUV. The same matte black accents surround the front and rear fog lights and run along the edge of the fenders and fascia.

The interior really plays up the Compass’s appeal to the young outdoorsy types it’s aimed at. Mopar even added neoprene seats. Yup, the same synthetic rubber material that half the stuff in REI is made of. It’s a cool touch that screams out to people who own CamelBacks and Nalgene bottles.

A center stack gauge pod holds pitch and roll meters if you do decide to take that risky first trip into the wild, though you won’t be doing it without modern amenities. Aside from little interior touches, the last big change is a Kicker sounds system the company says transforms the car into a “rolling high-end sound studio.” We’re not sure what sort of audio work people do on camping trips, but maybe you can enlighten us in the comments box below.

GALLERY: 2012 Mopar Jeep Compass “True North”

In September of 2011 we reported that 7 Jeep Liberty owners has apparently had their airbags deploy at seemingly random times causing injury to the vehicle occupants.

NHTSA said on Friday that there are now 87 reports of inadvertent airbag deployment, 50 of which have resulted in injury. NHTSA is upgrading their investigation to an engineering analysis of 386,873 Jeep Liberty 2002-2003 models to try and discover the cause of the problem. ”We are cooperating fully with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with this engineering analysis on 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty models to determine the root cause of this condition,”  said Chrysler spokesman Vince Muniga.

For Mopar’s 75th birthday they have added some style and performance to four of Chrysler’s cars.

The Jeep Compass get’s the “True North” package, adding some matte black highlights and blacked out rims. The Fiat 500 is re-badged as the Mopar Fiat Stinger, sporting a bright yellow paint job complete with black racing stripe and checkered flag designed roof. The Dodge Dart becomes the Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 tribute, which comes with a carbon fiber hood complete with hood scoop, a skirt to get the Dart a little closer to the ground, and red leather accented interior to make the Dart really pop. To close out the four Mopar tuned vehicles is the Chrysler 300 which is simply called the Mopar ’12. The ’12 got the blacked out treatment, except for a blue line which circles the front wheels and the runs down the side profile of the car.

All four of these beauties will be on display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

Check out the pictures below and tell us what you think in the comments section.

GALLERY: Mopar Jeep Compass “True North”

GALLERY: Mopar Fiat (500) Stinger

GALLERY: Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute

GALLERY: Mopar Chrysler (300) ’12

Classic car insurance company Hagerty has just released its annual list of vehicles that it expects will become the collector cars of the future. The list of “affordable” collector cars is capped at $100,000 and comes on the heels of the annual Scottsdale collector car auction week.

“After more than twenty years of witnessing car-collecting trends, we have the unique ability to look at new cars through the eyes of a collector,” said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty Insurance. “This year’s Hot List includes cars that are sure to develop a cult-like following because their characteristics resonate with driving enthusiasts.”

Starting off the list, and a favorite of ours is the Audi TT RS which retails for $56,850 and is a favorite amongst automotive enthusiasts as an affordable, fun ride without having to indulge into Porsche costs. The TT RS has plenty of global appeal which means it’ll have plenty of global demand down the road. And besides, Audi consistently finds itself at the Le Mans podium; you just can’t argue with success.

On January 31st, Chrysler’s Mopar Division (a term coined from its original title, Motor Parts), celebrates its 75th birthday. And what  could be a better way to mark the occasion than unveiling four modified production vehicles created from the current Mopar performance catalog.

The official unveiling of these four, as of yet unknown machines (the image above is of Mopar’s existing Jeep Wrangler JK-8 pickup conversion), will take place tomorrow at 9.00 Eastern Standard Time at Mopar’s Accessory and Performance Parts Lab, located at 26001 Lawrence Avenue, Center Line, Michigan.

Present at the ceremony will be Pietro Gorlier, who currently heads up Mopar division, along with legendary drag racer Don Garlits. Once the four vehicles have been revealed, they will take pride of place on the Chrysler stand at this year’s Chicago Auto Show, which runs from February 10-19.

Live streaming of the official unveiling begins at 8.30 am EST tomorrow. For more information, click on the link below:

[Source: Mopar]

The ongoing investigation into the unwarranted air-bag deployment of almost 387,000 Jeep Liberty SUVs has been upgraded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The affect model years are from 2002-2003 and the investigation began when NHTSA received seven complaints from owners last September. Investigators now have 87 reports of either the driver or passenger-side air bags deploying without the vehicle being involved in a crash.

The random deployments of the airbags have resulted in 50 injuries including cuts, burns and bruises. The investigators currently believe that an electronic circuit that controls the air bag deployment “fails due to an electric overstress condition caused by a transient voltage spike” and triggers the deployment.

Chrysler recently told NHTSA that it had not been able to duplicate the issue even though they conducted tests that included exposing the system to various radio frequencies. Chrysler also stated that while its own investigation continues, it hasn’t yet determined the existence of a safety-related defect.

Calls for a recall of the 1993 to 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee have been redoubled after the release of a new report documenting the growing list of fatalities associated with the SUV.

The report, published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has added 14 more deaths to the SUVs total, resulting from fires that occurred in rear end collisions. In total, the Jeep from that era has claimed 284 people in 198 accidents due to the vehicle catching fire, says the Center for Auto Safety (CAS).

Jeep Grand Cherokees are at an unusually high risk of catching fire during these types of crashes alleges the CAS, due to the gas tank being located behind the rear axle.

The Ford Pinto was made infamous for a similar design that resulted in fiery rear end collisions, and CAS points out in a letter to Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne that at the time of its recall the number of deaths associated with that car were relatively small, totaling 28.

The rather sensational letter asks Marchionne to act on this news and says, “Your predecessor as CEO of Chrysler once said that part of his decision to install airbags at Chrysler was the prospect of St Peter at the gates of heaven asking him about airbags in cars. Just as surely, St. Peter will ask you about fuel tanks in Jeep Grand Cherokees.”

In response Chrysler says that, “…rear impacts resulting in a fire are extremely rare. Rear impacts resulting in a fire occur no more often in 1993 – 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles than in peer vehicles, and the 1993 – 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles are at no greater risk of exposure to fire in rear-end collisions than peer vehicles. Accordingly, Chrysler Group has concluded that 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles are neither defective nor do their fuel systems pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety in rear impact collisions.”

The 1993 to 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee is currently under investigation by NHTSA but no recall has been issues.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

The Houston Auto Show isn’t known for big reveals, but that didn’t stop Jeep from unveiling a new Grand Cherokee special edition concept at the venue today. To name the new concept, Jeep is staging a contest, putting out the call to the public at http://www.jeep.com/en/2012/namemyride/ to put a badge on the back of this machine, which has been confirmed for production.

The choice of the Houston auto show isn’t surprising when you consider that Jeep sales increased 153 percent in Texas in 2011, and Grand Cherokee sales in Texas increased 226 percent. The custom Grand Cherokee is much more aggressive than the standard model thanks to the blacked out theme contrasting with small chrome bits here and there. The 20-inch wheels are blacked out with a glossy finish, the regularly chrome grille is all black, and even the lift gate light bar appears in black to accentuate the stealth look.

Some amenities that will come standard on the new Jeep are leather trimmed heated front seats, Parkview rear backup camera, keyless enter and go, a nine speaker 506 watt stereo system with subwoofer and the Chrysler groups Uconnect hands-free communication system.

Jeep is trying to branch out a little further into uncharted territory with its new design, “Highlighted by a unique platinum-chrome front-end appearance and distinctive black-gloss 20-inch wheels and exterior treatments, our new Grand Cherokee concept provides a completely new look – one that is edgy and aggressive, and certainly different than any Grand Cherokee on the road today,” said Mike Manley, president and CEO of the Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC.

GALLERY:  Jeep Wrangler Concept

While past reports have suggested that the Dodge Avenger is dead, speculation has apparently been a bit premature. Chrysler/Fiat have plans for a number of new cars in the future including the introduction of new midsize sedans which will update the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger for 2013. The new Avenger and 200 will be based on the Dodge Dart platform. Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne also intends to have a Chrysler premium compact hatchback in the mix, known for now as the “Chrysler 100.” If given the ‘okay’ for production, then the Chrysler hatch will be exported as Fiat European luxury brand Lancia as well.

Also, next generation crossovers 2013 Jeep Compass and Jeep Liberty will receive the Dart platform too. Despite the small-car platform, Marchionne insists, ”It’s going to be a trail-rated, full-blooded Jeep that has its origins in the architecture of a sports car.”

But more importantly, Italian sports car enthusiasts of the western hemisphere have long awaited the return of Alfa Romeo ever since the merger of Chrysler and Fiat was first announced. While Alfa Romeo’s return to the United States has been delayed until 2013, Marchionne insists the legendary Italian marque will return. “There will be plants making Alfas in the United States and Europe,” says Marchionne. “I need to export to Europe from the U.S. The volumes I get here are how I reintroduce Alfa to Europe.”

Expectations are high for the Alfa vehicles as an upcoming 1.8-liter engine producing a staggering 300-hp is currently in the works. In regards to Alfa Romeo vehicles for the United States, Marchionne said, ”We had to make sure they were lightweight, fast cars with Alfa powertrains.

[Source: USA Today]