jeepin.jason

Well duh. Should that really come as a surprise to anyone? I was perusing CNBC this morning reading some financial articles (which I never do) regarding the stock market and tech companies when I came across a headline reading, “AutoZone profit up, despite slow down in auto sales“. To be fair the article never actually says that this is contrary to what anyone thought, and in fact it says that “analysts” had actually expected AutoZone to do better than it did for the quarter (it was only off by $0.02 though).

When you think about it it makes total sense. For the time being, people are holding on to their cars longer, so they need to keep them in good shape longer. And with the whole economic downturn hubbub, a lot of folks have less money in their pockets, which means less money to pay shops and mechanics to fix things, which means (maybe) more folks doing the shadetree mechanic thing and working on their vehicles themselves.

Case in point: Me. Now granted, I’ve always been a shadetree mechanic (just look at Jeepin.com!) and have never really liked having other people work on my vehicles, but recently the A/C went out in my XJ. It still ran, just not cold, at all. In lieu of taking it to a shop, I went to, where else? AutoZone. $95 later I had a full manifold gauge kit (reads high and low pressure lines), 2 cans of R134A refrigerant (one with florescent dye, the other with stop-leak), and a UV light kit. In hindsight the $13 UV light kit I bought was complete junk as the LED flashlight quit working after only about an hour of use and I’d have been better off just using the florescent blacklights we bought a few years back for Halloween, but oh well. With the youngest Jeep in our fleet now at the ripe old age of 7, I figured some decent A/C tools would be a worthwhile investment. Oh, and my A/C? Nice and cold now.

Now, if only folks would start spending more on aftermarket upgrades too we’d be doing a whole lot better off! Hmm, maybe that just means I need to get more OEM replacement parts lists on JeepinOutfitters... haha.

With photo submissions from the guys over on JeepForum’s XJ forum I’ve put together a 2008 XJ Calendar available through our online store at Cafepress.

The calendar is available in two sizes, 8.5×11” and 11×17”, and features a total of 36 photos of XJs (3 per month), ranging from stock to, well, not much factory left, haha. The 8.5×11” calendar goes for $17.99, and the larger 11×17” calendar is $21.99. They feature full-bleed dynamic color and are printed on 100 lb cover weight high gloss paper that’s then wire-o bound.

The Cafepress pages have previews of each month/page, and higher res pics of each month are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepin/tags/calendar/. And just for kicks, here’s a thumbnail of February to show you what the pages look like:

One of a trio of concepts Chrysler is debuting at the 2008 Detroit Auto show, the Jeep Renegade Concept will sport a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain. Boasting over 110mpg, the hybrid system uses a 40-mile lithium-ion battery pack coupled with a small BLUETEC diesel motor.

The funky styling appears to be an evolution of the Hurricane concept from 2005, mixed in with some Halo Warthog for good measure. Like the Hurricane it appears that the Renegade concept will have a fully independent suspension, though it remains to be seen if it will share the Hurricane’s unique “split solid axle” powertrain/suspension design.

Check out the mini press release and a sketch of the rear of the vehicle after the break. [Read more…]

This past February the Arkansas Crawlers wanted to come up with a charity project. They discussed alot of differant ideas but ended up deciding to build a Jeep (of course), raffle it off with everything going to the Wounded Warrior Project. Ticket price will be around $25.00 and completely tax deductible. 100% of the proceeds go to Wounded Warrior Project.

The Wounded Warrior Project was founded on the principle that veterans are our nation’s greatest citizens. The Wounded Warrior Project seeks to assist those men and women of our armed forces who have been severely injured during the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations around the world. Many of the injuries are traumatic amputations, gunshot wounds, burns and blast injuries that will retire these brave warriors from military service.

Bret Lovett the owner and CEO of Superlift Suspension Systems really thought that this was a great project and has taken it to an extraordinary level with the donation of a 2007 JK Rubicon Unlimited to be fully customized. This vehicle will be released at SEMA this year in the Chrysler booth then will travel with the Superlift Truck to over 20 events over the next year. Specs and photo links after the break. [Read more…]

This awesome Jeep pumpkin stencil kit was found by one of our forum members on the JeepGreatDeals.com website (which appears to be run by Chrysler LLC). It’s a free download in PDF format and features 3 Jeep stencils you can print out and use to carve your own Jeep-themed jackjeep-o-lantern for Halloween. One stencil is a WK Grand Cherokee grille, one is a 2-door JK Wrangler (shown above) and the last one is the official Jeep grille logo.

You can download the stencil kit here.

update: if you bother to read the instructions in the PDF download, it says not to cut all the way through the pumkin. LAME! Not cutting all the way through does not make a proper jack-o-lantern! So, if you use these stencils to make your own Jeep-o-lantern for Halloween, do it right, cut it through!

Turns out those spy photos of the leaf-sprung JKs with Dana60 rear ends were indeed of test mules for Jeep’s new military hopeful. But of course we all already knew that. But, to quell any lingering doubt, the fine folks at Chrysler LLC decided to finally put out an official press release on the vehicle, dubbed the J8.

Unfortunately I don’t really expect to see these heavy-duty rigs state-side though, given that they’re RHD, use a non-emissions-compliant diesel motor, and are going to be built in Egypt. Too bad really, and somewhat ironic that the Jeep, one of the most iconic US military vehicles, is no longer used by the US military but is used by the military of other countries.

The J8 is based off the new Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited. Highlights include a beefed up frame for increased payload capacity, leaf-sprung rear suspension, 1-ton Dana 60 rear axle, D44 front axle, 2.8L CRD motor, and a short ‘snorkel’ intake protruding from the hood. It’ll be available in regular 4-door trim or as a long-wheelbase 2-door model (shown above), ala the popular JT concept that Jeep debuted in Moab at EJS 2007.

Peep the complete press release and photos here.

You can check out full high-res photos on my flickr account.

While not quite a hundred years old just yet, the new owners of “The New Chrysler” are hoping to hit the ground running with their new ad campaign, “Get Ready for the Next Hundred Years”. The campaign will consist of print, internet, and radio ads of course, highlighting the company’s history of leadership and innovation in the automotive market, as well as give us an idea of what to expect from them in the future (as in, “the next hundred years”).

One of the two print ads, called “Babies”, features three toddlers in brand-themed car seats and outfits and features the caption, “Ready for the next generation”. The racing and camo-themed kiddos fit the Dodge and Jeep brands perfectly. The little girl in blue though… the Chrysler brand doesn’t have quite as defined of a personality as it’s two siblings so it was probably a bit harder to come up with a persona for the Chyrsler kiddo, but I think I agree with Autoblog in that she’s probably supposed to represent the style and refinement of the Chrysler brand.

Maybe it’s the soon-to-be-dad in me, but I love this new ad spot. I’m glad to see the Big C getting back to fun and light-hearted advertising style they had back in the mid and late 90’s. The Jeep toddler reminds me a lot of an old print ad Jeep had which featured an infant drinking from a canteen with a bottle nipple on it with the caption, “You can always spot a future Jeep 4×4 engineer”. Now, I wonder I can get bottle nipples to fit a canteen…

That’s right! LIFETIME powertrain warranty! Chyrsler just announced that they’re tossing out their 3 yr/36,000 mile powertrain warrany and replacing it with a lifetime one. The new warranty will apply to any current 2007/2008 model dealer inventory starting today (July 26, 2007) and any new vehicles arriving at dealerships and applies to most Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler vehicles. The rest of the vehicle will still be under the regular 3 yr/36,000 mile warranty though. The powertrain warranty will cover the engine, transmission, and all other parts of the drive system (transfercase, axles, etc.).

So what’s the catch? Well, the lifetime deal only applies to the original owner (as in, it’s non-transferable). If/when the original owner sells the vehicle, it reverts back to a 3 yr/36,000 mile powertrain warranty. And in order to keep the lifetime deal valid, the vehicle must have a powertrain check-up performed at a dealership once every 5 years (at no charge though). And the new lifetime deal applies to “most” new Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler vehicles according to the press release, which means that not all vehicles will be covered. The press release doesn’t state which vehicles will be excluded, but comments on Autoblog point to the SRT models being excluded from the lifetime warranty deal.

Check out the complete press release after the break.

EarthRoamer recently posted a new photo gallery showcasing the interior of their oh-so-cool JK Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited-based XV-JP expedition vehicle. The gallery features 22 photos (the first of which is above) detailing the interior layout and design of the XV-JP. Two things I found interesting were the miniature Warn winch that is used for closing and deploying the canopy and that the space over the cab of the Jeep is actually quite spacious and appears to hold a fair amount of gear.

Check out the XV-JP interior photo gallery here.

Not only has the new Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited set new sales records for Wranglers, but it’s also recently set a new Guiness World record for highest altitude in a four-wheeled vehicle! Over the course of five days in early March 2007, a team of adventurers from Germany’s Extrem Events piloted two relatively stock Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimiteds to the rim of Ojos del Salado in Chile. Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world and the second highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. [Read more…]

EarthRoamer’s latest expedition vehicle, the XV-JP, has just become a reality. Based off concept drawings first shown off back in January 2007, and built off the new 4-door 2007 Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, the XV-JP features an integrated camper “shell” with a roof-mounted tent with sleeping space for 2 adults and all the amenities and necessities for extended-length overland travel. Check out a photo of the roof tent deployed and some preliminary specs after the break. [Read more…]