Re: [A/S] Digest Number 1874

[Bob Christopher <bcmail@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I usually just read this list digest and happily glean the wealth of
reliable information it provides. In the discussion of Jeeps as tow vehicles
I find myself moved to write a reply to Oliver Filippi's cautions.

First of all, I agree that a Jeep Cherokee is not a good tow vehicle.
It is underpowered for anything but low-profile, flatlander use, it is a unibody
construction which in and of itself makes it a poor puller and 
it suffers the same fate as its predecessor the Jeep Grand Wagoneer
in that it is a Heinz 57 of parts supplied by everyone under the sun.
That it survived virtually unchanged for 18 years and sold 12 Million
units +/- is a testament to its reliability, durability and functional design
not to mention its amazing 4WD system. 

I have owned Jeeps for over 30 years and they are typically great
vehicles for what they are intended for. That said, I would no sooner
trust the red, black and white dots of Consumer Reports than I would
trust the statistical magic of the Department of Labor. The Jeep 
Cherokee was made for 18 years and performed extremely well in
private, commercial, military and fleet use. The Post Office and many,
many rural police units use Jeep Cherokees exclusively simply because
they are so reliable. 

Consumer Reports gets their ratings from people
who are unhappy with their vehicles, period. There has been decades
of discussion and critique about how CR rates vehicles. Why? Because
the squeaky wheel gets the grease, or in this case, the unhappy owners
get the dots. The satisfied owners don't tend to participate in the surveys.
Satisfied Americans are an apathetic lot. Myself included. I am not in the 
least bit motivated to reply to the CR ratings game because I have seen
too many times when they simply, and overtly, show their bias for
Japanese cars. They like cars. They don't like SUV's, the don't like
trucks, they don't like diesels and they certainly don't like American cars, 
typically. So, for those of us who tend to buy American products, CR is a nearly 
useless resource. When I read last week that for 2002 fully 70 percent of the
cars sold in Europe were diesels, I wondered if CR would ever report that.
I doubt it. 

The so-called merger of Daimler and Chrysler was a fraud from day one.
There is currently a multi-billion dollar lawsuit by Chrysler stockholders 
against the so-called merged corporation for fraud. What really happened is that
Daimler had the longest design-to-production timeline in the automotive 
industry, measured in years, and had a debt of $5.5 Billion. When it acquired 
Chrysler it acquired the know-how and expertise of a company that had the 
shortest design-to-production timeline, measured in months, and a company with 
$6 Billion in cash in the bank. Daimler owns Chrysler, it was never a merger. 
That is how Daimler was able to bleed out enough cash from Chrysler to pay down 
all its debt within a year. Now Chrysler has no cash - and that is the reason 
for the lawsuit. 

As for Jeep, it may become a brand that rides on its past laurels. The only 
exception being the Wrangler which since the 2000 model has consistently 
won high marks for reliability, safety and interior design. My 2002 Wrangler
is a good example - absolutely trouble free, a great HVAC system, real
iron bumpers and the best 4x4 system on the planet. During last year's
"storm of the century" when we got nearly 3 feet of snow overnight in 
Denver, my neighbor and I were the only folks able to drive up the steep
hill to our homes, he in his Cherokee and me in the Wrangler. All the other 
neighbors in their Suburus and Explorers and Land Rovers and Trailblazers 
couldn't make the grade. That is what Jeeps do. But they don't do towing travel 
trailers. They never have and they never will. My only hope is that Daimler 
doesn't ruin Jeep. 

Given that Daimler decided to retire the Cherokee instead of making it what it 
could/should have become is truly unfortunate. It was and remains
the best SUV design ever. It deserved a redesign, a V8, a return to
body-on-frame and a fully independent four-corner coil suspension.
Instead of the Cherokee we got the Liberty, another high profile,
short wheelbase, wannabe that is as claustrophobic as it is 
anti-utilitarian. The rear seat won't even fold flat. It is in the style
of the M-series Mercedes, a nicely appointed shopping cart. That 
has been Daimler's contribution to Jeep.

I'd drive a Jeep Cherokee anywhere with no worries whatsoever about
it not being dependable. But I wouldn't tow even my 1,500 lb cargo trailer
with it. It is not a tow vehicle, period. Sorry to take up so much bandwidth. 

Bob Christopher
Estes Park, CO
25' Safari
F250-PSD-Crew