news-Jeep Is Back On The Road Under Fiat

Jeep Is Back On The Road Under Fiat

Jeep, a brand born on the battlefields of World War II, has been through a new kind of war in the last decade. First it was disrespected by its German stepparents, and then left to die by Wall Street vultures. But now the brand seems to be staging a comeback under Chrysler's new Italian ownership.

The irony couldn't be thicker. German automaker Daimler, parent of Mercedes-Benz, made many of the German war vehicles used against the Allied forces during the historic conflict. But during the decade it owned Chrysler and Jeep, it created a trio of the worst Jeep-branded vehicles in the storied maque's history: The Commander, Compass and Patriot. According to internal research at Chrysler, the value of Jeep dealer franchises actually went down under Daimler's ownership. Perhaps it is even more ironic that an automaker from Italy, Germany's reluctant partner in World War II, is working closely with their new American colleagues to restore Jeep, both in the U.S. and globally, to what the company hopes is a leadership position in the sport utility market.

To be fair, earlier this year Jeep launched an all-new Grand Cherokee, arguably the best-ever iteration of the Jeep flagship vehicle. This version came from a joint product-development program with the Mercedes M Class started by Daimler. Chrysler executives had to convince a reluctant Cerberus Capital, which owned Chrysler from 2007-2009, to fund the Grand Cherokee's completion, but it was money well spent.

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