Jeep will resurrect the Grand Wagoneer nameplate within two years
By Steph, 11 Jan, 2011. 0 Comments
2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
Jeep intends to revive the Grand Wagoneer nameplate and states that an upper-scale Grand Wagoneer will be available in the market in January 2013. At the 2011 Detroit Show, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said that it will build this Grand Wagoneer to be a seven-seater SUV that will be built on the same platform as the Grand Cherokee and the Dodge Durango. These two vehicles are included in Chrysler's 2011 strategy to launch a 16-vehicle product offensive.
Marchionne also said that it’s likely that one of its two traditional minivans will be phased out for the next generation, which is expected to arrive in 2014. He explained that the brand that won’t get a minivan will get some sort of “people mover,” which will probably come without sliding doors. What’s likely to happen is that Dodge will be able to keep its Grand Caravan minivan, since it has sold more units historically than the Chrysler Town & Country.
Notably, the Town & Country was the segment leader in 2010. Marchionne said that no matter how the new minivan lineup appears, Chrysler doesn’t want to lose the refinement that the Town & Country offers. Marchionne said Chrysler Group would need to have more flexibility with the architecture for its minivans. He said that the carmaker “needs to house all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive and an E segment car.” Chrysler will offer a new nine-speed front-wheel drive transmission in 2013. [via autonews - sub. required]
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