2011 Cherokee: Chrysler's new 'soft touch' Jeep

The Grand Cherokee shows the influence of Cerberus, the company's new owner, to push quality at Chrysler.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com senior writer

2011_jeep_grand_cherokee.03.jpg
2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee
2011_jeep_grand_cherokee_int.03.jpg
2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee interior

Find your next Car



NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Under fire for poor quality, Chrysler is unveiling the first vehicle on which its current owner, Cerberus Capital Management, has had a major design influence.

The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee drove up a small flight of stairs Wednesday on its way to the viewing stand at the 2009 New York Auto Show. It shares some of its underlying engineering with the Mercedes-Benz M-class SUV the product of its former owner, Daimler.

While the outside of the new Grand Cherokee looks like a sleeker, more shapely version of today's model, the interior is markedly different, featuring a much more elegant, finely sculptured look than current Grand Cherokees.

In its "Determination of Viability," the Treasury Department cited Chrysler's low scores in "perceived quality" surveys like those done by J.D. Power and Associates. "Perceived quality" includes things like the look and feel of vehicles' interior.

The new interior will feature more expensive "soft-touch" materials in place of the hard plastics common in current models.

With this vehicle, Chrysler executives put the priority on quality even if it meant missing internal cost targets, said Doug Betts, Chrysler LLC's Chief Customer Officer in a recent interview.

"The comparison between the quality of the materials used in the current one to the new one is a pretty significant difference," Betts said.

Besides the more plush interior the new Grand Cherokee will feature other improvements.

Among the new features being offered is an adjustable air suspension system that will allow the Grand Cherokees ride height to go from 6.5 inches when parked up to 11.1 inches for serious off-road driving.

A forward-collision warning system detects when the vehicle may is in danger of hitting another vehicle and warns the driver. Three different all-wheel-drive systems will be offered, catering to drivers seeking various levels of off-road performance.

Chrysler and General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) are both undergoing restructuring as they try to qualify for further federal financial assistance. For its part, Chrysler has been promised $6 billion on loans if it can complete a deal with Italian automaker Fiat. Fiat could supply Chrysler with small cars to supplement SUVs like the Grand Cherokee. To top of page

Features
They're hiring!These Fortune 100 employers have at least 350 openings each. What are they looking for in a new hire? More
If the Fortune 500 were a country...It would be the world's second-biggest economy. See how big companies' sales stack up against GDP over the past decade. More
Sponsored By:
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.