Jeep Puts Group in Driver’s Seat to Mark Milestone
American Forces Press Service 2007-07-16
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2007 – Jeep is partnering with the New York Mets major league baseball team, a New York television station and New York auto dealers associations to help put both a U.S. servicemember and a support-letter writer each behind the wheel of a new vehicle.
During a Military Appreciation Day pre-game ceremony at Shea Stadium in Queens, N.Y., yesterday, a Tri-State Jeep Dealers Association representative presented Operation Gratitude with symbolic keys to a 2007 Jeep Patriot Limited.
The “keys” went directly into the troop-support group’s 250,000th care package. And the Jeep, donated by the carmaker in celebration of the group’s milestone, will be driven home by a lucky servicemember upon his or her return to the states.
Operation Gratitude is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
“We are proud and humbled to contribute to a great organization like Operation Gratitude that does so much good in support of our troops,” said Eric Neilsen, president of the New York Dealer Association. “The Jeep was originally developed to serve our military, and we are very pleased to be able to continue this tradition in a small way.”
A U.S. Postal Service representative was on hand to make sure the special package made it safely to the military post office at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Carolyn Blashek, Operation Gratitude’s founder, said.
“The package is very much on its way,” she added. “It left on the 5 p.m. flight last night out of Newark (N.J.) flying next to the pilot the whole way.”
In further support of Operation Gratitude's mission to express the American public’s appreciation, New York’s CW11/WPIX television station, a part of Tribune Broadcasting, the New York Mets baseball team, and Jeep launched a letter-writing campaign that kicked off yesterday.
The campaign will run through Sept. 17, when one lucky writer’s letter will be randomly chosen and sent to Operation Gratitude's 250,000th package recipient. The package recipient and the winning letter-writer both will be announced during a Sept. 30 pre-game ceremony at Shea Stadium in Queens, N.Y., Blashek said.
Though that winning letter will undoubtedly make the servicemember smile, it should also please the letter writer. He or she also will drive home a 2007 Jeep Patriot Limited.
Letters can be submitted through the CW11/WPIX Web site. Each letter received through the site will serve as a contest entry, Blashek said.
During yesterday’s military appreciation event at Shea Stadium, fans also donated “cartons and cartons of items” to Operation Gratitude. The donations, including phone cards, DVDs, CDs, Beanie Babies, disposable cameras, batteries, baseball caps, and lip balm, will find their way into more care packages that will end up in troops’ hands.
“Fan outpouring was great,” Blashek said. “We collected cartons and cartons of items, and the letters are already flowing into the Web site.”
(From Operation Gratitude and New York Mets news releases.)
The all new Jeep Patriot is selling like hot cakes. In the latest survey of the hottest selling vehicles by J.D. Power's Power Information Network, the Patriot SUV was the seventh fastest-selling vehicle in the U.S. last month. On average, Jeep dealers kept the Patriot on lots fewer then 20 days, while the industry average is roughly 60. The Patriot tied the Saturn SKY for 7th place, marking its placeholder in the list of 10. For the first time in months, 3 domestic vehicles made the list of 10, which was a big surprise.
It might be tempting to say the Patriot is hot because of incentives. But according to J.D. Power, only 7% of the buyers are taking advantage of the average Patriot incentive ($920), and the retail price on this Jeep is roughly the same ($20,907) as when the SUV went on sale in March.
All of this indicates the Patriot is connecting with buyers for the right reason. It's a good looking SUV with updated interior styling. The Jeep, despite it's problems in recent years, still has cache with buyers. And this summer, the Patriot is on fire.
DETROIT (AP) -- Apparently, the Jeep Wrangler is rugged -- and capable of hauling an entire division out of the swamp.
The popular two- and four-door sport utility is coming off its best-ever May while buoying a slumping Jeep division beset by declining sales.
According to Autodata Corp., Jeep sold 12,332 Wranglers in May, up 114 percent compared to the same month last year. For the year, 54,699 Wranglers have been sold, an 85 percent increase compared to last year.
Strong Wrangler sales also helped fuel an overall 20 percent May sales increase for Jeep and a 12 percent year-to-date increase compared to last year.
"The Jeep Wrangler is the icon of the brand," said Chrysler Group spokesman Markus Mainka, adding that no incentives have been offered since the vehicle was redesigned and released last September from a retooled Ohio plant.
Based on Autodata figures, the Wrangler accounted for about 29 percent of Jeep's total May vehicle sales and 27 percent of the division's 2007 sales to date. Wrangler's strong showing last month also boosted the Chrysler Group division's market share of U.S. light vehicles from 2.4 percent to 2.7 percent last month.
For 2007, Jeep's market share increased from 2.6 percent to 3.0 percent.
Industry analyst Alex Rosten said redesigning the Wrangler was the key to Jeep's recent success.
"Now they can't make enough of them," said Rosten, an analyst for EdmundsObserver.com. "It's always better to expand existing product lines than create a new one."
But the Wrangler's success contrasts with slumping sales for other Jeep products.
According to Autodata, every other Jeep vehicle for which comparative statistics were available posted negative marks, led by the Liberty's 39 percent sales decline compared with May 2006, and its 28 percent year-to-date decline compared to last year.
Grand Cherokee sales fell 18 percent in May and 20 percent for the year to date, while Jeep Commander sales fell 9.7 percent in May and 10 percent so far this year.
According to Jeep officials, May sales for the Compass totaled 3,735, while 4,505 Patriots were sold. In 2007, Jeep has sold 18,812 Compass models and 10,336 Patriots. Both vehicles are in their first year of production.
"We develop each vehicle to appeal to a different kind of customer," said Chrysler spokesman Dan Bodene.
He said introducing the Compass and Patriot was an attempt to enter new markets by leveraging the company's recognizable nameplate. Bodene said Jeep will work harder to deliver the message about its core products and may offer new incentives.
Rosten said that might not be enough. He said the Grand Cherokee is "too old," while new models like the Compass and Patriot are "too redundant."
"Jeep has shot itself in the foot by releasing the Patriot and the Compass," he said. "By doing so, they have cannibalized other products, like the Liberty."
On Tuesday, Jeep canceled its scheduled announcement of a new advertising campaign developed by Cutwater, a San Francisco-based advertising agency. Chrysler officials said the postponement until later this week was due to a scheduling conflict and had nothing to do with recently released sales numbers.
From a Press Release: ZEELAND, MI -- (MARKET WIRE) -- May 23, 2007 -- Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX), the leading supplier of automatic-dimming mirrors to the worldwide automotive industry, has announced that it is shipping interior auto-dimming mirrors for the 2007 Jeep Patriot. The Patriot is a compact SUV being sold in North America and other select markets.
Gentex auto-dimming mirrors automatically darken to reduce glare from the headlamps of vehicles approaching from the rear. The brighter the glare, the darker the mirrors become, making nighttime driving safer.
An auto-dimming base interior mirror is available as part of a "Driver Convenience Group" on the 2007 model year Patriot Limited trim level or with an optional UConnect® Hands-Free Communication system integrated in the Gentex interior mirror. The Sport E trim level offers the same auto-dimming mirror as part of an optional package.
"The Patriot is expected to attract a new group of vehicle buyers to the Jeep brand," said Gentex Senior Vice President, Enoch Jen. "Gentex is excited that Jeep is including our glare elimination and microphone technologies in their expanding product line."
Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited posted sales of 10,776 units, up 75 percent compared to April 2006 with 6,154 units. The Jeep Patriot continued to gain momentum and finished April with sales of 2,904 units, up 38 percent from March 2007. The vehicle is one of Chrysler Group's recently introduced fuel- efficient offerings that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better in highway driving.
Jeep Sued Over "Choose Your Own Adventure" Ad Campaign
As if we didn't see this coming... A Vermont publishing company has filed a lawsuit of Chrysler Jeeps new "Choose Your Own Adventure" ad campaign. Here are the details:
A children's book publisher filed suit against DaimlerChrysler AG, saying its new ad campaign for the Jeep Patriot infringes on the trademark of "Choose Your Own Adventure," a popular series of books.
The Jeep ads use the tagline: "Choose Your Adventure." A spokesman for Chrysler said he was shocked the suit was filed, and that the parties had been negotiating in hopes of reaching a settlement.
snip . . .
"What we feel is that Jeep is trying to piggyback on the really positive associations of adventure and opportunity and choice that the former fans -- the original fan base -- had associated with 'Choose Your Own Adventure,'" said Shannon Gilligan, president of Waitsfield-based Chooseco. "They're trying to imbue the Jeep Patriot with that."
Jason Vines, a spokesman for Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler Group, maker of the Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler brands, said the company -- which was served with a cease-and-desist request March 16 -- had offered to link the publisher's Web site to the Jeep site.
Hot off the "squish and move" scene is the all new Jeep Patriot commercial. This one is about a group of buddies that are out camping and one wont wake up.... See what happens when he sleeps in late.
From the article: “In the film — “The Way Beyond Trail,” which can be viewed at www.patriotadventure.com beginning Thursday — viewers can follow three characters as they search for a buried treasure. Those characters also will star in the 30-second TV spots.”
Take a look at the commerical and the website devoted to the Patriot marketing. Is Jeep getting the Patriot’s marketing message right? Or did they miss the mark like the last few iterations of the Jeeep Compass gimmicks.
AutoWeek is reporting that Chrysler Group is recalling more than 50,000 2007 cars and SUVs due to faulty anti-lock brake software. Included in the recall are: 2007 Jeep Wrangler, Compass, Patriot, Commander, Liberty and Grand Cherokee.
The specific vehicles were built in late 2006, so not every 2007 model needs to be serviced. The problem “could result in a loss of vehicle control and cause a crash without warning” according to a company warning.
This follows a recall last week of more than 86,000 2006 Dodge Ram pickups for faulty front-wheel bearings. The problem would present itself with noise and vibration and, if ignored, could cause the wheel to simply fall off, possibly causing a loss of vehicle control and a crash.
You can call Chrysler at (800) 853-1403 regarding either recall.
Just like the Jeep Compass, the all new 2007 Jeep Patriot gets its own off-roading video! (although it looks more like a Sunday drive down a gravel road... or is that dirt?)
No doubt about it. Strong and capable, the all-new 2007 Jeep Patriot is unmistakably Jeep, designed to appeal to compact sport-utility vehicle (SUV) buyers who want classic Jeep styling with best-in-class off-road capability. Jeep Patriot is rugged, exuding the brand's key attributes of mastery, authenticity, freedom and adventure, while offering excellent fuel economy, interior flexibility and utility at a great value.
"Simple yet distinctive geometric forms and planar surfaces define Jeep Patriot's timeless proportions," said Trevor Creed, Senior Vice President - Design. "Combined, these features give Jeep Patriot its robust, strong, capable off-road image."
The reviews are starting to roll in for the 2008 Jeep Patriot. CarConnection.com posted a fairly good review over the weekend.
Here's a snippet or two:
In fact, the Patriot straddles the line between soft-roader and full SUV. The reality is that less than one in ten sport-ute owners will ever steer onto anything rougher than a gravel road. So for them, there's the basic version of the Patriot, Dubbed Freedom Drive 1, available in either 4x2 or 4x4 configuration and starting at an extremely competitive $14,985 (which includes destination charges).
For those who want something markedly more rugged, there's the official, trail-rated package, which boosts ground clearance by an inch, and adds such niceties as a tougher rear suspension, low-range transmission, skid plates, electronic stability program with hill-descent control, and a heavy-duty cooling system. This so-called Freedom Drive 2 package bumps the base price up to $19,175.
Continued...
Our biggest complaint was with the continuously variable transmission under extreme acceleration. Heading up steep hills, the engine would race to redline and hold there as vehicle speed caught up. This "motor boating" is a phenomenon common to CVT design, but with the Patriot powertrain, the result was an unpleasantly brash and raucous roar from under the hood. Under less aggressive driving, both engines were acceptably smooth and reasonably quiet.
The Patriot is pleasantly smooth and nimble in both on and off-road configurations. The added ride height of Freedom Drive 2 is barely noticeable in anything but the most aggressive driving conditions. Unless you like the more jellybean-like styling of the Compass, we find it hard to explain what the attraction would be to that soft-roader.
Who knows how the Jeep Patriot will fare with the hardcore Jeepers, but one thing is for sure...Its purely Jeep and the enthusiats everywhere will want to get their hands all over one.
