-
Junkyard Gem: 1990 Jeep Cherokee
During the late 1970s, both Chrysler and American Motors were in trouble and sinking fast. The United States government determined that Chrysler was too big to fail and bailed out the company with guaranteed loans, while deciding that AMC was just the right size to fail. That’s when the French government stepped up, with government-owned Renault plowing $150 million into AMC and providing much-needed design and engineering expertise for the crew in Kenosha. Though the resulting Renault Alliance/Encore didn’t save AMC as planned, some of the Renault-inspired AMC products had long-lasting influence. One was the Eagle Premier, which provided a chassis design that lived on in many Chrysler products for decades…
-
Jeep Cherokee Could End With Stellantis Belvidere Plant Closure
Photo: Jeep Through the third quarter of this year, Jeep Cherokee sales are down a whopping 61 percent year-to-date compared to last year, with just 30,852 sold in the first nine months of 2022, according to Stellantis. Which is the context for an announcement on Friday that Stellantis will be idling the plant that makes Cherokees, in Belvidere, Illinois. Could it be the end of the road for Cherokee, too? For now, Stellantis isn’t saying. Via WIFR, Stellantis has released the following statement: Our industry has been adversely affected by a multitude of factors like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the global microchip shortage, but the most impactful challenge is…
