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Jeep

found on ebay

Jerrari, When A Ferrari And A Jeep Make A Baby

When Enzo Ferrari turned down Bill Harrah's request for a 4x4 Ferrari, Harrah did what any wealthy car collector would, thumbed his nose at Maranello and built his own. Taking a 1969 Jeep Wagoneer and mating it with a Ferrari 365 GT, the Jerrari was born. While its original 4.4L V12 is long gone in favor of a far more reliable 350 V8, the weirdly attractive bodywork and handsome interior are still all there. Not only is it in impeccable shape, it's up for auction on eBay.

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i feel gassy

Chrysler's $2.99 Gas A Good Deal... For Chrysler

As with other auto media outlets, we've been closely following Chrysler's "Let's Refuel America" program, which is offering three years of $2.99 gas for anyone who buys a Dodge, Jeep or Chrysler vehicle (that isn't a Challenger, Viper, Wrangler, Sprinter Van or other popular vehicles). After a few back-of-the-envelope calculations we're starting to see this is a good deal for Chrysler and, at best, a mediocre rebate for consumers. For one thing, in lieu of other rebates, Chrysler doesn't necessarily have to put all of these expenses on their books right away when it records the sale, which could be a PR boon for the automaker while it tries to buy time for the "New Day" that's coming. But most importantly, the amount of money that a consumer can save is maybe less than most expected. More »

engine of the day

Engine of the Day: AMC Straight Six

How about an engine family that stayed in front-line service from 1964 through 2006, powering everything from the Rambler American to the AMC Gremlin to the Jeep Cherokee, with a few years of IHC Scouts thrown in for good measure? Starting with the 138-horspower Typhoon 232, the engine evolved into the 199, 258, and 4.0 engines used in just about everything AMC and Jeep made for decade after decade. You can even get one with Renault/Bendix fuel injection (but we don't recommend it). [Wikipedia, Novak Conversions]

novelties

The Amphibious Platypus Jeep

If you're hankering for a wheeled amphibious vehicle with assault potential but don't want something as big as the DUKW, perhaps this custom Jeep will do. Built by the folks at the Amphibious Vehicle Design Studio, the Platypus Jeep is a paragon of on-road and in-water capabilities. The floating four-wheeler runs with a turbo diesel engine and is capable of 110 KPH on the road and 10.5 KPH in the water. The hull is designed to work in wave heights up to 1.5 meters and bottoms with a slight 0.75 meter draft depth. We can already picture ourselves storming the beaches of Sleeping Bear Dunes. A full list of specs below, for some reason.

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novelties

"Dance Jeep" Makes DARPA, Vegas Jealous

DARPA may have that whole "driver-less vehicle" thing locked down and Las Vegas may be the city of lights, but this tricked-out Jeep could probably take a run at making both of them jealous. That is if cities or quasi-public Department of Defense agencies were able to express emotion. Or if they were even alive. Or...right. Anyway. This Wrangler's been retrofitted with enough hydraulic equipment to clear the shelves at every custom shop in East L.A., as well as over 4,000 lights. OK, but big whoop — so it's got hydraulics and lights, what else is it bringing to the table? How about a remote-control system to make it Dance, baby, Dance! [YouTube]

beijing motor show

It's A Jeep! No, It's A Hummer! No, It's The Beijing Auto Works B60!

We really should have taken a flight out to Beijing this week for the auto show. Given Chinese automakers fantastic ability to copy flatter every design they can get their hands on. We're beginning to believe non-Chinese automakers should just enter into agreements with their Chinese partners — like what they do with Russian automakers — to allow them to just have the designs for a nominal fee. Like Beijing Auto Works — the company that built the original military-version Chinese knock-off to the Jeep, the BJ2036 (the BJ stands for Beijing Jeep, get your mind out of the gutter). That Jeep wannabe was built in a joint venture with Chrysler, so everything was hunky-dory. BAW no longer has that joint venture in place, but that hasn't stopped them from building a civilian version of the big off-road BJ, the Beijing Auto Works B60. As you can see...

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down on the street

Welcome To Alameda: 63-Year-Old Jeep Used As Grocery Getter

Some of the Down On The Street cars never move (the '82 280ZX is a good example), while others are photographed during a brief moment caught outside of the garage (such as was the case with the 1939 Chevrolet). But most of them drive regularly, and what better way to prove my point than this blurry cellphone-camera shot of the 1945 Ford GPW Jeep parked in front of the island's Trader Joe's store? And if you look really, really hard, you can just barely make out the snout of a silver Peugeot 505 in the background.

over the back fence

Jeep Commander To Get Canned Before End Of First Product Cycle

Neidermeyer, Dead! Dean Wormer, Dead! Jeep Commander, Dead! This, at least, according to Bloomberg and their sources. The largest of Jeeps, the Commander, never quite found a place for itself in this mean old world. Despite carrying Jeep's styling over into a vehicle capable of carrying seven semi-comfortably, not even Tony Hawk could make it cool. Blame gas prices. Blame the environment. Blame Jeep owners. Blame whatever you want but with a 43% decline in already lackluster sales we're not surprised to hear it's not going to last a full production cycle. More »

engine of the day

Willys Go Devil: Engine Of Democracy!

It's been a while since we had a Workhorse Engine of the Day; the problem with that series was that many great engines don't quite rate "workhorse" status (whatever that is) and we kept getting all bogged down in debates over whether a given engine really belonged. But we love great engines, regardless of equine semblance, so we're coming back at you with a new/improved series with an edgy, highly original name: Engine of the Day! Today we're looking at a flathead four-banger that did more to crush Nazism than any engine (with the possible exception of the V-2 diesel in the T-34 tank): the Willys L134 Go Devil! Thanks to BrandonValentine (and others) for the suggestion. [Wikipedia]

choose your eternity

PCH, Double The Hell Edition: Pair-O-Willys or Benz-Pontiac Combo Platter?

With the '69 Citröen ID19 carrying the French to victory over their British rivals in the PCH Superpower Rematch, I can see we'll need to have some more elimination rounds to see whether France or Britain shall be crushed beneath the weight of proudly display the oil-spraying, parts-shedding PCH Superpower Trophy. Today's challenge, however, is a return to a fine PCH tradition with no nationalistic overtones: Two-For-One Hell Projects!
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custom cars

Lada Oka Transformed Into Mini Monster

The standard Lada Oka is your typical eastern European econobox; humble transportation that makes a Tata Nano feel macho. But apparently there are some Russians who look at the poor little thing and see the perfect starting point for an all-terrain monster. We have no idea what the thought process was that led up to the creation of such an awesome machine. Given the choice between this and a Jeep or a Hummer, we'd take this every time. Check out the gallery below and see what it originally looked like here. [English Russia]



news

Mexican Police Nab James Bond-Style Jeep Grand Cherokee

In a daring bit of cartel violence, drug runners in northern Mexico smashed into a military vehicle, jumped out, lobbed a grenade and then made their escape on foot. Daring! Audacious! But it's what they left behind that's really insane. More »

new york auto show

Play With It: Top Seven Examples Of Automaker-Video Game Industry Love-Making In New York

There's a trend I'm beginning to notice around the massive halls of auto shows: scattered among the sheet metal, booth babes and PR flacks, there's a hell of a lot of video games — both your standard issue Xbox-PlayStation3 setups as well as the more elaborate simulators. Taking a look at just a few of the many examples that appeared at the New York Auto Show this past week, I think this is more than just a way of giving journalists something to do between press conferences — it's representative of a trend. Here's our carmaker-by-carmaker breakdown of what has to be construed as either a strategy of building "appeal with the youths" — or an attempt by the car companies to distract everyone from their impending new "Second Malaise Era" with flashing lights and loud noises.

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junkyard find

This Gladiator Has Fought Its Last Battle


Big, heavy-duty trucks usually manage to evade The Crusher's jaws for more years than most cars, but eventually some expensive problem or accumulation of parking tickets catches up with the best of them. Such is the case with this 1968 Jeep Gladiator J-3000 pickup, which I photographed at a local wrecking yard last weekend. The junkyard marked it as a 1968 model (and an "AMC Commando" as well), but I believe it's actually a '66. Check out that AMC 327 engine, which is not to be confused with the Chevy engine of the same displacement.

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retro

Did a Ruthless Conspiracy Crush The Forward Control Jeep Van?

Why wasn't the Brooks Stevens-designed 1958 Forward Control Jeep ever mass-produced? Why? One glance at the prototype makes it obvious that it would have sold more than VW Transporters, Corvair Greenbriers, and Econolines put together! We can only assume that Powerful Forces conspired to keep total production to just the three that were built. Thanks to UDMan for the tip! [Hemmings Auto Blog]



down on the street bonus edition

Mile-High Jeep Cherokee Laughs At Rust


You see some Denver DOTSBE photos and you figure Kitt probably shot 'em, right? In this case you'd be wrong; I get out to Denver every so often myself, and I happened to have my trusty SD800 handy when I ran across this Cherokee a couple months back. I can tell it's from the 1974-79 range, but we'll need a serious Jeep expert to pin down the exact year. In any case, it's got a little bit of rot, but at the present rate of decay it should still be around in another 25 years. Make the jump for Part Two of the gallery. More »

classic ad watch

It's Like Riding A Buffalo, Only Bouncier: 1983 Jeep CJ-7

You know what big-haired early-80s chicks really liked? No, we mean even more than cocaine. That's right, a macho dude who rides a buffalo to work! Thing is, sometimes you need a ride that doesn't leave bovine poop in the parking garage, and then there's the matter of getting Buffalo Crotch Scabies from bareback bison riding. That's when you go for the Jeep CJ, which is slightly more comfortable than the buffalo, yet nearly as macho.

novelties

VW Touareg Gets Military Makeover

It looks like the German military have adopted the Volkswagen Touareg as a light reconnaissance vehicle. Our second favorite part, after the machine gun, is the matte green paint and blacked out fascia. It looks so good VW should offer this as an option. [Via CarScoop]