The 2014 Jeep Cherokee has an unconventional face, but as Jason learned recently, it's the real deal both on and off road. There's only one problem: you can't buy one even if you wanted to. Where are all the Cherokees?
Yahoo! Autos' Justin Hyde reports that according to Chrysler's nationwide dealer inventory system, nearly 19,000 Cherokees have been built as of September 30, but not a single one has made it to a Jeep dealership where it can be sold. Just nine are listed as "in transit" to a dealership.
What's the deal exactly? Chrysler blames "powertrain calibration," which we can take to mean sorting out the well-known issues with the car's ZF nine-speed automatic transmission before it officially goes on sale. We've heard the Cherokee's new 2.4-liter Tigershark engine has had trouble engaging the engaging 8th and 9th gears properly.
So it's been a bumpy launch for the Cherokee, which will no doubt be a very important volume-selling vehicle for Jeep. On the other hand, you have to give them some credit for trying to get the car completely squared away before it's in the hands of buyers. Recalls and problems on the customer side would only mean worse headaches.