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2011 Chicago Auto Show Jeep display. Lots of pics

9K views 41 replies 32 participants last post by  JTS97Z28 
#1 · (Edited)
Just got back from the 2011 Chicago Auto Show with my wife and we had a great time. I would say Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep had without a doubt the best display there especially with the Jeep offroad trail. We got to take a ride in a Overland and it was a blast. Going down that hill using hill descent was unbelievable. She didnt even have to touch the brakes it did it all automatically and it was steep! I looked at every SUV in the building and I can say nothing caught my eye like the Grand Cherokee did. The absolute only other SUV that did was the Acura MDX (the higher end package) which actually looked damn nice and even had a saddle interior. It looked like it had most options the loaded Overland had for the most part, but to get it equivalent to the Overland the MDX was looking at around $55K!!!
I checked out the Ford Exploder and just as I thought it was a joke. Sorry for those of you who like them but the interior looked so cheap and didnt attract my attention at all. Exterior does nothing for me either, and to top it off the Explorer display was absolutely horrendous. I kid you not, they tossed some sand in a corner and drove over it LOLOLOLOL. My wife and I laughed when we saw 2 Explorers driving in circles over a small mound of sand:lol: (There is a picture below for those that dont believe me).

The one thing I would like to say is that obviously the Grand Cherokee still blows my mind, however....The only thing that kind of bothers me and worries me is just about every other Chrysler product had their newer multimedia center, LED equipped DRL headlamps, LED tail lights. The built in navigation/multimedia screen was HUGE and the touch controls were absolutely amazing that worked everything including climate control. I am going to be very disappointed if the 2012 or 2013 gets a revision with all the stuff the 2011 should have had.
The only thing is I would hate to cancel my order and even more so dont want to wait who knows how long for these changes to take effect. Any thought on this? Does anyone know if the Jeep will eventually get this newer integrated nav/multimedia system? It looked worlds ahead of the 430 and 730 units currently used.

Anyway enough talking, here are some of the pictures I took. Enjoy!

Thanks,
James


















Here are the pictures of the Mineral Gray Summit. Overall my impressions were it looked great. I dont think I would cancel my standard Overland order for one, but overall I liked it. Interior did look nice in person but I do think I still prefer the black dashboard more so. Just my opinion but for those curious its still gorgeous to see.








Here are the polished wheels of the Summit. Its a toss up for me they are nice and shiny and probably look almost chrome out in sunlight. I also really like the painted ones of the standard Overland as well because they almost have a gunmetal kind of look. This is just another one of those things that comes down to personal preference. Cant go wrong with either the painted or polished.






Here is an Inferno Red Limited.








And lastly, here is the picture of Ford's offroad track for the new Explorer. Yes they literally drove two Explorers in circles driving over this small mound of sand. If I wanted to see something more interesting I would have taken a walk into the john.:eek:

 
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#32 ·
Sweet another Inferno Red Order! All I see around here are Black and Gray orders.
 
#34 ·
And lastly, here is the picture of Ford's offroad track for the new Explorer. Yes they literally drove two Explorers in circles driving over this small mound of sand. If I wanted to see something more interesting I would have taken a walk into the john.:eek:

Great picks, JTS but.....wow.....this one.....LMFAO. A business associate was visiting from Europe and wanted to go to the show. Literally he laughed out loud at this Explorer display. What should make this thoroughly embarrassing for Ford is the fact that the paid show reps repeatedly reminded the crowd of its capabilities, the truck of the year award and that it was made in Chicago....talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill, my lawn mower could tackle this. I've bought several capable Ford SUVs over the years but this is.....um.....:lol:
 
#35 ·
Yeah that was pretty unbelievable!! Whoever at Ford was in charge of the Ford displays at the Chicago autoshow should be fired on the spot. In the end it doesnt really matter to me since I could careless about the Explorer, but just re-assured me even more so that the Jeep is what I want. Nice job Ford lol

James
 
#36 ·
Not to get way off topic but I looked at the new Explorer pretty much side by side with the WK2 at our county fair this fall and the best way I could describe the Explorer was "fragile". Everything about it feels under engineered. I'm sure it will be fine as a people mover for soccer moms but it's far from a capable SUV.

I did the same comparison a few years back between the Touareg and the MDX. The Acura just seemed "dainty" compared to the mass and presence of the Touareg.
 
#42 ·
I like the MDX infact like I said in my original report the new loaded MDX with saddle interior was the absolute only other SUV at the autoshow which caught my attention. I like Acura's so im sort of partial since I recently had a 07 TL-S which was great. I would for sure consider the MDX but the price was around $10,000 more than my Overland I ordered so that was getting pretty steep and still thought the Overland was more exciting.

James
 
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