[Jeep Haven]

From Day 1 of that UAW contract circulating in late 2023, some of us were questioning some of the roadmaps included, particularly for the GC. An all-new GC due in 2027 (presumably 2028 MY, but the contract mentioned the date of arrival not MY) seemed highly, highly unlikely. Adding to the skepticism is the fact that the contract further mentioned a mid-cycle refresh in 2024 for the GC, which obviously did NOT happen.

BTW, the UAW has already filed charges with the NLRB against Stellantis for violating the contract.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/uaw-files-unfair-labor-practice-charges-against-stellantis-2024-09-16/

 

[Jeep Haven]

There was a sighting a couple weeks ago that is interesting. Wider wheels/tires and dual exhaust on a manufacturer-plate L. Finally a return of a performance trim, with a V8? Or possibly the Hurricane? 🤞

Return of the Track(hawk) or SRT? Curious Looking Jeep Mule Spied in the Wild

A friend of ours spotted this curious looking Jeep mule out in the wild...could this mark the return of a V8 model in the updated Grand Cherokee?

tflcar.com

 

[Jeep Haven]

Good point Matt_H! Looks like both are true, per FCA press release.

FCA US Reports First-quarter 2025 US Sales Results

/PRNewswire/ -- First-quarter 2025 total U.S. sales decreased 12% year over year First-quarter 2025 retail sales remained level year over year Chrysler brand...

www.prnewswire.com

The 14% increase is in "retail sales" Q125 vs Q124. I guess this is sales by dealers to consumers. It seems to be used in the story to create a positive data point.

However, the usual reported statistic is the manufacturer's sales to dealers (after all, that is what FCA counts as its own sales). In this case, per FCA, they sold 11% less GCs in Q1!

 

[Jeep Haven]

I just contacted Jeep and inquired about engine options for the 2026 Grand Cherokee and here is their response. They also said the order banks are opening August 25th. I hope this is all true!

The 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee is expected to offer several engine options: 1. 3.6-liter V6: This reliable engine, producing 293 horsepower, is likely to continue as the base option. 2. 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six (Hurricane): This engine is anticipated to be available, offering significantly more power, potentially up to 540 horsepower. 3. Plug-in hybrid (4xe): The hybrid option will also be available, combining efficiency with off-road capability. It seems the turbocharged 4-cylinder engine isn't in the lineup for the 2026 model, so you can breathe a sigh of relief!

While I would welcome this if true, difficult to put too much stock in this right now.

First, there is nothing in the automotive press or on the other rumors/news sites that would normally break this huge news.

Secondly, this language isn't particularly definitive: "likely to continue" .... "expected to offer" .... "anticipated to be available". This doesn't sound like official, from-the-manufacturer language.

I don't know what site you were on when you chatted with a live agent, but this sounds more like the "lead generation" agents who are usually working the dealer websites. I'm pretty sure they work for a third party (not for Jeep and not for the dealers directly). As Crisscicc said, it sounds like they got the answer they provided you from ChatGPT or some similar LLM AI tool.

 

[Jeep Haven]

• Finally the Pentastar seems to have less power compared to wk2 even though it is newer version. Not sure if engine needs to break in or transmission go through adaptation but truck feels underpowered to me and definitely less pickup then my wk2. Maybe powertrain needs to break in

I also had a 2014 with Pentastar and replaced with a 2023 with Pentastar. Something might be off for you to feel the new one is underpowered. First, the newer model has the "PUG" (upgrade) engine, which produces noticeably more power lower in the engine's powerband. Secondly, and this point has been somewhat underemphasized in reviews and on this forum, the WL is some 400 lbs lighter than the WK2.

As a result of these two things, I find the '23 considerably livelier especially in terms of acceleration.

 

[Jeep Haven]

I was expecting this as well due to what you said above but I still drive / have my wk2 (with 182 k miles) and even my wife commented that the new one has less power. Engine is still under 500 miles. Will see after first oil change which I’m planning to do around 2k.

The engine seems to be also much noisier then my wk2, I hope I didn’t get a lemon.

Well, it should "loosen up" in the next couple thousand miles so that'll help a little, but I'm still concerned there may be something wrong if you feel it has less power than the older one.

As for the noise, my '23 is definitely louder than the '14. I think that's partly the engine itself, but the other factor is Jeep no longer provides the engine cover. That thing definitely muffled a decent amount of noise from reaching the cabin.

 

[Jeep Haven]

Good news - there is an emergency project to get the 3.6L V6 back in the Grand Cherokee for MY 2026 after the four cylinder was supposed to go in the Grand Cherokee in MY 2026 and that Job 1 has been pushed back to December to try to do this.

Thank God for President Trump & Tim.

Can you clarify? What exactly has been pushed back to December?

 

[Jeep Haven]

It's even worse than that, it's referencing a forum post made by a user who claimed to speak to a Jeep representative....who I believe might be dizz as he's been posting this since June timeframe on this forum. It's a circular reference!

It was pointed out in June by some of us that this wasn't credible (and I tried to be nice about it), and instead a couple posters leapt to his defense saying this language "is exactly how" manufacturers normally speak. I bowed out of the conversation at that point.

 

[Jeep Haven]

Not seeing that the 3.0L I6TT would not fit. It's smaller than the HEMI and that fit no problem in the WL platform. Wouldn't be surprised if in the '27 model year it becomes an option along with the HEMI.

What I am surprised about is that Stellantis is not making a non-turbo version, being that the Standard output is over 400 hp, a non-turbo should be about 300 hp at minimum. Would be a great entry engine not only for the WL's but the RAM pickups as well.

I've seen discussion around whether the Hurricane can fit the WL for some years now, but I've never come across a definitive answer. If it cannot physically fit -- which would surprise me as the Hurricane and the WL were in development simultaneously for years and this would seem quite an oversight -- obviously it would put the whole question about if/when we're getting the engine to rest once and for all. But again, I've seen no clear answer.

Regarding a non-turbo version, I am by no means an expert on the topic, but my understanding is these inline 6 TT engines are designed with turbocharging as integral to the design. The popularizer of this engine configuration is of course BMW, and they don't have a non-turbo version of it (and neither does Mazda).

 

[Jeep Haven]

Let's rephrase this, currently BMW does not make non-turbo straight sixes. They used to up until 2013.

Nah, no rephrasing necessary. We all know BMW made naturally aspirated inline sixes for decades, but my comment is obviously specifically talking about today's twin turbo inline sixes. So I'm not really sure what point you're making.