Grand Cherokee/Mercedes connection
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Just don't say that near a Mercedes salesperson. They act like there is no similarity whatsoever. Bunch of dopes.
ZF designed the trannies. Right now they build them for the V8 and crd. Chrysler is building them for the V6. Eventually Chrysler will build them all.
If you look on the order sheet for a '14, it will say buy or build next to the trans.
Their website;
http://www.zf.com/corporate/en/homepage/homepage.html
pfft, Mercedes needed Jeep's help to make a respectable SUV. Not the other way around.
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3,221 Posts
Most if not every bolt takes a metric wrench, most underhood and under chassis parts say Germany, and IMO, Chryco owes a bit of gratitude to the DaimlerChrysler era which brought tight handling and refinements not seen in years in Detroit. Yes, it otherwise was a contentious merger. That said, the trickle down was good enough to get us and many here out of German sedans and SUV's and into the WK2.
Merc/WK2 Monster thread here: http://www.jeepgarage.org/f73/might-as-well-call-it-a-mercedes-grand-cherokee-25812.html
Merc/WK2 Monster thread here: http://www.jeepgarage.org/f73/might-as-well-call-it-a-mercedes-grand-cherokee-25812.html
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941 Posts
lol, I dunno about all that.
Saying they're on the same platform is a bit of a stretch too. Do they share similarities? Sure. But saying they're on the same platform is a bit misleading, they're on related platforms but they're not on the same platform like say, Charger and 300 (which incidentally borrowed a bunch from MB's platform as well).
Regardless of who helped design what, they're totally different in feel. I specifically bought the Jeep because it did NOT ride anything like the ML. So you can believe that your Jeep is a rebadged Merc or whatever if you want, but know that it isn't, and be glad it isn't, because if it was it'd ride like a wagon on stilts, not like a tough truck.
I saw this mentioned in another thread yesterday and did a Google search and came across this and is it just coincidence or maybe the reason we liked the 2021 GC Overland we recently bought ?
Back story, fell in love with VW's as a kid ever since first ride in my best friend dad's 1972 Super Beatle, through the years have owned many VW's myself and recently 2 Audi's. We had a 2011 VW Touareg and for those that don't know that comes out of same factory as Porsche Cayenne so it was a very fun SUV to drive for many years. When it came time to replace a few months ago the VW Atlas was not even considered and the Audi Q7 and Q8's where in the $70K range for a 2 year old CPO with under 30K so was a big commitment financially. All we knew about the JGC was we thought the WK2 platform was a sharp looking SUV so we stopped into a local Jeep dealer and he put us in a 21 Summit and we took a test drive. From the moment we pulled out of dealership I knew this was a way better vehicle I gave it credit for. We settled on the Overland because this was wife's primary driver and she liked the wheels and it had the QL that I wanted. We did drive a non QL 80th Anniversary but I liked the air suspension ride better.
After a few months and 3K miles still very happy with our decision to buy the Jeep and find it very interesting that being a loyal VAG driver for 35+ years I am know enjoying this Jeep so much.
Is it really the German influence from MB ?
Back story, fell in love with VW's as a kid ever since first ride in my best friend dad's 1972 Super Beatle, through the years have owned many VW's myself and recently 2 Audi's. We had a 2011 VW Touareg and for those that don't know that comes out of same factory as Porsche Cayenne so it was a very fun SUV to drive for many years. When it came time to replace a few months ago the VW Atlas was not even considered and the Audi Q7 and Q8's where in the $70K range for a 2 year old CPO with under 30K so was a big commitment financially. All we knew about the JGC was we thought the WK2 platform was a sharp looking SUV so we stopped into a local Jeep dealer and he put us in a 21 Summit and we took a test drive. From the moment we pulled out of dealership I knew this was a way better vehicle I gave it credit for. We settled on the Overland because this was wife's primary driver and she liked the wheels and it had the QL that I wanted. We did drive a non QL 80th Anniversary but I liked the air suspension ride better.
After a few months and 3K miles still very happy with our decision to buy the Jeep and find it very interesting that being a loyal VAG driver for 35+ years I am know enjoying this Jeep so much.
Is it really the German influence from MB ?
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11,626 Posts
Sharing a platform wasn't a terrible thing but it's also pretty normal in the industry now for a few decades. Since the "WK2" was designed at the time Jeep was part of Daimler-Chrysler and the ML series was the same size, it made perfect sense. The next generation JGC (WL) is also on a platform derived from other vehicles. But remember, a "platform" isn't a "thing"...it's a design and production methodology. Yes, there can be varying degrees of parts sharing in some cases, but it's largely a "how to do it" thing.
Here is the Wikipedia on the JGC development. The WK/2 platform was developed by Chrysler with input from MB, not the other way around.
Jeep Grand Cherokee - Wikipedia
Jeep Grand Cherokee - Wikipedia
This isn't the only platform at Chrysler that is using a MB platform. The Dodge Charger / Chrysler 300 shares a lot an earlier version of the MB E-class platform.
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