2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee

The Jeep Grand Cherokee was caught wandering around in the wild without any camouflage on.  Is Jeep trying to give us a taste of what to expect in the new 2014 model?

From what I can see Jeep is giving the Cherokee a very nice facelift. New headlights on the Jeep, that almost looks like the Audi A4 headlights. The Grille got a nice update to it also; it now runs along the bottom of the headlights and has match color paint. But the grille most likely will be different between what trim level you get.

The headlights now are almost half the size of the older Cherokee. The fog lights have a chrome trim around it unlike before with the same trapezoidal openings. The lower bumper has gotten beefed up with some tow hooks and a meaner bumper guard. 

The rear of the Cherokee is still almost the same not much has changed. They did remove the trim panel that used to be on the tailgate and also changed the tail lights a little bit. The tail lights also for some reason remind me of Audi tail lights. But they did a good job for a Jeep. They are stepping up in the game.

The interior hasn’t really been revealed yet but there shouldn’t be any major changes from this generation’s interior. 

So you will see the new 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee hitting show room floors around early next year. 

Info and pictures credited to Motortrend

2012 SEMA Trucks

SEMA has now ended; we all need to get back to reality and back to work. The smell of tire shine in the air, sound of cars drifting outside, and the endless rows of cars are what SEMA is all about. Not only did the show cars shine, but the displays played a big role for showing off the cars and its unique features. Walking about the floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center are 60,000 buyers just looking for the next trend or something they can throw on their ride. Having your car as one of the show cars at SEMA is a big accomplishment. Even though SEMA is taken over by mostly cars, they do have trucks also!  For all of those who missed SEMA here is a glimpse of what SEMA was like for us.  Enjoy! 

The automotive market has been big and continues to expand. For those of you who thought this market was dying down... think again. The automotive industry brings $30 billion annually. Everyone has a different taste for what they like, and that is what makes this industry so big. There is so much room for creativity and uniqueness, the varieties of different automotive parts just might be never ending! Most people who own trucks are known for being very high with bright lights you can’t stand! At SEMA you will see more than just the lifted truck with HID’s. These trucks have the best lift kit money can buy. The craziest paint jobs ever, and the meatiest tires you will see.  Whatever it is for you, we hope you will be able to drive the car of your dreams.

2013 Motor Trend SUV of the Year

Motor Trend has declared the 2013 SUV's of the year; the Mercedes-Benz GL. They held a week long test with 10 other SUV's. At the end of the testing they had three cars in mind that they thought were winners : the Mercedes GL, Ford Escape, and the Nissan Pathfinder. They knew that other SUV candidates were no match next to the Mercedes GL.

Yes, I know it’s a GL that won, we all know they are not cheap cars. When they first came out the base price was already $55,675 and now half a decade later the entry level GL is $63,305. So yes, it is kind of unfair for  the other competitors since the more you pay the better stuff you get, right? But look at it this way, it is still a full size seven passenger luxury SUV.  The GL just kills the rest in its class! GL being called best in class is just an understatement in my opinion.

So the interior of both the GL 450 and GL550 is just astonishing and leaves the rest of the SUV's in the dust. What is the price that you are going to have to pay for that amazing interior? How about $4,000? Mercedes is now starting to offer a non-glossy wood (open pore wood) interior. The wood is like nothing you have ever seen, it looks like it was just freshly cut from a tree and put straight into the GL.

Mercedes has adopted the new 360 degree camera which had a lot of people talking about and loved very much. The electric seats in the middle row were a little slow but still convenient to have electric seats in the back.

Now with the driving and handling, Motor Trend was very impressed on how it took on the things they threw at the GL. Even though it weighs 5,774 pounds, it can handle on the road and still get decent gas mileage. Motor Trend calls it “An absolutely amazing piece of machinery” and “ An ueber-smooth ride, even in sport mode”

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz GL does have everything you need in a SUV. So what were the criteria the the SUV's had to meet in order to be named the winner by Motor Trend? Performance of intended function, design advancement, engineering excellence, efficiency, safety, and value. Mercedes met an astonishing five out of the six criteria. The one criteria Mercedes didn't meet was value, but it just depends on the way you look at it; Mercedes is way ahead in the GL then the other competitors.  

info credited to motortrend

2013 Nissan Pathfinder

The new 2013 Pathfinder is not the typical SUV anymore. The Pathfinder will have a VQ-series 3.5 liter V-6 under its hood. It is being built off the same assembly line in Tennessee right next to the higher end vehicles, almost the same as Infiniti JX35.

The Pathfinder has the same 114.2 inch wheelbase as the Infiniti JX35, and also has the same height as the JX35. So really, it almost shares everything the JX35 has except for the badge. Both cars as you can guess also shares the same VQ35DE V-6 which the Nissan says pushes out 260 horsepower on 87 Gas, while the Infiniti says it pushes 265 if running on 91. So just because your car has a Infiniti badge doesn't mean you can't afford that extra 20c a gallon.

But a good thing about Nissan is that you do get a choice of front wheel drive or all four wheels. So when you are feeling crazy and just want to get away from that JX35 tailgating you, just hit that 4x4 and lose him in the trails.

You will have four different Pathfinders to chose from, the bottom of the line S, the a little better SV, the very comfortable SL, and the top of the line Platinum. Platinum is what you would want to aim for because it has all the bells and whistles you can wish for. Some but not all includes an Around view monitor system to view a 360 degree of the outside, eight cup holders, and some nice 20’ in rims with all season tires.


The Pathfinder gets a nice 20 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway. It is able to tow a maximum of 5000 pounds. The Pathfinder has come a long way since its first debut in 1986, which was just a pickup with a hard shell. Now it is filled with leather and cameras all around the car. The Base price starts at $29,095 0-60 in 7.7 seconds with a top speed of 120.