 
There is a time honored and true phrase that says, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you". Jeep's new leadership must have been born yesterday; because in the new "Liberty" we have one pissed off little Chihuahua that is snapping at everybody. I know many of you (just like me) are scratching your heads wondering just what in the hell Jeep was thinking about when they decided to produce this abomination. "Independent Front Suspension", "rack and pinion steering", "V6"? This is not the stuff Jeeps are made of, right? The last V6 in a Jeep was the 225 Buick 30 years ago; IFS was introduced in a Jeep and promptly abandoned around the same time. Rack and Pinion steering, that's always been car stuff!
Guess what Jeep fans, our beloved vehicle manufacturer is now producing "car stuff". Call it a sign of the times, or call it stupidity. Either way, Jeep has made a giant leap in alienating the true Jeep lovers...the Jeep lovers who know what that extra "shift thingy" on the floor actually does; the ones who are only driving their Jeeps on pavement because they have to go to work 5 out of 7. To the true Jeep lover, Chrysler offers some hilarious excuses. "The Liberty has some very serious looking cast lower control arms" (Jack Broomall, Director of Jeep Vehicle Development). Well, I don't know about you, but I'm glad the lower control arms don't look like they are screwing around. "It's a Jeep front suspension. The thing that makes it pretty unique, frankly, is fully 8 inches of front suspension travel 4 inches up and 4 inches down". This is from our "buddy" Jack again. I should have split that quote into two parts. First, this is not a "Jeep" front suspension, this is IFS. I will grant Jeep a little room for producing an IFS with 8" of travel, that is more than most IFS 4x4's out there. However, 8" isn't much for serious off road use and it is going to be very expensive to improve on it. What about articulation? That's gone. When one front wheel is compressed in an IFS setup, the other wheel is unaffected. This is opposed to the traditional straight axle setup where the opposing wheel would be forced downward, effectively increasing the traction available to both wheels. "We feel we'll be able to attract a new crowd of buyers..." (Robert Jordan, Manager of Product Engineering). You are absolutely right Bob, those people considering buying a Toyota RAV4, Kia Sportage, Honda CRV, or a Ford Escape now have another option. The Liberty wins here mostly because it still has a low range transfer case available. The infinitely wise Jeep engineers will also tell you that the new V6 is an improvement. Not in my book. But the new V6 produces 20 more horsepower than the 4.0L right? Yep, at a ridiculous 5200 rpm. But the new V6 has 10 lbs more torque! Yep, that's true. The current 4.0L produces 225 lb ft at 3000 rpm. The new V6 produces 235 at 4000 rpm. I will take my torque peak at a useable 3000 rpm in off road and daily driving situations, thank you. I don't like waiting for the tach to hit the right side of the gauge before I have any power. But the new V6 get's better gas mileage! Probably so. The 4.0L engine was based off of the old AMC 258, which was derived from the even older 232. Congratulations Chrysler, you managed to build a new V6 that gets at most a couple mpg better than an engine originally designed 30 years ago. Please, please, take a moment to pat yourselves on the back. Wait a minute! The new Liberty has reduced NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels! Great! What the hell are you doing buying an off road vehicle if NVH is your primary concern? Oh, wait a minute, I'm sorry. I should not have put the Liberty in the "off road vehicle" class since it is just another "me too" IFS 4x4. There are two Jeeps left. There is the WJ that may require a second mortgage to put in your driveway, and (thank god) the TJ. I am very sad to see the XJ go. Yep, it's an old design (nearly 20 years), but the fact that it made it this long is proof of a fantastic initial design. Chrysler points to poor customer satisfaction as a reason for the XJ's demise. Perhaps if they had spent a little more time figuring out how to keep the all plastic dash from squeaking/rattling, or how to keep the window seals from leaking after only a year, customer satisfaction wouldn't be a problem. Maybe the XJ was a fantastic design with terrible quality control. Maybe Chrysler didn't need to go to the drawing board at all, maybe they just needed to polish the diamond in the rough that they already had. Realistically, the XJ probably had to go. I can't think of any other vehicle that went through as long of a production run without any huge changes except for the Volkswagen Beetle. People will tire of repetition. I just wish Chrysler would replace a true Jeep like the Cherokee with another that deserves to follow in it's footsteps. Welcome to the new Jeep folks, "grocery bag hooks" included. 
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