From Humble Beginnings JEEP Has Emerged As The Crown Jewel of Car Brands

As the overall US automotive market settles … certain key sectors like pickup trucks, large and small SUVs are carrying the load to maintain stability in a volatile era for car makers.

This is best illustrated by the resurgence of the JEEP brand, which by merit of surging sales is a welcome addition to the vast and chaotic Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) global combine.

After years of neglect and a failure of imagination through its 1998 merger with vaunted German automaker DaimlerAG and the 2007 takeover by private equity Cerebrus Capital Management before the Fiat … enigmatic FCA Chairman Sergio Marchionne reportedly has encouraged his American team to go all in on product quality and performance.

This has meant a major upgrade of its line-up of full, mid-size and small SUVs … a burgeoning class of vehicles which Jeep largely pioneered.

With the intro of the new Jeep Wrangler — tested in the boulder strewn desert hills near Tucson Arizona — adventure lifestyle fans will appreciate its off-road design, technology, and interior comfort while delivering big as a daily-driver with a starting price of just $26,000.