NHTSA Upgrades and Expands Fuel-Tank Fire Probe of Jeep Models to 5.1 Million Units

A federal investigation regarding the fuel tank integrity of the 1993-2004MY Jeep Grand Cherokee has been upgrade to an Engineering Analysis and has also been expanded to include two more Jeep models, the 1993-2001MY Cherokee and the 2002-2007MY Liberty.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that the data it collected during a preliminary evaluation indicates that rear-impact-related tank failures and vehicle fires are more prevalent in said Grand Cherokee models than in the non-Jeep peer vehicles.

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Drag Race Battles with Corvette ZR1 Hennessey, Jeep SRT-8 Twin Turbo, Mercedes E63 and S65 AMG

For our next quarter and full mile-racing gig, we have four challengers competing in three separate runs.

Up first is a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG tuned by Evotech with 730hp running against a stock Mercedes-Benz S65 V12 AMG with 612HP.

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This is How You Merge Into a Lane in Russia

When common courtesy and road safety take a back seat, it is time for guns to do the talking, or in this case, signaling other drivers, in Russia.

See how the driver of this black Jeep Grand Cherokee reacted when the person in the vehicle with the camcorder did not want him to merge into his lane in the short clip that follows right past the break.

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Maserati Smashes Into a Porsche 356, a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Mini Cooper Countryman in Miami

In one way, the Epic Hotel in Downtown Miami justified its name on Friday night when the driver of a Maserati GranTurismo crashed into a host of cars including a latest generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, a Mini Cooper Countryman and a classic Porsche 356 speedster – though we don't know if the latter is original or one of the many replicas.

There are many conflicting reports about the incident circulating around the web, including that the Maserati driver was a valet and not the owner, but nothing that we can confirm.

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Jeep Walks us Around its Easter Safari Concept Models

Jeep didn't hold back on the concept models for this year's edition of the Moab Easter Jeep Safari event (March 31 to April 8) having developed not one, not two but six different studies.

Judging by viewer comments, the nostalgic Might FC and J-12 pickup trucks are the star attractions of the bunch.

We'll probably have more on the Jeep models once the safari kicks off this weekend, but for now, you can get a glimpse of the concepts on film and hear what Jeep boss Mike Manley and Mopar president and CEO Pietro Gorlier have to say about the vehicles in the company's official video, which you'll find directly after the jump.

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Jeep Reveals All Six East Safari Concept Models in the Flesh

The Chrysler Group couldn't wait until this weekend for the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, to show us its six new concept studies and has released both details and real life pictures. All the Jeep concepts were created in partnership with the Chrysler Group's Mopar division.

One of the most impressive studies is the Mighty FC, inspired not by the Mercedes-Benz Unimog, as some might think, but by the Jeep Forward Control that was built from 1956 to 1965.

The modern day 'Forward Control' is loosely based on the Wrangler Rubicon with Jeep repositioning the cabin over and ahead of the front axle and lengthening the wheelbase. It also added a custom built drop-side cargo box, while the Wrangle-based interior has been enhanced with heavy-duty Katzkin leather and a unique color scheme.

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Jeep Teases Grand Cherokee Trailhawk and Wrangler V8 Traildozer Concepts

Bit by bit, Jeep is dropping more information on the six prototypes its plans to show at the 46th Annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari in Utah from March 31 to April 8. Today, we get a couple of renderings of the new Grand Cherokee Trailhawk and Wrangler Traildozer concepts.

Starting with the Trailhawk study, it adorns the Grand Cherokee with a more unique appearance through a new color theme that combines a Stone White finish for the body with Mineral Gray and Red accents that can be found throughout including the grille surround, mirror caps and even the new 18-inch alloy wheels.

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Grand Cherokee SRT-8 Teaches X6M, Gemballa and 911 Turbo Who's Boss, Loses to Mustang GT500

In the never-ending battle for supremacy on the drag strip, a previous generation Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 went out to prove its worth against a mix of stock as well as modified SUVs and sports cars.

The Grand Cherokee SRT-8 itself featured a supercharged version of the regular model's Hemi V8 pushing down 700-horsepower.

Its rivals were a BMW X6M tuned by Hamann with 670-ponies, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo-based Gemballa GT600 with 600-horses lurking under its hood, a stock Ford Mustang GT500 rated at 612-horsepower and a tuned Porsche 911 Turbo with 580-horses.

To see how the fights went down, hop past the break to watch the video.

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Jeep Debuts Murdered Out "Altitude" Editions of Grand Cherokee, Compass and Patriot

The fans have spoken and they decided that the production version of the blacked-out, production-intent Jeep Grand Cherokee Concept we saw at the 2012 Houston Auto Show in late January, should be named "Altitude".

Jeep says the “Name My Ride” competition on Facebook was so successful that it decided to launch the same 'Altitude' package for the Compass and Patriot as well.

“The fact that well over 100,000 consumers entered our ‘Name My Ride’ contest reinforces the passion behind the Jeep brand' said Jeep boss, Mike Manley. “The extraordinary response to both the concept and the contest resulted in an easy decision to produce ‘blacked-out’ editions of the Grand Cherokee – and the Compass and Patriot," he added.

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Monstrous 1,000HP Jeep Grand Cherokee Takes on Audi R8 V10, Nissan GT-R and BMW X6M

Ah Russia, the land of great artists, endless distances, dashboard mounted cameras and 1,000-horsepower Jeep Grand Cherokees challenging some of the fastest cars around.

In this match, we see the previous generation Grand Cherokee SRT-8 that's powered by a Stroker 7.2-liter supercharged V8 engine competing against a completely stock Audi R8 V10 5.2 with 525-horses, a Switzer-prepped Nissan GT-R R850 with 850-ponies and a BMW X6M by Evotech with 620-horsepower.

Race through the break to watch the one mile runs.

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Chrysler Confirms Pentastar V6 and 8-Speed Auto for Ram Truck, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango

Not that we weren't expecting it, but the Chrysler Group officially confirmed through a voluntary annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which was first discovered by Autonews, the availability of its 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 combined with an 8-speed automatic transmission on the Ram pickup truck.

The Pentastar V6, which should produce around 280-horsepower in this application, will replace the Ram truck's current 210hp 3.7-liter V6 that is linked to a 4-speed automatic transmission.

The new and more powerful Ram model will be presented next month, possibly at the New York International Auto Show.

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