Meet the New Jeep Patriot

Practically unchanged from the concept introduced at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Jeep Patriot made its global debut as a production vehicle, the newest entry-level SUV in Jeep’s lineup, at the 2006 New York International Automobile Show. The new Patriot arrives just three months after the debut at the 2006 NAIAS of another entry-level SUV from Jeep, the Compass. Both the Compass and the Patriot share a platform with the Dodge Caliber.

While the Compass looks more like a conventional SUV with a Jeep grille, the Patriot is more akin to the traditional Jeep design with elements of the original Jeep Cherokee evident. These include the square-ish lines, short overhangs and the trademark seven-slot Jeep grille. Also, the Patriot has already earned is ‘Trail Rated’ badge, unlike the Compass, because of its higher ground clearance and 4WD system.

The new Patriot will come with three available configurations: the standard front-wheel drive and two four-wheel drive systems (Freedom Drive I and Freedom Drive II). These drive systems make the Patriot a true off-road vehicle with its features such as added traction, continuously variable transmission with a low range capability, higher ground clearance, 17-inch all terrain tires and aluminum wheels, skid plates, tow hooks, fog lights, body sealing, etc.

Freedom II makes the Patriot at par with Jeep’s off-road capability prerequisites for water fording, traction, articulation, ground clearance and maneuverability. The Jeep Patriot will be powered by a 2.4 liter World Engine with variable valve timing and with an output of 172hp, and 165 lb.-ft. of torque. The Patriot will be arriving at dealerships later this year with an entry-level sticker price at under $16,000.

Kelley Blue Book Posts Most Researched Autos for 2006

The information gathered from more than 60 million visitors of Kelley Blue Books’ kbb.com, the most visited third-party auto web site in the net, comprised of the raw data of the latest most researched vehicles for the first six months of 2006. Included in the Top 20 list of America’s most trusted source of new and used automotive information are the following.

Honda Civic
Honda Accord
Toyota Camry
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Rav4
Honda Odyssey
Honda Pilot
Toyota Highlander
Chevrolet Tahoe
Honda CR-V
Ford Mustang
Nissan Altima
BMW 325
Acura TL
Toyota Sienna
Toyota 4runner
Ford Escape
Infiniti G35
Toyota Avalon
Mazda 3

On top of the list are Asian models, Honda and Toyota. Seven slots are occupied by Toyota and five by Honda, which are all included in the Top Ten. In place of the Chrysler 300 and Jeep Grand Cherokee, which has fallen off from the current list, are Toyota RAV4 and Chevrolet Tahoe. Together with the Tahoe is the Ford Mustang, the sole domestic models that made it to the most researched line-up.

Two utilitarian minivans came in at the 6th and 7th spots, the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna respectively. Three entry level luxury vehicles also made it in the list - the BMW 325, Acura TL and Infiniti G35 (pictured above) – which according to Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com have definitely become the brands and vehicles that the public aspires to drive and own.

BusinessWeek names best American cars of 2006

Much has been said about the current financial crisis that America’s top automakers are experiencing. Sales continue its downward trend as demand for large and midsized SUV’s fall. May sales figures were down by 4.6% compared to last year. However, America’s automakers are producing much improved vehicle models generating a lot of buzz. There have been a number of exciting new sedans and coupes introduced such as the Saturn Sky and Ford Shelby GT500. Impressive new vehicle models have also come out from Detroit’s Big Three over the last few years.

To find out which among these new American vehicles are the best, BusinessWeek.com attempts to rank the newest domestic cars of 2006 according to reported reliability, government crash-safety ratings and total cost of ownership. Data were gathered from various sources such as Consumer Reports (Reliability), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Safety ratings) and Edmunds.com (total cost of ownership or TCO). TCO refers to the ownership expenses incurred over a five year time span including such costs as financing, taxes, maintenance, operating and depreciation costs. For this list, only cars with 2006 as the base model year were considered. Not all cars in the market were compared, however, due to the lack of complete safety and reliability data.

America’s best for 2006:

Small Car – Ford Focus

Sedan – Chevrolet Malibu

Wagon – Ford Focus Wagon

Minivan – Dodge Caravan

Small Truck – Dodge Dakota

Large Truck – Ford F-150

Luxury Sedan - Chrysler 300

Mid-Sized SUV - Jeep Grand Cherokee

Luxury SUV - Jeep Commander

Supercar/Exotic - Saleen S7

Hybrid - Ford Escape Hybrid

Coupe - Dodge Viper SRT10

Source: MSNBC