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Rebuilding Jeep is a key goal for Chrysler. The Liberty does nothing to improve brand image. The Grand Cherokee is old. The Wrangler is absolutely for real but it simply can't compete with the brand-building visibility of either Hummer. This Rescue is very Hummer-like, but Jeep has a long history of building big 4X4 trucks, and Hummer used to be part of Jeep anyway. Saying that the Rescue looks like the Hummer is like saying a person looks like his cousin.
Jeep has a solid track record of building big stuff, and the Grand Cherokee never really recovered the market segment that it lost when the Grand Wagoneer was put out to pasture. Remember, the AVERAGE Grand Wagoneer customer in 1992 made over 100K per year. All this despite the dated truck tech. Jeep basically owned 100% of the superpremium SUV market with an unrefined but exclusive machine. Ten years later, Hummer reminded Jeep that those buyers were still in the market.
The bottom line is that this is the first post-merger Jeep that doesn't look "cute" "approachable," or "suburban." Jeep's tradition and image rest on five decades of military Jeep, CJ, Wagoneer, Wrangler, and Cherokee production. Four of those five vehicles are gone, and the Wrangler is fast losing its icon status to the Hummers. "Trail Rated" badges only go so far. Building a huge bruiser makes a powerful statement about brand credibility.
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