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Jeep has revealed its 2019 facelifted Cherokee SUV at this year’s Detroit motor show with a revised front end as well as a new turbocharged petrol engine. It will be making its method to the UK in 2018.
The new engine is a 2.0-litre direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder petrol system creating 266bhp as well as 400Nm of torque. It’s the exact same system that debuted on Jeep’s most current Wrangler. two naturally aspirated petrol engines are likewise offered for the 2019 Cherokee – a 178bhp 2.4-litre four-pot as well as a 267bhp 3.2-litre V6.
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• 2018 Detroit motor show news round-up
All three engines are mated to nine-speed automatic transmissions as well as long-term four-wheel-drive. The Cherokee includes Jeep’s all-new rear drive module that makes the new Cherokee front-wheel-drive only at specific times. A low-range gearbox as well as five-way driving mode selector are likewise fitted.
On the style front, the Cherokee gets a modified front end, which moves away from the sharp, directed nose of the outgoing Cherokee in favour of a rounder, traditional look a lot more according to the current Compass.
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Changes around the back are obvious as well – the number plate housing has been transferred to the tailgate, as a fresh, chunkier looking rear bumper with a larger scuff plate now sits in its place. Refreshed taillights with new illumination signatures appear as well. All Cherokee designs are fitted as basic with 19-inch wheels, with the top spec Trailhawk design fitted with special 17-inch off-road tyres.
The facelifted Jeep Cherokee is available in five trim levels, starting off with Latitude as well as topping out with the tough Trailhawk model. the current Uconnect infotainment system can be specified with either a seven or 8.4-inch screen, the latter being equipped with satellite navigation. The infotainment system is compatible with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay as well as Android automobile as well as options of digital instrument clusters are likewise available, with a 3.5-inch grayscale or seven-inch full-colour instrument cluster on the list. 
According to Jeep, the updated Cherokee features a lot more than 80 security as well as safety features. These include adaptive cruise control, park assist, ahead collision alerting as well as lane departure warning. A Jeep spokesperson verified that the facelifted Cherokee will make its method to the UK, although pricing has yet to be confirmed.

What would you modification on the Cherokee to assist it keep speed with rivals? tell us in the comments…

Ford has revealed a motorsport-focused, off-road-only variant of its Bronco SUV. Called the Bronco DR, or Desert Racer, it’s been heavily modified to tackle the gruelling Baja 1000 off-road race, with a lot more power than any production Bronco in history. just 50 examples are planned, but as with the rest of the Bronco line-up, the DR won’t be available to UK customers.
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The DR is intended as a turn-key Baja racer, and uses the chassis and body structure from the roadgoing Bronco, albeit with some significant revisions. The exterior has been redesigned with a lot more muscular, fibreglass body panels to save weight. 

New 2022 Ford Bronco available in the UK now priced from £45,000

The wheelarches have been widened in buy to house 37-inch BFGoodrich all-terrain tyres, and under the skin, the Bronco DR uses a suspension system created by Multimatic – builder of the Ford GT supercar. This comprises heavy-duty, reinforced dampers with fluid cooling channels and new billeted-aluminium lower control arms. The inner tie-rod joints have also been upgraded, and the changes result in 55 per cent and 58 per cent a lot more suspension travel than a four-door ‘Badlands’ Bronco, for the front and rear respectively. 
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Ford has also shaved off some kilos with the removal of the Bronco’s air-conditioning system, other interior luxuries and window glass. The doors have also been replaced by fixed side panels. 
Weighing in at around 2.8 tonnes in competition trim, the Bronco DR also features a full roll cage, created by Multimatic, and a pair of racing seats. The standard Bronco’s semi-digital instrument panel remains, alongside a Motec motorsport display.
Powering the four-wheel-drive off-road racer is Ford’s 5.0-litre ‘Coyote’ V8, producing 395bhp. This drives through a 10-speed automatic gearbox and electronically locking front and rear differentials. The front driveshafts have been redesigned to work with the extra suspension travel and engine torque. 
An massive 246-litre fuel tank has also been installed for the long stints at Baja, along with air intakes on the sides and roofing of the car to cool a rear-mounted radiator. The Bronco DR uses the same braking system as the standard car, albeit with new brake pads. 
Initially, 50 units of the Bronco DR will be available, priced at around $250,000 (£184,000) apiece. Each will wear a distinctive red, white, black and blue Ford performance livery, in tribute to a Baja 1000-winning Bronco in 1969. 

Click here to read about the 415bhp Hennessy VelociRaptor Ford Bronco…

Caterham has officially confirmed the sale of its formula 1 team to a consortium of Swiss and Middle-Eastern investors for an undisclosed fee.
Following weeks of speculation, many recently fuelled by a cryptic post on Twitter from co-owner Tony Fernandes, it was announced through a statement that the Group’s struggling racing arm is now under new management.
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All other Caterham brands – including the automotive manufacturing branch – will remain as part of the Group, under the continued direction of CEO Graham Macdonald.
Despite recent rumours of the group itself being up for grabs, Fernandes and his partner Kamarudin Meranun also keep their shareholder stakes, and as part of the deal the F1 team will continue to race under the Caterham name for the time being.
Former Hispania Racing team principal Colin Kolles, having also previously worked at Jordan and force India, will recommend the new owners, who take over with immediate effect. On a day-to-day basis, former Dutch F1 chauffeur Christijan Albers, assisted by Manfredi Ravetto, will take over the running of the team, reporting directly to the board.
The news brings an end to a dismal couple of years for the Caterham F1 team – they’re currently bottom of the 2014 Constructors’ Championship, and finished last in 2013, too.

It’s not quite there yet, but the long and vital argument on climate change is fast approaching fever pitch. The sales and marketing lines delivered on the eve of the COP26 climate change conference by unintentionally comedic politicians, unashamedly entrepreneurial ‘green’ industry reps, and committed environmental pressure groups went a bit like this…
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Petrol, diesel and LPG for personal transport, plus gas, coal and logs for home heat are all bad. part one of the green argument says these are among the killer carbon fuels worthy of being completely or partially banned – from new automobiles and our homes, at least. 

The most affordable electric automobiles on sale

With equal passion, the green argument part two insists that electrical power isn’t merely good – it’s a sort of blessed, life and planet-saving fuel we need to be encouraged or legally bludgeoned into purchasing for our cars and dwellings. Yet how we’re expected to purchase and use the stuff when power cuts are so frequent (I suffered one on the day of writing this column, and have been cautioned to brace myself for another tonight) is another matter. 
To the delight of the electrical power industry, our government has spent recent days reiterating that the new automobiles we purchase ought to be plug-ins ASAP – but by December 2029 at their lawful latest. On top of that comes guidance NOT to replace your existing gas boiler with a new, much more efficient version costing from £1,000-£2,000 plus installation – typically the cost of a qualified engineer for a day or two. Instead, purchase a heat pump priced around £12,000, plus numerous thousands extra for installation and rebuilding of your present central heating system – radiators, pipes and more.
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There’s been much hard, straight, optimistic us talk in recent days. Roads, automotive jobs and retailing plus ground-breaking automobile deals have been at the heart of the dialogue. and the uplifting tone is no doubt bringing smiles to American faces.
“We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways,” Donald Trump and transportation secretary Elaine Chao promised last week when discussing their imminent $1.5 trillion spending blitz on infrastructure. Trump is even said to be donating a large chunk of his presidential salary to America’s carry cause. Can’t remember the last time I heard a British leader dare utter politically incorrect swear words such as road, motorway or bridge; never mind offer some of his/her personal money to help fund them.
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• Opinion: Trump’s domestic auto firms are increasingly weak
Incoming CEO Jim Hackett is being brutally (or stupidly?) honest by conceding that Ford has “not done enough to be fit”. To turn things around, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ford concentrating more on big pick-ups and profitable SUVs and less on the superminis and city automobiles that have notoriously tough margins.
Over the road at GM, CEO Mary Barra is threatening a full or partial pull-out from South Korea, before moving investment cash and jobs from Asia back to her native Detroit. As I’ve mentioned before, Korean auto workers are among the most expensive on earth, and are clearly pricing themselves out of the market.