[Allpar News System]

According to Reid Bigland, head of U.S. sales for Chrysler Group, the new mid-size Jeep will be called the Cherokee, not the Liberty. Since the previous models were sold as Cherokees in other markets, this may have been done to create a worldwide name for the model. The vehicle sold as the Liberty in North America was originally to be titled “Cherokee,” but sales of the existing Cherokee were strong enough to justify keeping the old model in production, alongside its replacement, for months. The statement came during a broadcast of the charity preview of the North American International Auto Show on Detroit TV station WXWZ, Channel 7. Thanks to Ziason for the tip. [See details on the 2014 Jeep Cherokee along with more speculative renderings]

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[vipermoon64]

good choice

 

[suzq044]

missed a word in that news title. The 'original article' says" Bigland: New Jeep will the Cherokee"

should be.. "... will BE Cherokee"

 

[MoparNorm]

Many of us feared this was coming. It's a poor choice and a slap in the face to Jeepers.

 

[Stratuscaster]

Just remember to make sure you reference "XJ Cherokee" when referring to the older model to minimize confusion...

 

[MoparNorm]

Just remember to make sure you reference "XJ Cherokee" when referring to the older model to minimize confusion...

I'm going to continue to refer to it as Liberkee(r), has a nicer ring to it and it might not be around long enough to get used to the other name.

It's a viable platform for an Eagle...

 

[digitalrailroader]

Many of us feared this was coming. It's a poor choice and a slap in the face to Jeepers.

how is it a Poor Choice Norm? it resurrects an Iconic part of Jeep History, and restores the Jeep Size nomenclature: Cherokee (Small SUV), Grand Cherokee (Medium SUV), and Grand Wagoneer (Large SUV).

 

[suzq044]

He's referring to it's classic off-road-ability. This new one will be nowhere near as capable as the XJ's or SJ's were.

 

[tryphon]

He's referring to it's classic off-road-ability. This new one will be nowhere near as capable as the XJ's or SJ's were.

Well, we don't really know that yet, do we? Also, we should compare it to the Liberty. After all, the Liberty (I had one) was named Cherokee in Europe and nobody lost any sleep about that. The new Cherokee may be a better off-road vehicle than the Liberty (a.k.a. Cherokee) for all we know. I am sure there will be a trail rated variant.

 

[Dan Minick]

how is it a Poor Choice Norm? it resurrects an Iconic part of Jeep History, and restores the Jeep Size nomenclature: Cherokee (Small SUV), Grand Cherokee (Medium SUV), and Grand Wagoneer (Large SUV).

And there we have it. Wonder if it was intentional, or a slip of the tongue.

 

[dartndodge]

Well at least it might stop the confusion.

You see, there is no such thing as a Jeep Liberty here, and I guess in other International markets.

The Small Jeep has always been the Cherokee, the big Jeep has always been the Grand Cherokee.

I remember when they first turned up and you guys kept referring to a "Liberty", we all wondered what the H*** you were talking about, until we realised the "Cherokee" was called the Liberty over there.
Didnt make sense really...and a silly name. What did it Liberate? .

Is the Liberty a North American only thing, or was it used in Europe as well?.....

 

[imperial1]

I saw the same Charity Preview broadcast and I am not so sure that one could say that a "statement was made that the new mid sized Jeep would be called Cherokee" was actually said. In fact it sounded like he mis-spoke when he was referring to the Grand Cherokee and then the Liberty replacement model in the same sentence. Then again maybe it was some sort of a Freudian slip.

 

[Stratuscaster]

Is the Liberty a North American only thing, or was it used in Europe as well?.....

North America only, I do believe.

 

[fargo59]

Well at least it might stop the confusion.

You see, there is no such thing as a Jeep Liberty here, and I guess in other International markets.

The Small Jeep has always been the Cherokee, the big Jeep has always been the Grand Cherokee.

I remember when they first turned up and you guys kept referring to a "Liberty", we all wondered what the H*** you were talking about, until we realised the "Cherokee" was called the Liberty over there.
Didnt make sense really...and a silly name. What did it Liberate? .

Is the Liberty a North American only thing, or was it used in Europe as well?.....

i could be wrong, but i think it's called Liberty anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

 

[saltydog]

I like the name choice.

 

[jerseyjoe]

Many of us feared this was coming. It's a poor choice and a slap in the face to Jeepers.

Just think of it as the alternate reality version,

 

[longlivechrysler]

Just remember to make sure you reference "XJ Cherokee" when referring to the older model to minimize confusion...

Or maybe "OG (original gangsta, if you will) Cherokee"

I was really hoping a new "Cherokee" would bring back the simple, straight-lined shape like the classic one. Its still a beautiful design. However, when I think about it, even if they never used the name "Liberty" and kept with "Cherokee", there's not much to say this wouldn't be the natural evolution of the vehicle anyway...

 

[Dan Minick]

i could be wrong, but i think it's called Liberty anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

Liberty=NAFTA only (US/Can/Mex), rest of world was Cherokee.
couple examples:
Brazil: http://www.jeep.com.br/#!exterior_3
S.Africa: http://www.jeep.co.za/
Ausl: http://www.jeep.com.au/

 

[LeeRyder]

It may just be the display settings on the computer I am on, but if it looks anything like the renderings seen here on AllPar... this thing is going to be a fail big time.

And calling "that" a Cherokee is a slap in the face to all things that Cherokee was.

No offense meant to those who actually did the renderings. You're working with what you know and I understand that.

 

[MoparNorm]

how is it a Poor Choice Norm? it resurrects an Iconic part of Jeep History, and restores the Jeep Size nomenclature: Cherokee (Small SUV), Grand Cherokee (Medium SUV), and Grand Wagoneer (Large SUV).

It resurrects an iconic name on a less than iconic vehicle and besmirches the reputation of the original.

Just look at it this way, suppose the next Viper was built upon the 500 architecture, do you think the Viper fans would be a bit irritated? (heck look at the talk in the Viper-Corvette thread right now!)
Jeepers get very little respect from current management, even when Jeep has carried the corporation out of bankruptcy.

Mike Manley has already been quoted on Allpar saying that the "problem" with Liberty was that it was too capable and said this vehicle, will be less so.