Show Notes
Jeep is in trouble. The rugged American icon finds itself struggling to dig out from mountain of problems: plummeting quality, skyrocketing prices, and confusing strategic shifts that alienated its most loyal fans. Now, with a new CEO in town, Jeep is trying to smash the reset button.
This week, Kyle and Joel are joined by The Drive’s senior editor and resident truck expert Caleb Jacobs to explain how a company known for trail-rated trucks got lost in the wilderness, whether it can recapture its old-school magic in today’s challenging environment, and if its move to bring back the Jeep Cherokee SUV as Toyota-fighting hybrid crossover is a step in the right direction, or too little too late.
Building and selling new cars at a price that makes sense for consumers is hard enough right now, but Jeep faces an even bigger obstacle: its parent company Stellantis, the multinational conglomerate with 14 brands across multiple continents under its umbrella. Many of Jeep’s biggest stumbles—spending billions to launch a half-finished electric SUV, an ambitious plug-in hybrid push that ended in a rash of battery fires and recalls, raising MSRPs to reposition itself as a luxury brand, and relentless cost cutting to pay for all of that—came from Stellantis’ European focus and top-down decision-making structure.
To get back on track, Jeep needs to get back to basics, and new CEO Bob Broderdorf is promising a new golden era for the brand that starts with listening to what American buyers actually want from it. Jeep knows mistakes were made. The big question is whether it’s actually capable of doing what’s necessary to correct them.
Stories mentioned in today's episode:
2026 Jeep Cherokee First Drive Review: Is This the Anti-XJ?
2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee First Drive Review: The Four-Cylinder Is Punchy But Imperfect
All Jeep and Chrysler Plug-In Hybrid Models Are Officially Dead: Exclusive
Jeep Teases V8 Grand Cherokee Return: ‘Stay Tuned’
Jeep VP Says ‘You Can Imagine What Is Coming’ About SRT Trackhawk Return
What Happened to All the Off-Road Grand Cherokees? Jeep’s Sales VP Explains
2025 Jeep Wagoneer S Review: Unfortunately Unfinished
00:00 Intro
3:08 How Jeep lost the trail
17:48 New look Cherokee?
26:18 Grand plans
39:50 Lineup cleanup
57:49 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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