Photo: Jeep
Unveiled at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, the brand new 2014 Cherokee attracted a lot of criticism from Jeep enthusiasts for its bold and not so traditional design.
Back in March, Chrysler design chief Ralph Gilles said the new Cherokee is “very contemporary” and a “huge departure” from the Liberty. Today, the crossover’s controversial styling gets back in the spotlight as head of Jeep design Mark Allen has a little Cherokee chat with the folks over at Truck Trend.
“A lot of that is focused on the front, and the profile, but probably most controversial is the Cherokee name on it. We had a lot of controversy inside the company about that, and loving Jeeps as I do - I have an old Cherokee and love and respect that vehicle - why would we not use such a strong name?” Allen said, adding that the new design aims to attract new customers into the segment.
“Even if we wanted to recreate the old square Cherokee on a front drive proportion, it just wouldn't work, and it would not be energy-efficient. It had to reenter the market fresh, have a long life, and attract a customer who wasn't buying SUV-type vehicles when the old Cherokee was around,” he explained.
As a reminder, the 2014 Jeep Cherokee is available in four different trims levels (Sport, Latitude, Limited, Trailhawk) and starts from $22,995 in the United States.
“A lot of that is focused on the front, and the profile, but probably most controversial is the Cherokee name on it. We had a lot of controversy inside the company about that, and loving Jeeps as I do - I have an old Cherokee and love and respect that vehicle - why would we not use such a strong name?” Allen said, adding that the new design aims to attract new customers into the segment.
“Even if we wanted to recreate the old square Cherokee on a front drive proportion, it just wouldn't work, and it would not be energy-efficient. It had to reenter the market fresh, have a long life, and attract a customer who wasn't buying SUV-type vehicles when the old Cherokee was around,” he explained.
As a reminder, the 2014 Jeep Cherokee is available in four different trims levels (Sport, Latitude, Limited, Trailhawk) and starts from $22,995 in the United States.
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