The Jeep Patriot has received a good review from Edmunds. They compare the Patriot and the Jeep Compass to the Pontiac Aztec and Buick Rendezvous. In that Pontiac Aztec (or Jeep Compass), is horrendously ugly and the Buick (or Patriot) is good looking, even though they are really the same.
Hopefully the Patriot sells for Jeep.
Perhaps it’s the Rendezvous syndrome at work here, but we like the Patriot’s look. You’ll recall that the Buick Rendezvous was the sibling of the Pontiac Aztec. So profound was the hideousness of the Aztec that the less ugly Rendezvous seemed almost acceptable.
It is also possible that our gender has predetermined our relative affection for the Patriot. Jeep says that the Patriot is the small crossover for men and the Compass is the one for the ladies. In truth, the Patriot is the Jeep crossover for people with functioning eyeballs and the Compass is only for those bent on making an ironic statement.
If the Patriot looks vaguely familiar, it’s because this little ute is a sort of digitally remastered version of Jeep’s old little ute, the Cherokee. The Patriot’s flat body panels, relatively upright windshield and near-vertical rear glass make it a dead ringer for the 1984-2001 Cherokee.
The Hartford Courant has posted a fairly positive review of the 2007 Jeep Compass. It’s a fairly positive review. Unfortunately the rest of the world doesn’t really agree. At least not the people who are buying cars.
The 2007 Jeep Compass is a compact-sized sport utility with all of the four-wheel-drive advantages of its bigger brethren, but it’s a lot easier to move around and easier on the wallet, as well.
It’s a great little workhorse that is an all-new offering from Jeep. It weighs just a bit more than a ton and a half – 3,326 pounds – and it can carry four people in addition to the driver and can get 29 mpg in manual-transmission mode.
The 2007 Jeep Wrangler has seen a surge in sales since being released. This surge of revenue has lead Chrysler to post a 1% increase in profits. Here’s the press release…
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Chrysler Group reported sales for January 2007 of 156,308 units; an increase of 1 percent compared to previously strong January 2006 sales of 155,465 units. All sales figures are reported unadjusted. January sales results were driven by solid retail sales, while fleet sales were down.”
With our January sales results, Chrysler Group is off to a very promising start in 2007,” said Steven Landry, Vice President, Sales and
Field Operations. “Our numbers mark the best January in the last six years and were driven by sales of the all-new Jeep Wrangler and the Jeep Commander. Chrysler Group’s latest addition to the Jeep line-up, the all-new Jeep Patriot, has been launched in late December and is now arriving in dealerships around the country.”
After a record of ten new vehicle introductions in 2006, Chrysler Group will continue to bring fresh products to dealer showrooms with eight new models to be launched in 2007. In addition, with the Dodge Caliber (8,672 units sold in January), Jeep Compass (3,965 units), Chrysler Sebring (6,885 units), all-new Jeep Patriot and upcoming Dodge Avenger, Chrysler Group now has five new vehicles that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better in highway driving that it did not have just one year ago.
The Jeep brand rose 19 percent year-over-year, posting sales of 35,361 units. January 2006 sales were 29,773 units. Jeep Wrangler posted sales of 8,954 units, a rise of 134 percent over January 2006 sales of 3,830 units. Sales of the Jeep Commander increased 30 percent with 5,491 units compared to 4,209 units in January 2006.
The Dodge Ram pickup had a strong January showing with sales of 24,379 units, a year-over-year increase of 12 percent. In January 2006, the Dodge Ram pickup posted sales of 21,790 units.
Chrysler Group’s minivans also had a strong January 2007. The Chrysler Town & Country posted sales of 11,377 units, up 20 percent compared to January 2006 with 9,447 units. Dodge Caravan sales increased by 14 percent year-over-year with sales of 18,593 units. January 2006 sales were 16,273 units.
“With a fresh product line-up in dealer showrooms and eight new vehicle launches to come in 2007, Chrysler Group is well positioned to remain competitive in the marketplace,” said Michael Manley, Vice President, Sales and Dealer Operations. “We will focus on providing innovation, quality and value to our customers – and we will also provide our dealers with competitive tools to sell these vehicles.”
Chrysler Group finished the month with 488,410 units of inventory, or a 78-day supply. Inventory is down by 9 percent compared to the year end in December 2006 when it was at 538,483 units.
