Jeepn'stuff: 21 years of excellence

2012 Grand Cherokee SRT8 high performance package photo courtesy of autoblog.com

This post is a shout out to a long standing flagship model in the Jeep line up. Since 1992, the Jeep Grand Cherokee has made automotive break throughs and firsts and it has earned a reputation of being rugged and luxurious, a characteristic only normally commonly shared with Land Rover SUVs. I, myself drive a 1999 Grand Cherokee and I love it for its creature comforts, rugged appearance, off-road capabilities, and most importantly, its longevity, at 150,000 miles, its still running strong and with the 4.0l engine that Jeep used for years in various models it has been known to exceed as much as 300,000 on the odometer.

First debuted in 1992 as a 1993 model, the ZJ Grand Cherokee (1993-1998) was the replacement of the long standing Grand Wagoneer which was produced from 1963-1991 with very minimal design changes. The Grand Wagoneer was very popular alongside its brother the lower-end Cherokee. After Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand from AMC in 1987 which also marked the introduction of the Wrangler which replaced the long standing CJ. Plans for a Grand Wagoneer replacement were underway at this point. Different from other similar SUVs like the popular Ford Explorer, the Grand Cherokee did not use a body on frame design like the Grand Wagoneer which shared its platform with the J series pick ups, a common practice for SUVs. The Grand Cherokee saw a uni-body design and construction like that of the smaller Cherokee. The Grand Cherokee was sculpted, modern, and retained all the luxury features of the Grand Wagoneer. The first year of production even featured a Wagoneer edition of the Grand Cherokee notable for its woody panels, this model was later dropped for the 1994 model year

The Grand Cherokee continued to be a very popular midsize SUV for a decade after its introduction with the second generation sales of the WJ Grand Cherokee (1999-2004) making impressive sales figures, 300,000 WJs were sold in 1999. A decline in sales was marked by the third generation WK that was produced from 2005-2010. The WK lacked the appearance of the ZJs and WJs, it was also criticized for a sub-par interior, ironic being that the car was designed during the time that Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler were joined together under Daimler-Chrysler. In late 2010, the fourth generation WK2 was released as 2011 model, this major redesign saw majorly improved interiors, options, and designs. Since 2011, the WK2 sales have been increasing and the Grand Cherokee proves to continue to be a powerful contender in the SUV market.