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Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram at the New York Auto Show
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0:00
So, time for some quick impressions of
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the new cars at the 2026
0:06
New York Auto Show. These are only the
0:08
Mopars. So, here's a quick look at the
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Jeep section, mostly Wranglers, but
0:12
look, there's a Cherokee.
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You have to kind of know that it's
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there. It's It doesn't leap out at you
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because it's styled to fit in with the
0:20
other Jeeps. And there's the Recon.
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And oddly enough, it's behind some
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poles.
0:26
So, looking at the Cherokee, you see
0:28
that there's not too generous of space
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in the back until you open up the front
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door and you realize that that the front
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seat is pulled all the way back.
0:36
Yes, those rear seats are pretty
0:38
generous. Sorry about to shake the
0:39
camera.
0:41
So, there's the back and you see it's
0:42
finished very nicely and looking at how
0:45
far that front seat is pulled forward,
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you can see that there's definitely
0:51
a lot of space in this vehicle.
0:53
Although, it is annoying that you put
0:54
your hand underneath the door and lift
0:57
up the way that you do.
0:59
Seriously? Uh here's the uh spare tire,
1:02
full spare tire, lots of space in there.
1:05
Comfortable car overall, but uh the
1:07
button console here for the telematics
1:10
and the for the heat and air
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conditioning, really, it bugs me because
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as you roll your fingers over it, you
1:16
feel the haptics as the buttons
1:19
activate. Although, once you push down a
1:21
button, it will continue to activate uh
1:23
when the fan up and downs, it'll
1:25
continue to activate without any
1:26
physical feedback. And as you run your
1:29
finger over them, they do activate.
1:32
So, it's not as good as physical
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buttons. I have no idea why they do it
1:35
like that, but it's on every Stella
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large vehicle that I've seen so far.
1:40
Uh the Charger,
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the Wagoneer S, the Recon, and the
1:45
Cherokee, they all have this weird
1:47
system with the uh haptics.
1:50
Uh some of the buttons don't work on
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this vehicle because it's set up as a
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show car. So, they have a special mode
1:56
where a lot of the buttons don't
1:58
actually do anything. Well, you don't
2:00
want a bunch of people tapping them like
2:02
I am. Tiny little knobs that you'll
2:04
remember if you were back in the early
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2000s, tiny little volume knob. It It's
2:10
kind of annoying. I mean, you need big
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knobs. Center console is done better.
2:14
Sorry, I'm shaking the camera so much.
2:17
And of course, you have to press the
2:19
door button. It's not there.
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Uh the door button that's down there
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hiding. Yep, there it is. I just found
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it.
2:27
To open up the door. Power door opener
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for no real reason. Doesn't save any
2:31
money because you still have to have a
2:32
manual door opener just in case. So,
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that pops the door open and then you
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have to push it while it's being popped.
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So, then there's the Jeep Recon, the
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vehicle that Jeep apparently doesn't
2:45
want you to buy, although it looks
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pretty impressive from here. Standard
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Stella large interior to a degree, but
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you'll notice that there are some
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improvements to it. Uh certainly, it
2:55
looks quite nice. I like the seats and
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the color arrangements.
2:59
Uh there is plenty of room in front and
3:01
back. If you were looking at something
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like a Wrangler and you thought that the
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interior didn't look high-tech enough or
3:08
modern enough,
3:10
and maybe you thought that you needed
3:12
more room, there's plenty of front and
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rear legroom and it's actually got a
3:15
pretty large cargo area compared to the
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Wrangler, especially.
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So, quite a nice vehicle
3:22
taken on its own merits.
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While the Cherokee and Wagoneer S really
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are more Chryslers than anything else,
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the Recon is still a Jeep. It's still
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quite capable. The only thing it lacks,
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like the other Stella large vehicles, is
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real tactile buttons.
3:46
They had the Charger coupe and sedan
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both there uh with the six-pack and the
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EV. And you can see that the uh space
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here is pretty generous, but not It
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doesn't look as generous as inside the
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Cherokee.
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It's an easy car to get into. It's very
4:06
comfortable. It's very sporty.
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Uh it's very likable. They had a good
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selection of Chargers this year for you
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to look at.
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And uh one of them was really in that
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eye-catching green over there. Uh they
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got a lot of attention.
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But of course, in the Dodge area, you've
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got Charger and you've got Durango. And
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that's the lineup.
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And then they're right next to the Rams,
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which had uh just one new Promaster City
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when I was there, I believe. Also a
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Promaster.
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And then a whole bunch of the Ram
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trucks.
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So, we're going to take a look at those
4:40
in just a moment.
4:44
Last year, I did a pretty good coverage
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of the
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Charger EV on the downstairs test track.
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Uh the one thing is when you're in the
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Charger or you're in
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any other Stella large vehicle,
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uh the big displays are fashionable now.
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Not everybody likes them. But the one
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thing is again, the digital controls
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where as you run your fingers over them,
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they activate and you can feel them
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activate like real buttons, but you
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can't run your fingers over like three
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buttons over and then press rear
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defroster or front defroster.
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Uh you can't
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use them without taking your eyes off
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the road,
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which you have to say in a driver's car
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might not be the best way to set them
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up. And when you leave your finger on
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one of them, you don't get tactile
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feedback except for the first, but they
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keep on moving.
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Such an odd decision for an otherwise
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really nice vehicle that you'd really
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want to have.
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You almost wonder if like the electric
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door openers, they were just mimicking
5:50
Tesla for some reason.
6:08
All right, and now for the
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professionals, we have the Promaster
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City. And I know some of you are annoyed
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that it has the Peugeot 1.6 L engine.
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Uh although, it does have a timing
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chain, not a belt, and it's not
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susceptible to the problems of the
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Peugeot 1.2.
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Uh I know some of you are annoyed that
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it's made in Turkey, but for the volumes
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that they're making, it is impractical
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to set up a plant here to do it. It just
6:32
They'd have to add $10,000 to the price
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or more.
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And you really wouldn't want it. But as
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it is, you can see that it's a
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uh working vehicle. It's It's designed
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to be used every day. It's designed to
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be abused. It's designed
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at for function. It is engineered to be
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a mid-size van and they sell very well
6:55
in Europe. They have market leadership
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there.
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And you can see why. It's a very
7:01
comfortable, but practical van. And the
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original was also comfortable and
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practical and a lot of people really,
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really like them.
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Uh one of the things they've got is the
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side doors that open and close really
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easily. They've got a good load height,
7:16
nice and low. It's very easy to get in
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and out of these.
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And yep, I open it, I close it. It's
7:24
Basically, it's just really low
7:26
resistance, very easy to open and close.
7:28
Don't know if it'll stay that way
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over time. These doors have a tendency
7:32
in
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pretty much any van
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to go out of adjustment.
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But here, you can see that there's
7:40
plenty of room above your head. I'm
7:41
sitting there. I'm 5'10" and I can put
7:44
my entire badge
7:46
uh height-wise over my head before I
7:49
touch the ceiling.
7:51
Very easy to get in and out.
7:53
It's a nice van.
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Anyway, hopefully you'll come down to
7:56
the New York Auto Show and see the van
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and other vehicles that most people will
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find much more exciting for yourself.
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I was there during media day.
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Uh you can see my uh other video on the
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launch of the new Chrysler,
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I guess the Chrysler feel for the
8:15
moment, where they're done apologizing
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for being the minivan brand and they're
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done apologizing for the minivan being
8:22
so darn good at being a minivan.
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We're going to hear more about
8:26
Chrysler's relaunch at the investors
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meeting, which I will not be going to in
8:31
person.
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So, for the moment, I will say
8:35
I'll see you soon.
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