Honda and Toyota crossed over. Ford and Chevy crossed over. Even legendary Land Rover made the jump eventually. But surely there would be one brand in this world which would not succumb to the lucrative temptation to compromise its SUVs into domesticated, soft-hearted, "will never meet a trail" types. Surely one brand would faithfully honor its brawny. rock-crushing legacy. Surely that brand would be Jeep.
Surely you jest. Everyone knows that SUVs are, by and large, headed in one direction: towards the cars they once seemed destined to replace. People want comfort, resourcefulness, and a road-friendly demeanor, and because Jeep's in the business of staying in business, the unthinkable became the inevitable. And so 2007 marks a new year in automotive history: the year Jeep started selling cars.
But really, this was more of a work in progress. Watchful eyes remember Jeep's switch from Cherokee to Liberty a few years back, signaling major shifts in engineering that the Grand Cherokee would later followed. Even the Wrangler started getting friendly, and then Jeep went and made a seven-seat family truckster called the Commander.
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