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Los Angeles to Detroit in Winter - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited January 2016 in Jeep
imageLos Angeles to Detroit in Winter - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

It's a tradition at Edmunds to drive our long-term cars across the country to the Detroit Auto Show and this year, we went with our long-term 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk.

Read the full story here


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    prndlolprndlol Member Posts: 140
    If you somehow managed to beat the EPA 29 highway mpg during this near 5000km trip complete with harrowing winter bits I'll eat my bonnet!
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    tlangnesstlangness Member Posts: 123
    edited January 2016
    Prepare to eat said hat @prndlol.
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    steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Hat? I was thinking a car hood. :p
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    misterfusionmisterfusion Member Posts: 471
    Under those conditions, I'd love the car for just getting me there in one piece.
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    gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    What's with the suspense? Just post the number!
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    nagantnagant Member Posts: 176
    I wonder why few mainstream auto publications are willing to talk about the racketeering lawsuit against FCA? They have been lying about sales numbers to boost the price of their stock...........FCA is a house of cards just waiting to collapse.

    http://www.autoextremist.com/on-the-table1/
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    steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Scuttlebutt I've read recently is that it's more a question of drawing a line between year end incentives to move cars and bribery. Most all the manufacturers push hard on year end spiffs and bonuses.

    And apparently the dealer group hasn't come up with any evidence yet. So there's smoke, but no fire yet.
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    nagantnagant Member Posts: 176
    A lawsuit is not "scuttlebut". Did you read the link? Obviously not. The lawsuit claims FCA is paying dealers to reports unsold cars on the lots at the end of a MONTH as SOLD. Then the next month they back out the sales and start over. This is a big deal. FCA will fight I am sure, but the dealers have some sort of evidence to show and FCA will have to spin like crazy to show the payments were for something else and not for reporting false sales.
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    steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited January 2016
    FCA reviewed the dealer claims before the suit was filed and decided they didn't have merit. Now it's in court and the scuttlebutt* I've read says that the dealer group hasn't provided any documentation to support their claims yet (aka the discovery process).

    As I understand it, it's two dealers complaining. If this is widespread what other dealers have made claims or joined in the suit?

    Bring on the evidence and we'll have an answer in a year or two. Otherwise FCA will ask the court to kick the lawsuit out, and it could be done in six months.

    (*I read a couple of dealer forums now and then and that's what the insiders are saying. YMMV.)
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    nagantnagant Member Posts: 176
    It is an old scam; car makers make and deliver a car to a dealer then report it as "sold". It was easier to do before the modern computer era and instant inventory updates but it is still happening. Its really telling that the mainstream auto sites are silent about stories like this. One reads about them in financial publications so much more but not a peep from the auto press.
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    steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited January 2016
    Maybe you need to tweak your search terms. I get over 4,000 hits on Google when I click on the News tab. But frankly, it's not that "sexy" a story, especially compared to VW cheating or GM's ignition debacle.

    Automotive News has the best summary I've seen. Note the comment from a poster about FCA's emissions issues too. FCA is a bit messed up and Sergio is really struggling trying to get someone to join up with FCA.

    Kind of sounds like the spot delivery scam that some dealers still pull eh?
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    kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 237,228
    That's how business works, everywhere. Show everything shipped by the end of the month, even if it's just sitting in a trailer outside the door.. Then do the same thing, the next month.

    It's the biggest waste of time and resources, but it's been going on for the last 50 years.

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    misterfusionmisterfusion Member Posts: 471
    edited January 2016
    The story was discussed at Allpar, and sources there say that Napleton dealers are considered disreputable even by FCA standards. Supposedly FCA (or maybe Chrysler Group) tried to end their franchise agreement with Napleton a couple of years ago, citing violations. On the other hand, some people were saying, "Oh yeah, we used to inflate sales numbers the same way when I worked at Ford", etc.

    So it's either no scandal, or just an ordinary, everyday scandal that does not appear to be worth my time.
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