Car Moon

As well as announcing the U.S. market launch of the JK-8 kit that carries a $5,499 sticker, Chrysler’s Mopar division also released a new time-lapse video that shows us a team of workers turning a four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited into a pickup truck with a small bed at the back.

According to Mopar Performance Team engineer, Steve Houtman, it took the four-man crew (or at least that’s our count of the number of people seen working on the Jeep) about an hour to complete the transformation using the JK-8 kit. Watch them in action for yourself in the clip after the break.

I’ve been trying out Jeep’s Drive Your Track website for their Wrangler model’s Infinity Sound System. You start by uploading a song from your hard drive: I chose Gary Numan’s, “Cars” for reasons that should be readily apparent.

It takes a few minutes to load your song, and then the sound waves are somehow mapped to certain geographical features from around the world.

You end up with eight or so places, which for me included the Appalachian Mountains, the Himalayas, the Andes, the Ural Mountains and Colorado Rockies.

Earlier this month, the Chrysler Group’s Mopar division unveiled a new do-it-yourself pickup conversion kit for the latest generation of the Wrangler modeled after the 1980’s Scrambler CJ-8. Called the JK-8 Independence, the kit allows the transformation of a four-door 2007-2011 Wrangler Unlimited into a two-door, two-seater pickup truck with a 50-inch long cargo bed.

Now, the Detroit automaker has released new running footage of the JK-8 Independence pickup conversion shot at the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, as well as a walkaround clip with Steve Hautman, a Mopar Performance Offroad Team engineer, providing us a brief explanation on the build. You can watch both clips right after the break.

Here are the first real life photos of some of the Mopar-tuned Chrysler Group products that were introduced at the SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas. If you follow the break, you can find photos of the customized Fiat 500, Dodge Redline Charger, Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee, plus a video with Mark Allen, head of Jeep Product Design, showing off three new Jeep studies.

Most likely, you have read our preview on Mopar's SEMA-bound tuned vehicles. If that's the case, then you may also be interested in the video after the break, as Jeep's Chief Designer, Mark Allen, does a show and tell on three Jeep and Ram concept vehicles.

For many, the world's most iconic automobile is not the Ford Model T or the Volkswagen Beetle. For them, it's the humble Willys Jeep. Serving in three wars, the Jeep (or MB) was built to fulfill a 1930s War Department requirement for a light 4x4 utility vehicle that was both simple and reliable.

Being one of the most important launches of the year for the Chrysler Group and the first to come during the newly-formed alliance with Fiat SpA, the Detroit automaker is working hard to spread the word about the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee as well as the change of philosophy in the company.

The Chrysler LLC group has rolled out fresh pictures and a new video with some B-Roll footage of its all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee a couple of weeks ahead of the SUV's U.S. market launch in early June.

The 2011 Grand Cherokee will be offered with a choice of two engines including the Chrysler Group's all-new 290HP 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine that delivers up to 23 mpg, and a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 with 360-horsepower and 390 lb.-ft. of torque.

In its latest press release, the company revealed prices for the entry-level 4x2 Laredo model that starts from $30,995, while the 4x4 version of the Laredo will start at $32,995. The new Grand Cherokee is built at the Chrysler group's Jefferson North Assembly Plant (JNAP) in Detroit.

Trust us when we say that, even if you're not a fan of techno music, this is one video clip that you'll want to watch / hear again and again. Created by filmmaker - musician Julian Smith, the video shows a crew of people using the doors, engine, switches, locks and numerous other parts of an old Jeep Cherokee to make a music clip called "Techno Jeep".

Let's say you work for the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and someone donates a 1983 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. What do you do with it? Well, for whatever reasons, using the vehicle, which makes the most sense, was not among the options being considered by the museum folks. To make a long story short, they chose to call in artist Keny Marshall to create a modern sculpture out of the Jeep.

To say that 'das' creation is insane, is clearly an understatement. Having already fitted a Dodge Viper V10 engine under the hood of a 1991 Jeep Wrangler, the German owner of this custom build decided to proceed to 'Stage II' by turbocharging the massive V10! As you can see in the first video after the jump, the dyno showed that the beastly Wrangler 'SRT10' produces 714HP at the wheels along with a staggering 1,053Nm or 745-lbs/ft of torque. There's also a second video available showing the pre-turbocharged Wrangler SR10 running the quarter mile in 12.93 seconds.

The latest evolution of Jeep's Grand Cherokee takes a stride towards crossover territory promising to offer significant improvements to on-road handling thanks to its Mercedes ML underpinnings that grace Jeep's flagship model with an all around independent suspension. In addition to the 5.7-liter V8 HEMI, the 2011 Grand Cherokee will also be offered with Chrysler's all-new 3.6-liter V6 Pentastar engine that cranks out 280HP. Hit the jump to watch the first videos of the new Jeepthat made its world premiere at this week's NY Auto Show.