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An Annual U.S. Automobile Quality Survey

AP - BMW led all brands in the results released Wednesday by San Diego-based Strategic Vision Inc., followed closely by Hummer, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Infiniti, Lexus, Land Rover, Cadillac, Lincoln and Volkswagen.

Volkswagen AG, which includes Audi, led all corporations with a total quality index score of 892 out of 1,000 possible points. General Motors Corp. finished second as a corporation at 867, followed by Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co., which tied for third at 862. Toyota Motor Corp. finished fifth, at the industry average of 860.

VW, GM and Ford were the only corporations showing improvement in this year’s survey.

To get the rankings, Strategic Vision calculated the index based on survey questions about reliability, vehicle characteristics, dealership experience, styling, interior and exterior design and their overall perception of initial quality, said Alexander Edwards, president of the company’s automotive division.

Each of the people answering the survey had to have owned their vehicles for two to three months so they could adequately judge them, Edwards said.

Edwards said overall industry quality dropped from 864 points in 2007 to 860 this year, the first drop since the 2004 survey.

The decline came because some vehicles fell short of customers’ technology expectations, he said. For example, many thought their cars should have a simple, low-cost navigation system or keyless entry, he said. But companies were reluctant to add cost to cars, fearing the predicted industry downturn in 2008, Edwards said.

“Our position here with the technology is they didn’t take things as far as they needed to go,” he said.

Ford Motor Co. had five vehicles with the highest scores in the 19 market segments measured by Strategic Vision, while Toyota Motor Corp. had four. The two companies tied in one other category.

Ford won in the large car category with the Mercury Sable, the convertible under $30,000 segment with the Ford Mustang, the small specialty car segment with the Volvo C30, the medium crossover category with the Ford Edge and the heavy duty pickup with the Ford F-250-350.

Toyota’s Yaris subcompact, 4Runner midsize sport utility vehicle and Sequoia large SUV were winners, as was the Scion xB small multifunction vehicle. Toyota’s Lexus RX 350 tied with Ford’s Land Rover LR2 in the near-luxury SUV category.

As a corporation, Honda had the lowest percentage of people who reported problems with their vehicles at 19 percent, followed closely by Ford at 20 percent and Toyota at 21. Nissan and BMW AG tied at 24.

Strategic Vision said it developed the rankings from surveys taken of 20,655 people who bought new cars in September, October and November of last year. About 200,000 surveys were mailed out, and Edwards said the survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 scale points.

2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 Review

There is no mistaking the new Challenger SRT-8 for anything else. Just a brief glance and you know you’re looking at one. Chrysler has done a great job of bringing the look of the car to the 21st century. The side view shows lines that are shared with the famed version from the early ’70s (I think it’s better for everyone involved if we choose to forget the version from Mitsubishi that sold until the ’80s).

Backstory

While the SE and R/T versions of the Challenger will bow in for the 2009 model year, the ’08 is only available in a five-speed auto equipped SRT-8 model that packs the potent 6.1-liter Hemi (425 horsepower at 6200 rpm with a peak torque of 420 pound feet at 4800 rpm). This works out to about 70 horsepower/liter, impressive in the ’70s, but falling behind the current benchmarks of today. This is probably because the engine uses some serious old-school technology: two pushrod actuated valves per cylinder that use hydraulic lifters.

With an estimated curb weight of 4180 pounds, the power to weight ratio is an impressive sub 10 pounds per horsepower. This is what gives the car a factory-claimed zero-60 time “in the low five seconds.” After driving one briefly on the street, we can see no reason to argue the claim.

Technology

While the engine is somewhat retro, there is lots of new tech built into the car. ABS, traction control, brake assist and stability control are all standard. The suspension is not ’70s muscle car primitive, sporting a short-long A-arm geometry up front and a 5 link independent set-up out back. Bilsteins coil-overs are used at all four corners. Not old school muscle car at all. All this means that you can have a car that looks like the 70s muscle car but can negotiate corners with (some) grace.

When you read all the details that go into the package, it’s a very impressive list indeed. Modern engineering provides a chassis that is stiff indeed (it’s based on the LX platform shared with the Charger/300) and this is very noticeable on both the street and track. In fact, a brief drive in a pre-production version on the street gives you the impression of a truly modern car that absorbs bumps well (for a two-tonner). Mash the go pedal and it, well, goes really quickly, too.

Chrysler claims the dash is designed based on the look of the dashboards of the 70s and we agree with that. We don’t really remember the dashes of that era to be anything that special, and this one isn’t either. But it has all the modern conveniences, and in the brief seat time we had driving on the street, it seems perfectly functional, but it’s just not that memorable.

Performance

The Challenger was a popular ride at the media ride and drive, but what we were really looking for was how it all came together on the track. We did get to drive the car at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and if this had been an original model from the ’70s, this would have been a risky proposition indeed. But with today’s car, all the engineering really paid off.

So here’s the good news. The car accelerates very quickly. Press the pedal and you’re off with the tach swinging to red-line very quickly. There’s a bit of understeer, as you would expect from a front engine rear drive layout with over 55 percent of the weight riding on the front wheels. The chassis stiffness works well on the track, and all the fancy suspension bits do come together so that turning isn’t a white-knuckle event. The Brembo brakes (14-plus inches up front) do a fine job of slowing the beast as well.

So now the bad news. We felt very disconnected from the whole experience. Yes, the car is fast, but you don’t feel like you’re really going fast and when you look down at the speedo you’re shocked to see really high numbers. You turn the wheel, it changes direction well, with the understeer easily controlled with a bit more input or slight application of power. But still, something was missing. It was sort of like playing a video game. We hate to say it, but we got a bit bored. Especially when compared to lots of the other rides of the day that were just as competent and much more fun.

New Small Sedan From Hyundai

Theautochannel - Cheon Jong-woo writing for Reuters reported that Hyundai Motor Group said on Tuesday the world’s No. 6 auto maker plans to produce small sedans at a U.S. plant being built by subsidiary Kia Motors Corp, as record-breaking oil prices spur more demand for such cars.

Hyundai Motor Co, the group’s main automaking subsidiary, produces the Sonata mid-sized sedan and the Santa Fe sport utility vehicle (SUV) in the United States at its Alabama factory.

Hyundai Motor sells the Elantra small sedan, and Kia offers the Spectra small car in the world’s top auto market, but both are produced in South Korea.

“We have plans to have the Georgia plant produce small cars. We might have Hyundai products produced at the Georgia plant if the platform is common,” Kim Dong-jin, Hyundai’s vice chairman, was quoted as saying by a company spokeswoman.

Kim was referring to Kia’s first U.S. factory, which is expected to be completed by late 2009. “The market environment changed rapidly, like higher oil prices, environmental issues. We have a strong presence in the small-car segment,” Kim also said, according to the spokeswoman.

The group halted plans to produce a pickup truck at Kia’s U.S. factory amid concerns that surging oil prices will hit demand for the gas-guzzling vehicles.

Hyundai Motor has a plant in Alabama, which is producing 300,000 cars a year, and Kia is building a factory in Georgia with the same capacity.

Earlier this month, a Hyundai Motor Group official said Kia was considering manufacturing an SUV at its first U.S. factory.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage Review

Since its introduction in 2006, Aston’s V8 Vantage has always ranked highly with our staff. Indeed, in 2007 we named it an Automotive News and Review All-Star. A great car, but there’s always room for improvement, right?

And our biggest gripe was a lack of power. For 2009, the V8 Vantage will finally get the guts it deserves and attempt to shut us up once and for all - well, once would be a start.
As you might have guessed from the name, the V8 Vantage still sports an eight-cylinder. It also remains front mid-mounted but sees its displacement grow from 4.3 to 4.7 liters - made possible by a switch from cast-in to pressed-in cylinder liners. Horsepower is now up to 420 from 380, while torque climbs 15 percent to 347 lb-ft. That should do nicely.

The transmissions have been altered for that increased output, with both the standard manual and Sportshift automated manual getting a modified clutch and flywheel, respectively. That translates to improved responsiveness from a reduction in rotating mass and, for models with a third pedal, should mean reduced clutch effort. Sportshift models also get new programming that allows you to choose from Comfort or Sports mode, depending on your intentions for the car on any particular journey.
And that journey will start in a decidedly more high-tech way. Aston has chosen to fit the ECU (that’s ‘emotional control unit’) first seen on the DBS, in place of a more traditional, this-century key. Our recent test of a DBS (Running Scared, July 2008) revealed that the ECU is more gimmick than convenience. The Vantage’s cockpit gets a bit of a makeover as well, borrowing the look of its die-cast zinc alloy center console from big brother DBS, which we found to be a bit busy looking. (These changes will soon migrate to the DB9 as well). We will, however, welcome the new hard disk-based navigation system and standard iPod integration.

Standard suspension also gets an update with revised geometry and standard Bilstein dampers, as well as changes that were first introduced on the Roadster now moving to the Coupe as well. A new optional Sports Pack includes different Bilsteins, 19-inch lightweight five-spoke alloy wheels, and stiffer springs. Non-Sports Pack cars also get a new 20-spoke, 19-inch wheel design.

The 2009 V8 Vantage will be available toward the end of the year. Oh, and aside from the wheels, exterior styling is unchanged. No complaints here.

High Gas Prices No Problem

AP - When the green flag waved to start the Green Grand Prix of Watkins Glen, Robert Beam was out to smoke the field.

Literally.

His 1988 Isuzu Trooper was powered by wood chips in the only road rally for alternate-fuel vehicles and hybrids in the United States, sponsored by the Sports Car Club of America.

”We were going to have a wood-powered, supercharged Mercury Cougar XR-7 in it this year, but it’s not ready,” says Beam, whose nickname is, yes, ”Chip.”

As the price of gas continues to climb toward $4 a gallon, the event attracted a record field of 46 cars — hybrid and flexible-fuel vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell cars, as well as some powered by biodiesel, electricity, liquid propane, compressed natural gas and even vegetable oil.

The goal: to preach energy independence, reduce greenhouse gases and educate the public about alternative fuels. It doesn’t hurt to have a good time doing it at the place road racing came of age in America 60 years ago.

The rally is the brainchild of Bob Gillespie, a retired art teacher and lifelong car aficionado.

”There are more people buying hybrid cars, and they’re excited about them, but they didn’t have a way to celebrate the technology,” says Gillespie, who drives a 2005 Toyota Prius with 82,000 miles on it. ”I was thinking these people deserve a sporting event of their own. So many people think these cars are efficient, but they’re not fun to drive.”

Beam’s contraption smells like a backed-up wood stove when he fires it up and then is pretty much emission-free. Even though it has a top speed of only about 45 mph, Beam figures it goes about a mile on a pound of wood, which is pretty economical when you crunch the numbers. With wood at $225 a cord around here — which can be about 4,000 pounds of wood — Beam could go around 4,000 miles per cord. With gas at $3.75 a gallon, a car getting 25 miles to the gallon would use 160 gallons of gas worth $600.

The car holds 500 pounds of wood and can tow a trailer with 2,000 pounds more, stopping once an hour (at 25 mph) to refuel.

At today’s prices, that’s as efficient as any hybrid on the road.

”People just go nuts when they see it,” Beam says. ”They just can’t believe you can run a car on anything but what they’re used to seeing. When we tell them we’re running wood chips, they kind of get a feeling that there’s some hope, that there’s other people looking at alternative answers to high fuel costs.”

Beam and partners Larry Shilling and Aron Lantz have formed a startup company, Beaver Energy, based in Williamsport, Pa., and hope to produce liquid fuel from wood waste and other organic materials for less than a dollar a gallon. The Trooper just helps spread the word.

”It’s definitely an obscure thing,” Beam says.

Similar systems were used during World War II when gasoline was a precious commodity.

”The Germans didn’t let any of their people have fuel because they needed it for the war machine, so they had to figure out another way to run their vehicles,” says Beam, a specialist in computer-aided design and drawing. ”They actually ran them on charcoal, which is kind of an expensive process. The system I’ve got actually turns wood into charcoal, and then turns it into hydrogen and carbon, which then runs in the car.”

The core of the Isuzu’s power plant is protected in a steel jacket because the temperature inside approaches 2,400 degrees, hot enough to turn any organic material into hydrogen and carbon.

”It all happens in the car,” Beam says. ”When the car’s running, it’s making fuel. We’re not adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. We’re just recycling it.”

The only byproduct is the water vapor and a trace of carbon dioxide that come out the exhaust.

That’s music to the ears of Gillespie, who counts conservation, innovation and education as hallmarks of the Green Grand Prix.

”It’s a perpetual motion machine,” Gillespie says. ”We don’t want him to cut down any trees, though.”

Not to worry: The plan is to use the 7.5 million tons of wood waste generated in Pennsylvania each year. The partners also are seeking grants to build a plant to convert it and other organic material into liquid fuel.

The inaugural Green Grand Prix four years ago was a simple display of eight cars on the county courthouse lawn. It has morphed into a bona fide race in which competitors vie in two categories: fuel economy and the traditional scoring system used in SCCA rallies. When they start, the drivers and their navigators have no idea where they’re headed. The event is on public roadways, and the whole point is to arrive at the finish line when you’re supposed to — not too early and not too late — by obeying speed limits and not making any wrong turns.

”It’s not just a parade of cars. It’s a full competition, and they run a strenuous course,” Gillespie says.

Two years ago, Tom Lyon of Carlsbad, Calif., won the miles-per-gallon category, averaging 76.1 in a 2000 Honda Insight over a 78-mile course around Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes that stretch across the central part of New York.

Last year, competing against a field that included a 1908 Stanley Steamer, a Honda Accord hybrid sponsored by the IndyCar Series, and a bright red 1934 Ford pickup truck propelled by liquid propane, Jory Squibb’s Moonbeam Microcar had the best overall mileage of 100 miles per gallon.

This year, a biodiesel-powered Harley-Davidson motorcycle ridden by New England Biodiesel founder Bill Bolch took top fuel honors at 89 miles per gallon, while a Chevrolet Equinox powered by a hydrogen fuel cell was second overall in the road rally.

Perhaps Gillespie’s proudest moment came when six elementary schools — five from New York and the other from Salt Lake City — received awards for alternative fuel vehicle design in a contest limited to students from fourth through seventh grade.

”Ultimately, the goal of the Green Grand Prix is to encourage students that are interested in renewable energy and sustainable economy issues to pursue careers in those fields and stay in the Northeast,” Gillespie says.

More High Gas Prices Effects

AP - Ford Motor Co., which dropped its goal of becoming profitable by 2009 and said it will cut production of trucks and sport utility vehicles through the rest of this year. It was a warning shot to the rest of the beleaguered U.S. auto industry, which is facing its worst sales in more than a decade.

Dearborn-based Ford didn’t rule out layoffs or plant closures as it retrenches in a slumping industry, saying it would release more detail about its cost-cutting efforts in July. Ford cut its forecast for U.S. light vehicle sales this year to between 14.7 million and 15.1 million, down from 17 million as recently as 2005. If sales drop as low as 14.7 million, it would be the slowest year for U.S. vehicle sales since 1993, according to Ward’s AutoInfoBank.

Ford said it will cut North American production by 15 percent in the second quarter, 15 to 20 percent in the third quarter and 2 to 8 percent in the fourth quarter. The cuts will primarily affect pickups and sport utility vehicles, which have seen sales plummet in recent months due to rising gas prices, the weak economy and the slowdown in new home construction.

Production cuts hurt automakers’ revenues because the companies book vehicles as sold when they leave the factory.

“We all would like the basic business environment to not have deteriorated, but clearly the most important thing we can do for the long-term success of the Ford Motor Company is deal with this reality,” Ford President and Chief Executive Alan Mulally said in a conference call Thursday.

Mulally said the company expects a longer and slower recovery than it did several weeks ago and won’t immediately set a new profitability target. Ford predicts gas prices will be in the $3.75 to $4.25 range for the remainder of the year.

It was a stunning turnaround from last month, when Ford posted a surprise first-quarter profit of $100 million and billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian announced plans to buy up to 20 million shares of Ford stock because of his confidence in the company’s direction. Ford said Thursday its board voted to remain neutral on Kerkorian’s offer.

Ford shares dropped 64 cents, or 8.2 percent, to $7.16.

Still, some analysts cheered Ford’s actions, saying the company is adequately responding to the challenging market.

“Ford has been very cautious on production already, and I think they want to prevent inventories from building up at the dealers,” said Burnham Securities auto analyst David Healy. “They’re pretty clear-sighted and they wanted to lay it all out.”

ames McTevia, a Detroit-area turnaround specialist, said the U.S. market isn’t likely to improve this year, so Ford’s moves will likely be echoed throughout the industry.

“Ford is doing the right thing. I expect other manufacturers will follow and I expect other manufacturers will continue to focus on the offshore consumer, which is where most domestics are focusing right now,” he said.

New Hybrid Car from Honda

MSNBC - Analysts say the new hybrids, including a gas-electric hybrid-only model to fight the popular Toyota Prius and a hybrid version of the subcompact Fit, will hit the market at the right time with gasoline prices continuing to rise.

“It’s a game-changer for the short term if they can get the products in the marketplace in the next couple of years before the domestics can come up with a significant volume of products that get high mileage,” said Jesse Toprak, chief industry analyst for the auto information site Edmunds.com.

Honda, which already has the most fuel-efficient lineup in the U.S., announced Wednesday that it will sell the new hybrid-only car in the U.S., Japan and Europe starting in early 2009. It has not determined yet where the Fit will be sold.

The new models are a key part of Honda’s strategy for the next three years that President Takeo Fukui outlined at Honda’s Tokyo headquarters.

The plan also included production innovations and expansion in Japan to cut costs so Honda can stay competitive amid soaring material and energy costs, he said.

In addition to the new model and the Fit, Honda will introduce several other hybrids: a Civic and a new sporty model based on the CR-Z, Fukui said.

Fukui refused to give the price for the new hybrid-only vehicle.

But he said the difference between hybrids and their comparable standard models should be kept within 200,000 yen ($1,900), although such price gaps can now reach as much as 500,000 yen ($4,800).

“The 200,000 yen difference is a must,” Fukui said.

Hybrids deliver a cleaner, more efficient ride by switching between a gas engine and an electric motor at different speeds, and by recycling the energy the car produces as it moves.

Honda’s hybrids compound a problem that Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC already are scrambling to overcome — the U.S. market shift to small cars when they’re known for making trucks and sport utility vehicles.

“It does put them a little bit on their back foot in the sense that small cars have not been a core market for them,” said Michael Robinet, vice president of global forecast services for CSM Worldwide, an auto industry consulting company based in Northville.

GM and Ford, Robinet said, can rely on their European and Asian operations for small car expertise to quickly catch up. Chrysler has few small vehicles of its own but has signed a deal for Nissan Motor Co. to make small Chrysler cars in 2010.

Honda’s hybrids come as all automakers are rushing to make their models more fuel-efficient. GM largely has focused on hybrids in its larger vehicles and on the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in electric car it hopes to bring to market in 2010. Ford is banking on its Ecoboost direct-injection turbocharged engines and has midsize hybrids due out next year, while Chrysler is developing efficient smaller diesels and has hybrids in some large SUVs.

Nissan 200SX Hybrid-powered Sport Car

One of Nissan’s most loved sports cars could soon have a green tinge.

The Nissan 200SX – known globally as the Silvia and discontinued in 2003 – may be revived with an environmentally friendly hybrid engine.

Responding to rising fuel prices and increased environmental awareness Nissan is considering a petrol-electric two-door sports car.

An electric motor would effectively replace the turbo that characterised the sports-oriented 200SX, boosting power and performance while saving fuel.

“People are more sensitive to fuel efficiency [these days],” says Junichi Endo, Nissan’s senior vice president of global marketing.

“A front-engine, rear-drive may appeal still … but it’s important it is still fun to drive. Ideally we would try to hit both fuel economy and driving pleasure.”

Endo says Nissan is investigating the idea of a hybrid-powered sports car and that the chances are “50-50”.

The Nissan executive says it would “all depend on marketability” and whether buyers would accept a hybrid vehicle as a proper sports car to replace a turbocharged vehicle that has at times been Nissan’s performance hero.

Ironically the 200SX – complete with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine – was discontinued because it failed to meet emissions regulations that have since come into force.

Endo says sports cars of the 200SX ilk could eventually be pure electric vehicles as car makers invest more heavily in environmentally friendly powertrains.

“In the very short term, probably a hybrid front-engine, rear-wheel drive [sports car] … would be a good candidate. In the mid term an electric vehicle is a strong candidate we are looking at.”

Nissan is not alone working on hybrid-powered sports cars. Some car makers, particularly those based in Japan, are looking at hybrid propulsion for their next generation sports cars.

Honda was one of the first to confirm it would revive the legend of the CRX with the hybrid-powered CR-Z.

Toyota – the world leader in hybrid vehicles – is also working on performance hybrids for its next breed of environmentally friendly cars.

Making Unique Car Bumpers and Grilles

At a recent contest, I had an unfinished project on display that featured scratchbuilt front and rear bumpers. One of the most-common questions was, “how did you do that?” I went on to explain the process, and one person commented, “Oh, so you just carve away the plastic that doesn’t look like a bumper.” I agreed, but later started thinking that it is exactly what I do. The process is really not all that hard, and I find it’s quite a bit of fun.

For this example, I am making a custom grille for a 1950 Ford. I started with a piece of 3mm styrene quite a bit larger than the actual grille. I wanted the grille to wrap around the front fenders below the headlights, so it was important that the overall measurements of the styrene would be large enough to encompass the entire grille.

Why not give it a try? The more of these you do, the easier the job becomes.

I draw a general outline, then start cutting it out by using a motor tool to dig a groove around the pencil lines.

I continue digging the groove all the way around the pencil lines until I’m able to break the pieces apart.

Now it’s time to clean up the part, and begin carving away what doesn’t look like a grille. You can use any number of methods to do this: cut with a hobby knife; sand with sanding sticks or sandpaper; file with various shapes of files; or use a motor tool. I use a coarse sanding stick to clean up the edges, and to begin shaping the front.

The fit on the body is critical, because the upper portion of the front fender is slightly wider than the bottom. There is also a slight taper from top to bottom, so these areas also have to be tapered for a proper fit. I use round and elliptical files to shape these areas, as well a motor tool to smooth things out.

I usually like to cut a little at a time, and test-fit often. I feel that it’s much easier to remove the material slowly, as opposed to removing too much and then having to rebuild or add filler.
After the general shape is established, I start fine-tuning with a medium-grit sanding stick

2008 Jeep Compass Review

NewCarTestDrive.com -  The Jeep Compass is a car-based vehicle that’s enjoyable to drive and comes with a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. First introduced as a 2007 model, the Compass is built on a front-wheel-drive, car-based structure, a modified version of the platform that supports the Mitsubishi Lancer and Jeep Patriot.

One way to measure the value of the Compass might be to compare it to the trusty Jeep Cherokee that was enormously popular for 18 years and finally ended its run in 2001. The Compass is slightly bigger and much more comfortable than the Cherokee was 10 years ago, though without as much off-road capability.

The Jeep Compass uses DaimlerChrysler’s 2.4-liter, four-cylinder World Engine, developed jointly for 21st century efficiency with Mitsubishi and Hyundai. It’s a solid, sophisticated, 16-valve engine. Like other new four-cylinder engines, it is quieter and stronger than a four-banger was believed capable of being 10 years ago. It features electronic variable valve timing that continually changes the torque curve, bringing more versatility to the 165 peak pound-feet of torque, and more capability to the 172 peak horsepower. Emphasis during development of this engine was on fuel mileage; even carrying 3326 pounds, the Compass 4WD with a five-speed manual transmission delivers EPA fuel economy estimates of 22/27 mpg City/Highway.

The Jeep Compass offers an optional continuously variable transaxle, which performs like an automatic transmission. The CVT comes with the Auto Stick manual shiftgate feature for 2008. The Auto Stick enables the driver to shift up and down over six preset gear ratios, making it feel like a six-speed gearbox without a clutch pedal.

Also new for 2008, Jeep has recalibrated the engine and transaxle for improved drivability and reduced noise. Chrome interior accents brighten the 2008 models, and air conditioning and a tire-pressure monitor are standard equipment.

The safety, ride and handling of the Compass are all excellent, with a strong steel structure and well-planned subframe. Side-curtain airbags and electronic stability control with anti-rollover sensors are standard. Power windows and power door locks are optional, however. Remember manual door locks? Some cannot.

Inside, the Compass is thoughtfully designed. The instruments and controls are well placed and easy to use, though the materials feel cut rate. There’s good interior space all around, with rear seats that fold flat to make about 54 cubic feet of cargo space. Options for added versatility include reclining rear seats and a passenger front seat that also folds flat, creating either a table or eight-foot-long space for storage.

Model Lineup

The Jeep Compass comes as two models, Sport and Limited, each with front-wheel drive (2WD) or all-wheel drive (AWD). The standard engine is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder that makes 172 horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque. It comes standard with a five speed manual transmission or a CVT automatic ($1100) with Auto Stick manual shiftgate. A 2.0-liter four-cylinder is available as a $200 credit option for the Sport. It makes 158 hp and 141 pound-feet of torque and only comes with the CVT.

The 2WD Sport ($16,475) and AWD Sport ($18,225) come standard cloth upholstery; air conditioning; outside-temperature indicator; AM/FM/CD stereo with auxiliary audio jack; vinyl load floor; center console sliding armrest with cell phone or MP3 pocket; 60/40 split rear seat; tilt steering column; fog lamps; roof rails; and P215/60R17 tires on aluminum wheels. The Quick Order Package ($2,125) adds power windows and locks and keyless remote entry; cruise control; YES Essentials cloth upholstery; height-adjustable driver’s seat; fold-flat front passenger seat; reclining split folding rear seat; map lights; removable and rechargeable interior lamp; floor mats; rear privacy glass; and a 115-volt power outlet.

Options include a 6CD player with MP3 ($320); sunroof ($800); heated front seats ($250); Security and Cargo Convenience Group ($695) including auto-dimming rearview mirror, vehicle information center, universal garage door opener, alarm, and a tonneau cover; Trailer Tow Prep Package ($250) with engine oil cooler, full-size spare tire, and wiring harness; and a nine-speaker Boston Acoustics sound system ($795) featuring Sirius satellite radio, a leather wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, and speakers in the liftgate that can blast the crowd at tailgate parties.

The 2WD Limited ($20,505) and AWD Limited ($22,255) add leather-trimmed and heated front bucket seats; height-adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar adjustment; fold-flat front passenger seat; reclining rear seat; leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls; cruise control; Sirius satellite radio; power windows, mirrors and locks; remote keyless entry; electronic vehicle information center; auto-dimming rearview mirror; universal garage door opener; floor mats; and P215/55R18 tires. The front and rear fascia and side moldings have shiny aluminum accents.

Options for the Limited include the Sport options, plus its own Security and Cargo Convenience Group ($495) with daytime running lights, alarm, cargo cover, and Jeep’s UConnect wireless cell phone link; chrome-plated 18-inch aluminum wheels ($825); the Boston Acoustics sound system ($495); and a DVD-based navigation system with six-disc CD changer ($1,395). A Rallye Group for Sport ($1,985) and Limited ($1,850) includes driving lamps, a rear stabilizer bar, rear spoiler, bright exhaust tip, and Mopar body trim; for Sport, it also adds P215/55R18 tires on aluminum wheels.

Safety features that come standard on all models include dual front air bags; head-protecting curtain side air bags; tire-pressure monitor; antilock brakes with brake assist (which applies more brake force than the driver is applying if sensors determine it’s needed in a panic stop); traction control; and electronic stability control with rollover mitigation. Torso-protecting side-impact air bags for front-seat occupants are optional ($250) and we recommend them.

Interior Features

The Jeep Compass cabin is roomy and comfortable. The front bucket seats are very comfortable without being soft. The Sport is available with Jeep’s YES Essentials upholstery, a rugged fabric that’s stain, odor and static resistant. The front seat jacks upward, which is nice because the long dash makes it hard to see the ground in front of the car, even though the hood is short. The long dash is a result of the sloped windshield.

The cabin layout is functional and roomy, though obviously built to a price. The cost cutting is apparent when you shut the door and it makes a sound one might expect from a beer can. The interior isn’t very exciting to look at (boring in beige but better in gray) and the feel is far from luxurious. But it is quite functional. There is plenty of room for your stuff, including your elbows and legs. The front door pockets are deep enough to get your hand in, but to make room for stereo speakers, they’re short.

The dash is made of economy-grade plastic materials. The gauges are clean and pleasant, white on black with a symmetrical layout against a simple silver background. The four-spoke steering wheel is solid to grip. The center stack is wide and intelligently designed: rectangular vents on top, a single-disc AM/FM/CD stereo below it, and below that a slot that might hold a paperback book. Lower still are three climate control knobs and various buttons for options (including the available heated seats). The shift lever, manual or automatic, sprouts from the dash below these buttons. This practical high forward position was introduced by Honda, but actually originated in rally racing cars, where ergonomics really matter.

Moving rearward, between the front seats, there are two fixed cupholders, the emergency brake handle, and a flip-up center console containing a slot for a cell phone or MP3 player. The console top is an armrest, and can slide forward three inches to accommodate drivers of different sizes.

Legroom is good, both front and rear: 39.4 inches in the rear. The Compass will be a fine vehicle for a family trip, with reclining rear seats, optional on Sport and standard on Limited. There are cupholders in the rear but no net pockets on the front seatbacks, which would be nice. Grab handles make it easy to climb out.

The rear 60/40 seatbacks fold flat with the touch of a finger on each side, which is as easy as it gets. The front seat on the Limited model folds flat, making a table. The rear cargo area, a decent 53.6 cubic feet with the rear seats folded, is covered by a rugged vinyl mat that’s removable for washing. The space-saver spare tire is neatly stored under the mat. One innovative feature on the Limited is the removable rechargeable LED flashlight mounted in the headliner above the cargo area.

The one-piece liftgate has panels for structural integrity, and the rear bumper has a non-skid rubber surface for grip when people need to step on it to get to the roof.

Driving Impressions

The 2.4-liter World Engine works fairly well in the Jeep Compass. It’s relatively smooth and quiet for a four-cylinder in a vehicle with these prices. It uses the latest technology, including an aluminum block and cylinder heads, and electronically controlled variable valve timing that helps optimize torque. It makes a reasonable 172 horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque at 4400 rpm, and delivers an estimated 22 city/27 highway miles per gallon, with AWD and the five-speed manual gearbox, or 21/24 mpg with AWD and the CVT automatic.

An all-wheel-drive Sport weighs 3326 pounds, so the acceleration is hardly neck-snapping, but the Compass is no dog. It just takes some forethought and bit of patience to get it to do what you might demand. Jeep hasn’t quoted 0-60 mph times, but a manual transmission model with the 2.4-liter engine is probably in the mid-to-low nine-second range. We’d expect the automatic to be about a half second slower and 2.0-liter models to be one to two seconds slower. Those estimates are adequate, but not near the best in the class.

We’ve driven a Limited with the 2.4-liter engine and the CVT automatic and a Sport with the 2.4-liter and a five-speed manual transmission.

The five-speed manual works well and gets the most out of the four-cylinder engine. But if you need an automatic transmission, you can also work the Auto Stick to get more power when you need it. The CVT is like two transmissions in one. You can put it in the gear you like or just put it in Drive and go.

We like the Auto Stick’s manual shift feature. Though we didn’t experience any problems, some complained of excess noise and hesitation with the CVT in its first year. Jeep says it has recalibrated the engine and CVT for 2008 to eliminate those problems and make the vehicle more drivable. Actually, we were impressed by the crisp and immediate upshifts and downshifts using the six-speed Auto Stick. A Jeep engineer explained that the nature of the continuously variable transaxle makes such quick shifts possible. The Compass’s Auto Stick is as sharp as any manual automatic we’ve felt. With such accuracy, it always works: easily downshifting to knock off a few miles per hour for bends, instead of using the brakes; or downshifting to pass on a two-lane, instead of waiting for the transmission to kick down on its own.

Along the winding wooded roads between Portland, Oregon, and the Pacific Ocean, the Compass revealed itself to be steady and silent thanks to liberal use of sound deadening material, sealants and structural adhesives. The suspension does all the work as it should, isolating the cabin from the bumps and tosses. We aimed for potholes and weren’t jarred when we hit them. There was none of the old Jeep head-toss, or side-to-side jouncing, and there was no trace of wallow over ripples. Only the good feedback was transmitted through the steering wheel to our hands. The turn-in for corners was secure, with no play in the wheel or wandering.

Jeep has designed a new all-wheel-drive system for the Compass, which it calls Freedom Drive I. On a dry, flat road, virtually all of the power goes to the front wheels, but as traction is needed elsewhere, as much as 60 percent can shift to the rear wheels. The coupling is through a two-stage clutch system that’s magnetic and electronically controlled, rather than viscous, and Jeep says this is markedly more efficient. The system also has a locking center differential.

We drove the Compass over 30 miles of loose, wet gravel roads that climbed, descended and twisted in every direction. We pushed it to find some limits, and they were surprisingly high; the Compass didn’t skate on the slick round stones as we expected it to, even with standard touring tires, though the ESP activated a couple of times to keep us out of the ditches. We slammed on the brakes at about 40 mph, and the ABS with rough-road detection worked hard but successfully.

When we reached the beach, we climbed into a Compass Sport with the CVT and optional Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires that aren’t available with the Limited. The Jeep people pointed toward the top of the nearest steep sand dune and told us to floor it. Amazingly, the Compass climbed to the summit, where there were no other vehicles except ATVs. The CVT is the ideal mechanical means for transmitting engine power in deep sand, because its pulleys and steel belt provide an infinite number of gear ratios, allowing the engine to stay in its most efficient operating range.

It’s difficult to imagine getting stuck in snow or mud in the Compass Sport with the Goodyear on/off-road tires. The locking differential can offer the best possible traction from a standing start, and the Brake Traction Control dabs the brakes (at lightning speed) at individual wheels to keep them from spinning. The locked differential keeps the torque evenly distributed at 50/50, up to 10 miles per hour, at which point the torque begins transferring again, as calculated by the electronic control module based on vehicle speed, turning radius and wheel slip.

We charged full blast back down the steep dune, and found a stretch of whoop-de-doos near the waves at the bottom. It wasn’t exactly our intention to turn the Jeep into a motocross bike, but we gave it a go. We finally bottomed out the front end, but it wasn’t easy.

Summary

The Jeep Compass is not a traditional Jeep with go-anywhere off-road capability. On the negative side, it appears to be built to a price and has modest interior materials and build quality. On the positive side, it offers safety, a comfortable ride, steady handling, high fuel mileage, and the reassurance of all-wheel-drive capability. Those positives and its affordable pricing make the Jeep Compass worth a look.

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