Automotive Design and Production

APR 2017

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JEEP COMPASS One of the things that Anderson is proud of is the overall efficiency of the vehicle. In the U.S. market, the Compass is offered with one engine and three transmissions. The engine is a 2.4-liter Tigershark I4 engine with MultiAir2 electrohydraulic, fully variable valve-actuation. It produces 180 hp and 175 lb-ft of torque. It can be mated with a 9HP48 nine-speed automatic, a C635 six-speed manual or an AT6 Aisin six-speed automatic. A Compass with a 4x2 setup and six-speed manual achieves 23/32/26 mpg (city/highway/combined). Anderson points out that here is a compact SUV that's capable of getting 32 mpg highway. He says that this is achieved through attention to detail in the engineering. The vehicle consists of about 65 percent high-strength steel, including hot-stamped ultra- high-strength material (in the A-pillars, for example). To help provide strength and rigidity, there is extensive use of structural adhesives. This is built to be efficient. And capable (e.g., there is, for example, up to 8.2 inches of rear wheel articulation for off-road adventures). Manley says that 2016 was a record year around the world for the Jeep brand. Some 1.4-million vehicles were sold. Of that number, more than a million were sold in NAFTA, which had a 5 percent year-over-year increase. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, while the number of Jeeps sold wasn't near that of NAFTA, the year-over-year increase was on the order of 70 percent, which goes to underscore the dynamic of that market. Specific to Compass he cites numbers for the compact SUV segment. He says that last year some 6.3-million units were sold in that segment. Of them, about 4-million were sold in the Asia-Pacific region, 1.2-million in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions, and 890,000 in NAFTA. Manley says that the segment is expected to grow 20 percent between now and 2020. So, there's Compass. Although the vehicle in the U.S. market is being launched with a single engine and three transmissions, on a global basis there are 17 powertrain combinations. The Jeep will be available in over 100 countries. You wonder why there are four plants making the Compass. The demand for compact SUVs across the globe surely answers that question. Around back there are LED taillamps that flow into the liftgate. 40

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