According to Car & Driver, DCX is cutting the Commander from the Jeep line-up. The Commander has sold far below corporate expectations - so slow, in fact, that the factory that produces them had to be temporarily shut down numerous times to keep supply in line with the paltry demand. Additionally, DCX is blaming the Commander for lowered Grand Cherokee sales, claiming that the Commander cannibalized sales of its showroom-mate, (the only REAL Jeep with luxury) the Grand Cherokee. The article goes on to suggest that 2009 will be the last year of production for the Commander.

I say good - DCX killed off the bullet-proof reliable, extremely-desirable Cherokee, (which was still selling strong, and had an extremely loyal customer base!) to make $$$, and now it's biting them in the $ss.

A family member of mine with ties to the car industry told me that there were some interesting rumors about why DCX was going to kill the Cherokee (this was back when DCX was just announcing that the Cherokee was being discontinued). His sources divluged that DCX was pulling the plug on the Cherokee because they were staying on the road way too long... people were easily getting 200K+ miles out of them, and long-lasting product = less need for more products, long-term = less money for DCX. Because of their price point in the market, DCX determined that they'd be able to make a lot more money by killing the inexpensive, reliable vehicle and forcing buyers into either Grand Cherokees or one of their other brands' offerings (i.e., Durango), either of which would put far more $$$ in DCX's pocket, and help to cover the R&D costs that they had put into those (then-newish) models. Sounds quite plausible.

So, they kill off a great vehicle (XJ) and then tried to pass off this blingable "pseudo-Escalade" in its place a few years later, and had the nerve to give it some Cherokee-esque styling... (trying to recapture those Cherokee buyers, for over 10K more!). No offense to current Commander owners, just my personal opinion, but I think DCX was pretty blatantly trying to court the rap crowd with the Commander... it's just crying out for 22" rims and bling galore. But hey - it's still better than the Compass, any day!

 

The only good thing about the Commander was the Hemi. The outside was a mutated H3 wannabe. It was "Trail Rated" although I don't know whether many of them went off-roading.

 

was looking at a commander cause of the deals on them but they were so bland inside...

 

I really liked the Cherokee... too bad they killed it. I think that there vehicle line up of the Grand Cherokee, Cherokee & Wrangler was good. If anything they should have added maybe the Liberty to that line up and maybe the Gladiator or something similar. There line up now looks a bit wimpy.. not so rugged.

 

Maybe they could take some of those workers and put them to work on our frig'in JKs so that maybe someday we could actually be driving them! Jeep is really testing me these days.....they need to get back to caring about the customer and NOT about money! Then they would start making some, people remember the quality and customer care and will REPEAT business.

 

I know I usually give companies my business based on there quality, customer service and prices. They have to stop being greedy if thats what they are indeed being and focus on quality,prices and long lasting products while tending to there customers.

 

I don't think they killed the cherokee becuase they were lasting to long... I mean did you go guys go out and buy a brand new jk becuase your old vehicle quit working? The styling of the cherokee tho is super classic (the way a jeep should be) and the demand for them carried on into the later high miliage years. If anything the cherokee didn't stop people from buying new cars but maybe people decided to keep the cherokee in addition to buying a new car, much like the wranglers. Does that make sense?

 

Okay, it's for the mommy !!! But, I drove in the past two blizzards in Denver into the mountains where I lived. I even picked up some coworkers. It drove through 3 foot of snow without a problem from a 60 mile commute. Ice wasn't even a problem. I passed the following cars: Hummer 2 (Regular Hummers were driving well), SAAB (junk), Toyota (including a FJ, I did get passed by the old 70s land cruiser), Subaru (which for some reason people in my area swear by, too many to count off the road) and Audi's. Most trucks with good tires did great and tons of wranglers on the road. The truth.... Jeeps do great out here. Out of many utilities out here, I would have to rate the Commander (My Oversized Cherokee) did pretty good for a 1st year out. Yes, the gas sucks, but I'm not worried about the environment when it could come right back at us. I can't wait for a real snow to take my JK for a real test.

 

We've got a Commander...I couldn't pass on the rebates Jeep offered last Dec...we traded in our 2000 Grand Cherokee...

Because of the deal...we paid about the same as we did for the Grand Cherokee for the new Commander...

Plus...we got more room and a 3rd seat...

The Quadratrack system is awesome for snow and icy conditions...

You're right...I probably won't be taking the Commander to Paragon...but, that's what the JK is for!

 

The thing might of sold better if the nitwits put a decent front end on the thing. IMO it has one of the ugliest snouts in SUV land.