For every ying there’s a yang, each right has a wrong and black there’s white. Then there’s the happening of a major event and the conspiracy behind it – the supposed truth if you will, behind a media façade. The Kennedy Assassination, moon landings and 9/11 are often the most mooted in this arena. Currently, the fall out of 9/11 and the US army striding into Iraq atop a Jeep Wrangler looking for weapons of mass destruction is a particular favourite among conspiracy theorists.
My favourite band Muse are big on conspiracies, or at least their front man Matthew Bellamy is. Recently he’s been highlighting a video on Youtube entitled ‘Terror Storm’. In the video, a conspiracy theorist explains how the world superpowers have created the war on terror by systematically attacking their own country and making it look like a foreign terrorist cell. Apparently this is a practice that has its origins many hundreds of years ago.
Perhaps most controversially (and may I take this moment to exonerate myself from either side of the argument and sit firmly on the fence) it appears many conspiracy theorists believe 9/11 and 7/7 were actually an inside job by the American and British government respectively. The video reasons that America’s reaction to terrorism and overthrowing Saddam Hussein would open up oil supplies like never before. The London bombings were supposedly Tony Blair’s way of ensuring his war on Iraq was justified. Far-fetched or plausible – I’ll let you decide.
Apologies for the heavy nature of my introduction, but the subject matter deeply interested me and I felt an urge to share my viewings with you, in an almost blog-like style. Conspiracies aside, there’s definitely one fact that stands out, regardless of why the US is at war with Iraq. The US army uses Jeep Wranglers for a very good reason – they’re the best 4 X 4 vehicle on the planet. Now I’m not for one moment saying you should enrol in the army to have a crack at bouncing over inhospitable terrain in a Jeep, because you can get all the benefits of its years of army service plus refinement at your local Jeep dealer.
The latest Jeep Cherokee is a return to a more angular design than its predecessor that wasn’t curvy like Scarlet Johansson, but was softer around the edges than most 4 x 4’s. The origins of Jeep as already mentioned are steeped in military service so it’s no surprise that the return to an angular design is a well suited one. Jeep retain their trademark seven-bar grill at the front of the car with the front headlights seemingly providing the only curve on the new design. The bonnet lines follow the curve of the lights all the way up to the windscreen and are a subtle feature that works surprisingly well against the backdrop of the industrial styling.
One big plus point in any Jeep’s artillery is the price, which more often than not significantly undercuts the competition. The latest Cherokee is no different, however unlike earlier incarnations the build quality hasn’t obviously suffered. Away from the robust exterior, the interior has a feel of quality unseen in the majority of American vehicles. The Cherokee is also spacious in the front, back and boot which isn’t always the case with the Jeep’s rivals as they sacrifice practicality for urban style.
A 2.8 litre engine also gives the Cherokee more shove than its predecessor although it is quite harsh when pushed hard. Amazingly unlike the vast majority of its rivals, the Jeep is exceptional off road which of course historically is the company’s main purpose so should be no surprise. In this day and age however, 4 x 4 owners only want to drive to the shops and back so this is a feature that may go unexplored. On the road the Cherokee is competent but may face snobbery from the Chelsea tractor brigade at ironically being good at what Jeep intended it to be – going off road and getting all muddy.
Regardless of where you’d drive the Cherokee, Jeep have made strides to repel the environmentalists that denounce the pollution these ‘gas guzzlers’ spew into the atmosphere. The new Cherokee, despite having a larger diesel engine uses less fuel and crucially has vastly reduced CO2 emissions than the last model.
In this time where conspiracies abound freely, it’s refreshing that a 4 x 4 comes along that does exactly what it should do, by going off the beaten track. The Jeep Cherokee – smoke and mirrors are not an option.
Mark Creese tackles some tricky issues here but relies on the trusty Jeep Cherokee to get him out of trouble Cheap Chrysler Jeep
