Chrysler dealers couldn't help but fear losing sales as the arrival of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee has been delayed for two months already. They have been told by company officials that the long-delayed Cherokee will soon make it to their showrooms this month.
The 2014 Jeep Cherokee needed a fix with its new nine-speed transmission. As of August, there were at least 9,430 Cherokees that have been built but none had been shipped to dealers. The Toledo plant is said to be capable of making as many as 800 Cherokees a day which, if calculations are correct, could have stacked up by now and has doubled in number.
The auto manufacturer is keeping the Cherokees at parking lots sprawled across Toledo. These range from an adjacent site to its assembly plants to lots which seemed to look like railroad depots.
On Wednesday, several dozens of Cherokees were taken to a lot known as Ottawa South. It is actually a rail yard that is being operated by Ann Arbor Railroad.
According to Chrysler, the vehicles are undergoing a recalibration of their transmissions that have the nine-speed technology. The development is a joint effort between Chrysler and ZF group while production is handled by Chrysler in Kokomo, Ind.
Company officials have been assuring car dealers and even the media that the issue can be resolved by a recall of the software that manipulates the gear-shifting commands. However, the real issue that’s been bothering the dealers is the fact that the company had been aware of the calibration issue since May.
"I worry that this guy we talked to a couple of weeks ago, or this other guy that we talked to on Labor Day weekend ... will go buy another product," said Eddy, the vice chairman of Chrysler's national dealer council, in an interview with USA Today.
Chrysler explained that the Cherokee is the world’s initial application of a highly technical nine-speed transmission. Moreover, it is also matched with a duo of new engines and a trio of the complex 4x4 systems. Bob Shuman, owner of Shuman Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, is positive that in the end, Cherokee is going to be a surefire success amidst the delay.
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