Obama drives a Jeep!

According to Wizbang Blue, Barack Obama is a Jeep driver. While I drive a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Obama drives a 2000 Grand Cherokee.

Obama must realize like I do that a Jeep is a good vehicle, not only for hauling packages, but also passengers. When its snowing in Washington D.C., if Obama's limos can't get him where he needs to be, he can just jump in his Jeep. A Jeep will go almost anywhere. Kick in that 4-wheel drive and snow and ice are no problem.

It's nice to know that our President see the value of a good vehicle!

Grand Cherokee upgraded

For those of you who like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, there have been some upgrades. According to NewCarNet, there have been changes both to the inside and outside. You can see one of the changes to the outside on this picture which shows the revised front end.

According to the article, the interior has new soft-touch materials and has been changed to include a new instrument cluster, new steering wheel, a new leather package on the doors and dashboard, and there is an optional touch-screen navigation system and integrated 20GB hard drive. As far as I am concerned, a touch-screen navigation system is no longer an option. That should be standard equipment. Of course I like toys like this. If you do too, check out some GPS systems available until they become standard equipment at HonestBargain.com, or HonestBargain Stores.

Now, back to the Grand Cherokee. On the outside, the headlamps have been redesigned, the grill has been replaced and a front air dam has been added to give the Grand Cherokee a more sporting look. New 17-inch wheels are included on the Limited version and new 18-inch wheels on the Overland.

For those of you who like off-roading, the Grand Cherokee features a Hill Descent Control system and Hill Start Assist for difficult road condition on steep slopes.

These sound like some good upgrades to my favorite Jeep. My Grand Cherokee is just approaching 100,000 miles, so I have a long time before I'll need to upgrade myself. In the meantime, I'll just have to drool about all those new features. And I'll continue to use my portable GPS, even though my wife likes to make fun of me every time I use it. Oh well, at least I'm not being made fun of for not stopping to ask for directions. I already have the directions.

The year with my Jeep

Looking back over the year Jeepwise, I was very happy with my 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (pictured on the right) and 2002 Jeep Liberty Sport (pictured below on the left). My wife mostly drove the Liberty until this winter. We keep the Liberty in our one-car garage. My Cherokee sits out in the cold weather of Eastern Nebraska. So when we want to go some place and there is ice on the windows of my Cherokee, we take the Liberty. I like driving them both. Each has its advantages.

My Cherokee is approaching 100,000 miles. That's not a big deal these days, especially for Jeeps which can get very high mileage. But it still seems like a big deal to me.

The first car I remember my Dad driving, a 1949 Dodge, blew the engine with just 42,000 miles on it. Of course it probably didn't help that we were stuck in mud on a country road and Dad was rocking it back and forth try to get unstuck. But I remember him talking about how when a car had 50,000 miles on it, it was shot. Done for. Should have gotten rid of it long ago. That was back in the days when the 12 mile trip to town was a big deal. We only did that once or so a month. So it took a long time to put on a lot of miles in those days. Yes, I'm that old that I'm now talking about the good old days!

So you'll have to forgive me for lamenting the fact that my Cherokee is approaching 100,000 miles. I plan to keep it for a long time yet, so I better get used to it. Most of the cars I have had have gone well over 100,000, so I should be used to it by now. I guess I just like my Jeep and I don't want it to get old.

The only problem I had this past year was a heater problem back in March. That was a frustrating experience. Now I'm having another unusual problem, again with the heater. The blower won't stay blowing where it is supposed to. If I have it blowing at the floor level, any time I accelerate or go up a slight hill, the blower cycles through the dashboard vent and up to the defroster. On the other side of the hill, or when I decelerate, it will finally cycle back to the floor. It is not that big a deal except when it is really cold. Then my feet get cold while driving and I get this blast of hot air in my face while it cycles through the dashboard vents. I guess I'll have to go back to the repair shop eventually. Anyone out there had that same problem? I don't think it is related, but my cruise control doesn't keep a steady pace. That started about the same time as the heater problem. Going up a long hill, it will slow down about 10 miles per hour if I don't step on the gas. It didn't do that until the past six months or so.

Other than that, I still really like my Jeeps. I'm hooked. I'm afraid I will be a Jeep man forever.

Fore in a Jeep

Yes, I am a golfer. And golfing is always more fun when done with family and friends. Recently my wife and I, plus our son and his wife started a Monday night golf outing. We load the four of us plus our equipment in my Jeep Grand Cherokee and head for the course. We like to walk the course because that gives us some good exercise. So we each have pull carts to put our bags on. It is nice that all of us plus our equipment fit in one vehicle. That way we can enjoy each other's company during the drive to the course as well as the time on the course. Before it was a tight squeeze to fit two sets of clubs and carts in the trunk of my car. This works so much better. Four for fore! One more reason why I like my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Fore anyone?

18 Foot ladder fits in my Jeep

Would you believe it? I can fit an 18 ft. ladder in my Jeep Grand Cherokee! Of course I had to fold the rear seat down, which is a good option for creating more cargo space. And my ladder also folds up into four sections to make it much smaller. The point is, this ladder would never fit in the trunk or back set of the cars I used to drive. This is one more reason I am happy to be driving a Jeep.

There's room for lots of stuff!

Monday my wife and I went out to buy a bike for our 4-year old grandson. The tricycle we had here at our house was getting too small, and he has a younger brother who is indicating he wants to start riding the tricycle. So, it is time to get a bike.

The bike fit. When we got out to my Grand Cherokee, it was good to have enough room to put the bike in without any problems. It could stand up in the back, and with elastic ties, it was nice and secure.

One more stop. As we headed home, my wife said she wanted to make one more stop. She had seen a toy she would like to get that she thought the grandsons would like. However, we couldn't find the toy. Someone bought the only one they had. As we headed toward the door, we saw a great spring horse. It looked like it would be a lot of fun for them. My wife said she didn't think the horse would fit in the Jeep along with the bike. I assured her I could get it to fit. So we decided to buy it. Then we spotted a smaller riding toy that would be great for the 2-year old. That would even things out a little - both of them getting a new riding toy.

It all fit. Sure enough, I got it all to fit. I had to put the rear seats down, but that is a good feature for making more room. I could have even put more things in if needed. We would have had to borrow someone's vehicle to haul these toys if I still had my passenger car. The large cargo space is a great feature.

Some pictures: So, here's some pictures to show our shopping spree was well worth it.

Jeep heater problems

A while back I was having problems with the heater controls on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. During some of our cold Nebraska days, the temperature from my heater would suddenly become very cold. At first, I jiggled the temperature switch and it would get warm again. After a while nothing seemed to help. It was unpredictable. Some days it would work fine. Other days I couldn't get it to work. I finally broke down and took it to a repair shop to have it checked. They diagnosed it as a leaking water pump which caused a low antifreeze level resulting in bubbles in the hoses leading to the heater. The bubble would get trapped somewhere along the way and not allow the water to flow, thus causing the cool down. That sounded plausible, so I paid the $380 bill and thought my problems were over.

Check # 2: However, the next day, the same problem occurred on the way home from work. So I took it back to the repair shop. They said they must not have gotten all the bubbles out. They disconnected all the hoses, drained everything, and sent me on my way. On the way home, same problem.

Check # 3: So I turned around and went right back. Of course, by the time I got back, the heater had started working again. They didn't want to believe me. So I left it there overnight for them to check the next morning. They had one of their employees drive it home (a 45 mile round trip for which I had to pay the gas.) He claimed it worked all the way home that night, and all the way back to work the next morning. The bubbles must have finally worked their way out. So they sent me home again.

Check # 4: The next day, it wouldn't work for me again. When I arrived at the repair shop, they thought I was joking when I said it did it again. When they realized I was serious, I told them I left it running. They should come out and check for themselves. This time the air was still cold. They called their "specialist" out to take a look at it. He determined the motor that moves the device that actually determines the temperature was shot. So I left it there for them to work on the next day. I thought this time surely they had it fixed. When they tried to charge us another $100 for the motor, my wife said, "I don't think so." They ended up taking off the charge.

Check # 5: That night on the way home from work, the same problem. By now, I was getting very frustrated. I think they could tell when I came back the next time that I was getting serious (read furious) about this problem. The general manager happened to be the one there when I came in this time. He said they would get it fixed, so I left it one more time. This time they changed the entire heater control panel, including fan switches, temperature control, and selectors (heat, air conditioning, defrost, etc.) When I came back, the general manager was there again. He said the only thing they hadn't figured out was how to pay for it. I knew I wasn't going to pay. When he handed me the bill, it was for $0.00.

Finally: That seems to have taken care of the problem. Now that I think about it, my air conditioner would kick off once-in-a-while last summer. If I turned it off, then back on, it would work again. Perhaps that was the beginning of the problem way back then.

Conclusion: I write this mainly to alert you to a possible problem. If you are having heater problems, suggest to your repair shop that it might be the heater control panel. If they start there, you and they will probably save a lot of frustration.

One final note: A couple of weeks ago, I was going to use my GPS to find a place in Lincoln. I took it along in my Grand Cherokee. I placed it where I usually did, and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't stand up like before. Then I realized I had velcro on the heater control panel which had now been replaced. The velcro was missing. I think they owe me!

Drive a Jeep, save the world.

Mother nature dumped another 10 inches of snow on us Thursday along with winds from 35 - 40 miles an hour. That was on top of the 6 inches we had last Saturday. The ice from the sleet that fell then is still underneath it all. It is also snowing some more today. The forecast calls for another 2 inches. The wind is really blowing and causing a lot of blowing and drifting snow. Today while out getting gas, lunch and some groceries, I saw many vehicles sliding around, having trouble getting started at intersections, and generally just having a bad time out there. Meanwhile, I had my 4-wheel drive engaged on my Jeep Grand Cherokee and was having no trouble at all.

While at lunch, we overheard some people talking about the fact that the bridge over the Platte River south of Fremont is closed until 5 p.m. tonight because of the road conditions. I was tempted to drive out there just to see. I'm sure if they saw me coming, they would say, "Oh, you're driving a Jeep. Come on through. You'll be able to make it fine!" However, I resisted the temptation and went home instead.

I'm at the point of thinking the phrase from the TV show Heroes should be "Drive a Jeep. Save the world!"

No trade

There is no way I would trade my Jeep Grand Cherokee 4X4 for anything right now. Last Saturday we had a bad storm. It had rained about 1/2 inch during the day. It was just starting to sleet as I left for work. By the time I drove the 2.5 miles, the ground was already completely white with sleet. The parking lot was slushy with the sleet mixed with the water from the rain. A little later it started to snow and the temperature dropped just below freezing. We had about 6 inches of snow with wind which really filled up the parking lot. The water and sleet underneath froze into a sheet of ice which was covered by the snow. By time I left work at 4:00 a.m. I had to help push the cars of my employees out of their parking spaces. Two had front wheel drive. It took four of us to push one of those out to where the snow plow had gone through and cleared a path. It was really funny when the snow plow got stuck trying to clear out the rest of the parking lot. He had to call a friend with a tractor to pull him out. I laughed as I got in my Jeep and drove right out without even spinning the wheels. Four wheel drive is fantastic in situations like that.

Headlamp off time delay - yeah!

The time delay for auto headlamps may not seem like a big deal. Sometimes it is a bother. Almost every night I have someone come in to my restaurant to tell me that someone left their lights on. Most of the time when I find the owner, they tell me they will go off shortly by themselves. People get use do the lights shutting off by themselves and don't really think about it. A lot of people don't even realize they have the option. So the time delay may not seem like a feature that is that great.

However, I really like that feature on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. I work the night shift. I get home somewhere between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. depending on the day of the week. When it is cloudy, or the moon is in the small end of the cycle, it can be really dark out when I get home. We have a one-car garage and my wife has claimed that. So I get to park outside in our double wide driveway. With the time delay feature, I can leave the lights on so I can see where I am walking. That is especially nice when there is some ice on the driveway.

The time delay is a nice feature. If you have it on your vehicle, don't forget to use it. And be nice to restaurant managers. Please don't use it in a lighted parking lot. It will save us the time and embarrassment of going around asking people if they left their lights on. Thank you!

Snow - no worries

I'm taking vacation for a few days. My mother-in-law doesn't drive, so she planned to take a "handy-bus" Friday morning to Lincoln where we were to pick her up. Overnight on Thursday, we had about two inches of snow. It was near zero degrees overnight, so the snow wasn't going to melt the next day. Normally that would make me a little nervous. The snow packs down on the streets and highways and makes them slick enough to be a concern. However, now that I have 4-wheel drive on my Jeep Grand Cherokee, I don't get near as nervous about snow. It was an adventure driving the snow packed city streets, and the somewhat snow covered highways. With the added security of anti-lock brakes, it was no problem. The scenery was beautiful with the newly fallen snow. And I enjoyed it much more since I wasn't so concerned about the road conditions. I just wish I had not washed my Jeep the day before. After driving in Lincoln, and later in Omaha, my maroon jeep is almost white from the liquid deicer they applied to the city streets. Oh well, I guess that's what keeps the Car Wash businesses in business.

Gas Mileage Proof

For those of you who are wondering if I really get the gas mileage I say I do with my Jeep Grand Cherokee, here's the proof. After about 200 miles including two trips from Fremont to Omaha, and some city driving in both cities, you can see the Information Center reports 19.5 MPG. Yeah, I can hear your protests. "Those Information Centers are not all that accurate." Being the StatMan, I've been tracking MPG both from actual miles driven vs. gallons purchased as well as what the Information Center reported. Over a period of almost two years, there has been a difference of only .2 (2 tenths). Overall, my calculations based on miles vs. gallons have averaged out at 17.9. My Information Center readings have averaged out at 18.1. So deduct that .2 from 19.5 and I'm still getting over 19 on this tank so far. And this is during cold weather when gas mileage is typically worse than in warm weather. The temperature of the good old Nebraska air was only reaching into the teens. For an SUV, I don't think that is half bad. There, I've proven it!

My Jeep is my assistant

Assistants are great! When I first got my Jeeps, I didn't even notice the Passenger Assist Handles. It was not something I was used to, although in the Stratus I used to have, it would have helped to have them to grab on to for climbing up out of the car. The Stratus sat pretty low. Then I started using the Assist handles in my Liberty and Cherokee. They are located in a handy spot, just about head height on the front door post. Since then, I've noticed I automatically use them when getting in and out. I'm not saying I'm getting old, but they sure work good. Just in case you are wondering, I'm practicing using them before I get old so I'm used to them when I do get old.

There's a lot of us

I have noticed, there are a lot of us Jeep drivers out there. Whatever make or model of car I've driven over the past years, I usually watch for others like it. I would see some, but not what I would consider a lot. But now that I'm driving a Jeep, I notice there are a lot of Jeeps on the road. Last Sunday afternoon on the way to work, I counted ten. That may not sound like a lot, but I only live about 2.5 miles from work and it was a leisurely Sunday afternoon in Fremont with hardly any traffic on the streets. You can imagine how many I see as I drive the streets of Omaha. Yes there are a lot of us Jeep lovers out there.

I love those mirrors

As I was carrying the meat into our house today, I went through our garage. Afterwards, my wife pointed out that the smart thing to do would have been to back her Jeep Liberty out of the garage so there would have been more room. But I was too lazy for that. Besides, I had already backed my Jeep Grand Cherokee into the driveway right behind her Liberty. To change it now would have meant admitting I was wrong, which I don't like to do. So I carried huge boxes of meat through the garage next to her Liberty. There isn't a lot of room there, and when I got to the mirrors, I had a little problem. I couldn't turn sideways because of the large box of meat. If only those mirrors weren't there sticking out in my way. Oh wait! They are fold away mirrors. I just folded the mirror back and had just enough room to get through. I love those fold away mirrors. It kept me from having to admit I made a mistake.

Easier on the back

Today we picked up a quarter of beef we had ordered from a meat market. Putting those steaks in the deep freeze made me anxious for Spring and grilling outdoors. Yum. The point I want to share today is how much easier on the back it was to just slide the boxes of meat into the cargo area of my Jeep Grand Cherokee compared to putting them into the trunk of a car. It made even more of a difference taking them out. Lifting a heavy box out of a car trunk can sure put stress on the lower back. Plus, the boxes of meat would not all have fit in the trunk of my last car. I would have had to put some on the back seat, which can be just as stressful on the back. It is easy getting things in and out of the rear cargo area. I really like that feature about my Jeep.

Peace of mind

Recently a first cousin of mine died of MS. We grew up in a farming area about a mile apart, which out in the county is right next door. My sister still lives in the area and was planning to go to the funeral. She was hoping I could come to the 10:30 a.m. funeral also so she would have some immediate family to sit with. I work the night shift usually getting home about 1:00 a.m. as long as the carpet cleaners aren't scheduled which makes it later. It would be about an hour and a half drive to the church, and we have had ice and snow recently. So I told her no guarantees, but I was hoping to be there depending on road conditions and how late I had to work the night before.

Everything worked out so my wife and I could go. On the way, the snow was beginning to drift across the highway. The last 3 inch snow had been a very dry snow so it was blowing easily. But the roads were dry and it was no problem. On the way home, however, it was a different story. It had warmed up just enough in the early afternoon that the snow was melting on the highway. As it melted, more snow blowing across began to stick and build up making a slushy icy mixture. As it began to cool off again and more traffic passed over it, the ruts in the slush got deeper and began to freeze. In some spots driving was rathertreacherous. It got bad enough that snow plows were beginning to come out again.

I had driven my Jeep Grand Cherokee to the funeral. As the roads got worse and worse, I wasn't really worried. I could just slow down, kick it into 4-wheel drive, and not have any real problems. It gave me a lot of peace of mind compared to if I were still driving the low-profile sporty car I used to have which would have been hitting bottom on some of the spots were we encountering. The only concern was other drivers who didn't have 4-wheel drive and were too stupid to slow down.

Four-wheel drive gives me a lot of peace of mind. And it is fun looking for snow to drive through instead of having to take the emergency snow routes where I know the snow plows have already gone.

Gas guzzler - not really

Yesterday I attended the funeral of a cousin my age who had died of MS. Unfortunately, funerals are one of the few times we get to see extended family. I noticed that one of my other cousins was driving a Grand Cherokee similar to mine. At the funeral luncheon afterwards, I said, "I see you are driving a Grand Cherokee. Me too!" I was expecting her to tell me about how much she liked it, since I like mine so well. My usual response from people is that they really like their Jeeps. However, her response surprised me. "Oh, my gas guzzler," she said. So we swapped comparisons.

For some reason, her gas mileage is quite a bit worse than mine. She said she is usually between 13 - 15 MPG. A while back she drove across Nebraska at 60 MPH and only got 18.5 MPG. That is the highest she has gotten. I've tracked my MPG since I bought mine almost 2 years ago. I've gotten as high as 22 MPG, and average 18 MPG overall including highway and city driving. So I'm doing much better.

Our engines are basically the same, both 6 cylinder 4.0. Our options are similar. I can't explain it. Perhaps her driving habits are different. Maybe, as she suspects, something isn't quite right with her engine. For some reason, there is quite a difference. I realize 18 MPG overall in no way compares with sub-compact cars getting in the 30s. But for the size and features of my Grand Cherokee, the gas mileage I give up is worth it to me.

That annoying good beep

The information center on my Jeep Grand Cherokee includes a "Miles to Service" feature. I have it set for the number of miles I want between oil changes. When I get my oil changed, I reset the "Miles to Service" feature and it begins counting down. When it reaches zero, it begins to beep. There are three beeps, a slight pause, then three more beeps. The display on the Information Center then reads, "Perform Service." If I don't get the oil changed immediately, it goes through the beeping sequence each time I start the engine. After about three days of "Yeah, yeah, I know" I finally get tired of hearing it and get the oil changed. Then I reset it, and the countdown begins again.

This is a good feature. I used to simply go by the odometer reading - knowing which mile marker it was time to change oil. I don't like the little stickers that are put on my windshield when I get my oil changed. It clutters up my windshield. So I take them off. Besides, I don't change every three months or three thousand miles like they suggest. It seems like I would be changing oil all the time. I change oil every five thousand miles. I've had five vehicles that I've run well over 100,000 miles and have never had a problem with an engine starting to use enough oil that I had to add any between oil changes. One was close to 150,000 miles. So I continue that 5,000 mile practice. At the end of the 5,000 miles, that annoying beep begins to remind me it is time. It is an annoying beep, but it is a good beep, a helpful beep, a welcome beep.

There are other good features included with the information center. I'll do more posts on them in the future.

Anti-lock brakes revisited

We finally got our first snowfall of the year, about five inches. That was preceded by almost two inches of rain, which made the streets slippery underneath and snow packed on top. That brought out the snowplows and made driving a little dangerous. On my way to work New Year's Eve, I was again reminded how great anti-lock brakes are on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. This incident occurred at the same intersection as my two previous experiences. I am beginning to think this is an unlucky intersection for me. A road grader was plowing snow, approaching a stop sign. As I got near the intersection, the road grader driver decided he didn't have to stop and went right through the stop sign. I didn't realize road graders had the right-of-way through stop signs, especially when there is another vehicle coming. I slammed on the brakes, and the anti-lock system went into effect, stopping me just before I hit the road grader. With regular brakes, I'm sure I would have slid right into the road grader. Anti-lock brakes are a great feature. They've saved me a couple of times.

Will my Jeep Grand Cherokee tip over?

When I switching from driving a low riding sports car to a higher profile Jeep Grand Cherokee, I wasn't sure how it would feel. Going around 50 MPH suggested speed corners in Omaha felt a lot different. There was the initial feel of "Will it tip over?" My sports car would take that corner without slowing down from the 60 MPH speed limit with no problem. It hardly felt like a corner. Sitting up much higher in the Grand Cherokee, I found myself slowing down to the 50 MPH as a comfort factor. I was almost a little afraid it would tip over. That only lasted a week or two. Now I go around the corner like before. It feels a little different, but there is no longer the worry about if it will tip over. It feels good. I find myself driving down the road thinking, "I really like driving a Jeep."

Fold away Mirrors on Jeep Liberty and Grand Cherokee

Both of my Jeeps, the Grand Cherokee and the Liberty (oops, my wife just looked at this and said the Liberty is hers) have a feature I've not had on any previous vehicle - fold away side mirrors. These mirrors fold out of the way either backwards or forwards.

Car dealers like the feature because they can fold them back making more room to walk between vehicles on their crowded car lots. But it is a good feature not just for car dealers. If you have ever seen a car driving down the road with the side mirror dangling by the wires you can see the advantage. My jeep mirrors will fold away if they get hit, rather than break off leaving an unsightly mess.

Fold away mirrors of course cannot be folded back while driving. However, if the unforseen happens, they can save a costly repair. You never know when a sturdy mailbox might jump out at you. Or a parked car could suddenly swerve over to sideswipe you. Not to mention crazy drivers who just get to close, or a drunk in the parking lot stumbling into the mirror. I applaud fold away mirrors!

Miles until empty in a Jeep Grand Cherokee

A few days ago, my wife and I were going to go to Omaha to celebrate my birthday. As we headed out the door, I realized I probably needed gas in order to make it the 80 miles round trip. When I mentioned it to my wife and heard her sigh of disappointment, I wished I had filled up the day before. However, all was not lost. When we got in my Jeep Grand Cherokee, I pushed the Step button on the Information Center twice, which brought up a handy feature, "Miles Until Empty." It showed that I would have plenty of gas to make it there and back.

The "Miles Until Empty" is a handy feature. I realize that, especially in winter, one should keep the tank at least half full. But when the temperature is low and the north wind is blowing, I tend to put it off hoping for warmer weather before I need gas. Or there are times when gas is ten cents a gallon cheaper in Omaha, so I would like to wait until a planned trip there to fill up. In those cases, knowing how many miles are left before I run out of gas is nice to know. The Information Center automatically updates as I drive to calculate miles left depending on current usage which varies with speed, wind direction, etc.

I tested the "Miles Until Empty" feature once to see how accurate it might be. I pulled into the gas station just as it hit zero, and the engine was still running. So apparently I can drive at least until is says zero. I'll just leave it at that and not take a chance beyond zero.

Sun visor extenders on a Jeep Grand Cherokee

Sun visors in our vehicles are a necessity. Without them, we would not be able to travel east in early morning, nor west in late afternoon. Without sun visors there would be many more accidents caused by drivers blinded by the sun, or not being able to see because they are holding their hands in front of their eyes to keep the sun out. However, there are those times when the sun is in just the right spot so even the visors can't help.

That's where the sun visor extenders on my Jeep Grand Cherokee are a great help. They pull out from the end of either visor fill in the space between the visor and the rear view mirror where the sun was peeking through. It's great. I don't know why sun visor extenders are not standard equipment on all vehicles. But alas, my Jeep Liberty doesn't have them like my Grand Cherokee does.


I think sun visor extenders are great and every vehicle should have them. There, I've said it. Now if the auto industry will just follow my lead, we'll all be safer on the roads.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Gas mileage comparison

I am a statistical person. Or as my wife says when I'm bragging to her about some of my stats, "You are a sick man." I keep stats on everything. A few of my ongoing stats are minimum and maximum temperatures for every day for the past six years so I can compare the average to the current day's minimum and maximum -- the amounts of each snowfall and rainfall -- the days I mow the lawn -- the miles, gallons of gas, and miles per gallon for each fill up for my vehicles. That means I can compare the mileage I am currently getting with my Jeep Grand Cherokee to the smaller, sportier car I had before the Jeep.

My previous car had a V-6, 3.0 liter engine. My Jeep Grand Cherokee has a Straight-6, 4.0 liter engine. I am averaging 18 MPG overall driving about 35 miles per day with a lot of in-town driving. Using the average cost per gallon for the year, the difference comes to $1.00 more per day with my Jeep Grand Cherokee. So I have extra power plus all the benefits I've mentioned in previous posts on this blog. I consider the extra $1.00 per day well worth it.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Rear Cargo Door

Most vans and SUVs come with rear cargo storage space. The access to that space varies depending on the type of rear door on the vehicle. Some have the spare tire on the back and open to the side. Others open from the bottom. My preference is opening from the bottom.

On my Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo the rear cargo door has a window at the top. That window can be opened by itself to place items in the cargo space. It could be left open to allow loading a long piece of wood, for example, that does not fit completely inside. The rear seats fold down easily to allow for even larger items. The cargo space can then be accessed from the rear passenger doors as well as the rear cargo door. If an item is still too long, it could stick out the top of the cargo door with the window open. In this case, I would suggest tying the window down so it doesn't get damaged by bumps or the wind. And make sure to tie a flag on the end of the item as a warning if it sticks out very far.

The entire back door also opens from the bottom to allow full access to the cargo space. This gives a large open area for loading items of all sizes. It is a very convenient way to access the cargo space. If items are too long to fit, the entire door cold be left open. Again, I would suggest tying it down so as not to get damaged by wind or bumps.


If you look closely inside the cargo area, or click on the picture to enlarge it, you will notice my jumper cables in a leather case. It is part of my "being prepared" and organized. See my Organizational Tips blog for more organizational tips.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Dash

A dash of salt is sometimes all it takes when cooking. However, when it comes to the dash in my vehicle, I want a little more than that. While dashes come in many shapes and sizes, most seem to be there just to hide the ugliness of the nuts and bolts, wires and cables underneath. Once in a while a dash can actually be functional. That is the case in my Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo.

It has two flat surfaces which are depressed about 1/2 inch and serve as storage trays. The one in the center is 6 x 9 inches. The other is 6 inches wide on one end, 4 inches on the other, and 18 inches long. These trays can hold papers, sun glasses, a book, or other items which are temporary in nature. If one wants to stay neat and organized, things would be put back where they belong at the end of the journey. And objects which might cause problems in the event of an accident should not be stored there while driving. Those things taken into consideration, it is a very handy dash. I commend the Jeep engineers for this feature. The console also has a similar space in front of the shift levers. There is also another little space just above the console below the heater controls. It is handy for storing my wallet while I'm driving. I hate sitting on the wallet-lump for long drives.

All in all, I really like the dash in my Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. It is very functional beyond just hiding the mess we wouldn't want to see.

Antilock Braking in a Jeep Grand Cherokee

One of the many good features and a great safety feature on my Jeep Grand Cherokee is the 4-wheel anti-lock disc brake system.

As I was growing up, I had the opportunity to participate in Boy Scouts. Their motto is "Be Prepared." I've practiced that in a lot of areas of life. And I've projected that into many areas to be ready for unexpected events, like auto accidents. When I see an accident, or a narrow miss, I think about how it would be best to react in that situation, like pump the brakes instead of just slamming them to the floor. So I thought I was prepared.

Then, about 10 years ago, I had an opportunity to see if my preparation would help. It didn't. A car ran a stop sign at a snow packed intersection. My foot shoved the brake pedal all the way to the floor as I frantically tried to steer around the car. With the brakes locked, I slid straight forward into the front passenger fender of the other car, glancing off and sliding into a telephone pole. Fortunately the speed limit was only 35 on that road so there were no injuries, except to the cars. In spite of my preparation, I could not overcome my instinct to just slam on the brakes. I could have slowed down more if I had pumped the brakes with perhaps much less damage to the cars and I might have missed the telephone pole. Also, I may have been able to steer around enough to miss the other car.

Now there is an invention which overcomes the instinct to push the pedal to the floor. I have a 4-wheel anti-lock disc brake system on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. A while back a pick-up truck pulling a huge boat ran the same stop sign as my earlier incident. My instinct again was to slam on the brakes. However, this time I was able to steer around the other vehicle without any damage to either vehicle.

The 4-wheel anti-lock disc brake system automatically gives a pumping motion to stop more quickly as well as allow the driver to continue steering. No locked brakes causing straight forward sliding. What a great invention!

Some people to whom I've talked have complained that they don't like the sound or feel of the automatic "pumping motion." However, I'll take that feel and sound any day over the feel and sound of crashing into the fender of another car. Give me anti-lock brakes any time over a standard brake system.

You Wouldn't Understand

Being the owner of two Jeeps, it is hard to explain. These are my first SUVs after driving sporty cars most of my life with a few family cars thrown in while our son was growing up. So why do I feel so at home in a Jeep?

It is hard to explain. Driving in my Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, I like the sense of being "up there" where I can see what's going on around me instead of looking out and seeing pick-up headlights staring me in the face. It is more comfortable being able to see the truck driver rather than counting the lug nuts on the truck tires because they are at eye-level. I like the much improved traction of the on-demand 4-wheel drive system on snow-packed roads and parking lots. I like the added sense of security of the 4 wheel anti-lock disc brake system on my Grand Cherokee. I felt much more at ease when my wife was commuting 35 miles each way to work last winter in her Jeep Liberty.

While the gas mileage isn't quite as good as the cars I used to drive, the feel and functionality of the Jeeps more than make up for the 4-5 mpg I lost. I like the feel, the looks, the handling. I like it all.

I believe it is really true as the bumper sticker states:
"It's a Jeep thing. You wouldn't understand."

My Jeep Mistake

Back in my younger years, I never imagined driving a Jeep. I was into the classic cars. My 56 Ford Fairlane hardtop with glass packs and fender skirts got me through my High School days very well. Jeeps were for flying over sand dunes. There were no sand dunes anywhere around my central Nebraska farm community, so hence, no need for a jeep.

The “need” began to change a couple of years ago. The ads showing Jeep Liberties climbing the mountains began to appeal to me. Yes, I still live in Nebraska, and no, there are no mountains here. But there are snow storms, and most winters I had at least a few difficult run-ins with snow drifts in my road-hugging sporty cars. The 4-wheel drive capability of the Jeep Liberty had a lot of appeal. One day I broke down and took a very convincing test-drive in a 2002 Jeep Liberty. I immediately liked the responsive steering, the feel of really being in control of the vehicle, the feel of power from the V-6 engine, and the possibility of being able to haul something larger than a bag of groceries. The sun roof and excellent stereo system were just icing on the cake. So that day I became the proud owner of a Jeep Liberty.

Then I made a big mistake. I let my wife try it out. One time, one tiny little drive, and she wanted my Jeep Liberty. So exactly one week later, we were back at the same dealer looking at more Jeeps. This time I test drove a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. There were features I liked even better than on the Liberty – a little more comfortable ride, greater hauling capacity, electric seats, an information center to tell me the temperature, average gas mileage, if I left a door open, etc. I am a statistical person, so this is all fun information to know. So that day I became the proud owner of another Jeep. And I like them both. I hardly ever get to drive the Liberty, but when I do, I remember why I liked it so much the first time I drove it. I remain the proud owner of two Jeeps.