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Jeep's Small SUV Reportedly Delayed until 2014 as Fiat Concentrates on Sedici's Successor

Another day, another product launch pushed back for the Fiat-Chrysler alliance – or so a report from Autonews Europe claims. This time it's Jeep's small crossover, which we only know by its codename B-SUV.

The Jeep model, which will be smaller than the Compass and Patriot, was supposed to enter production at Fiat's Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy, next year, but now its introduction has been delayed for the second quarter of 2014.

The Italian company reportedly made the decision in order to concentrate on the presentation of its own Fiat-branded version that will replace the Suzuki SX-4-based Sedici, which is built by the Japanese carmaker in Hungary.

After Fiat, it's the Chrysler Group's turn to make use of the biggest asset in the alliance, which is none other than the Ferrari brand. You may remember that in 2010, Fiat promoted its 500 city car by giving an Abarth 695 Tributo to each of Ferrari's F1 drivers, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

This year, the Fiat-Chrysler group is handing over the keys of two specially-prepped versions of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 to the Scuderia Ferrari drivers.

The two models are based on the regular Grand Cherokee SRT8, which sports a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 delivering 465HP and 630 Nm (465 lb-ft) of torque for a zero to 60mph (96km/h) time of 4.8 seconds and a maximum top speed of 160 mph (257 km/h).

After the presentation of the other three Chrysler Group vehicle customized by Mopar for its 75th anniversary, we bring you the first real life photos of the brand's fourth creation, named the Jeep Compass “True North”.

Beginning with the exterior, the Compass has been customized with a matte black finish on the roof, wheel flares, lower fascia, door cladding and black grille, while it also features tinted lights, front and rear brush bars and custom rock rails.

Only 18 months after the Chrysler Group began production of its new Pentastar V6 at its Trenton Engine Assembly Plant in Michigan, the company hit its first important milestone with the manufacturing of the one-millionth unit. The V6 is also produced at Chrysler's plant in Saltillo, Mexico.

The Detroit firm's all-aluminum 3.6-liter V6 engine made its debut on the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee but has since found its way under the hood of many more models.

These include the Chrysler 200, 300 and Town and Country, plus the Dodge Avenger, Challenger, Charger, Durango, Journey and Caravan, and more recently the 2012 Jeep Wrangler.

Chinese officials may be withdrawing their support for investments made by foreign automakers, but the Fiat-Chrysler Alliance is still looking for ways to increase its presence in the country.

A new report from the Detroit News says that Fiat and Chrysler are currently in "intense negotiations" with the Guangzhou Automobile Group to produce Jeep models for the local market.

The Italian automaker has already forged a joint venture with Guangzhou for the manufacturing of a new compact sedan based on the 2013 Dodge Dart, which will most likely be introduced in China at the upcoming Beijing motor show in April.

All automakers have dedicated divisions that come up with names for their vehicles as well as the individual trim levels, but the Chrysler Group is taking a different course with its new production-intent Jeep Grand Cherokee Concept that was revealed today at the 2012 Houston Auto Show.

The Detroit firm is asking consumers to find a name for the new edition of the Grand Cherokee and participate in an online contest at Jeep.com/namemyride. The company will narrow down the selection to three choices and allow the public to vote online for the winning name that will be announced in May.

Fiat is the brand in the alliance that's in trouble and Chrysler the one blossoming right now having increased its sales by 26 percent in 2011, yet Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is not happy about the latter's performance in J.D. Power’s December Sales Satisfaction Index study on customer experience at dealerships.

The recent J.D. Power survey placed Jeep, Ram and Dodge in three of the bottom four places amongst the mainstream brands.

As a result, Sergio Marchionne wants Chrysler Group dealers to rapidly improve their Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) scores if the company is to achieve its sales goals. He said that some dealerships’ salespeople weren’t acting properly, failing to make follow-up calls or treat customers “with the dignity they deserve”.