The
Jeep Grand Cherokee is a classic. Introduced more than a decade ago and redesigned five years ago, it lacks the refinement found in the latest wave of SUVs. Yet our 2004 Grand Cherokee drew admiring glances and comments everywhere it went. People were fawning over it. Granted, it was an Inferno Red Overland model. Granted, the 2004 models feature a new front fascia that updates and freshens the looks. The point is, people still love the Grand Cherokee even though it's been a familiar site for some time now.
And they continue to buy them. Grand Cherokee ranks among the best-selling SUVs in America. Jeep sells about 220,000 Grand Cherokees a year. That's a whole big bunch. Grand Cherokee sales outrank such popular nameplates as Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Expedition, and Durango. And the imports don't even come close. In one month, September 2003, Jeep sold 16,410 Grand Cherokees, which would not be a bad half-year for the Mercedes M-Class or BMW X5. This drives other manufacturers crazy. The marketing people for every SUV sold in America list Grand Cherokee as a competitor simply because Jeep sells so many of them.
Why is Grand Cherokee so successful? For starters, everyone knows what it is. The Jeep Grand Cherokee combines luxury with impressive off-road capability. It served as a symbol of success throughout the 1990s. You could park a Limited with gold wheels and matching gold pinstripe in your driveway and everyone would know you'd achieved the American dream.