Remember how we told you that Jeep had finally decided that their naming conventions for the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer were too damn confusing, and all their fancy SUVs would be Grand Wagoneers from now on? That was a good choice. Now it also seems that Jeep will stop trying to make the Wagoneer brand name happen, and go back to badging them as Jeeps, just like everyone called them, anyway. Jeep has also revealed some pricing and other details of their refreshed Grand Wagoneers, and I suppose I may as well tell you all about it.

The most interesting development out of these refreshed Wagoneers, now so Grand, is that they will feature “America’s first range-extended electric vehicle (REEV or EREV) application,” which the press release also notes will be “late availability.” That will be a big deal, beating Scout to the range-extended EV game, and I think it is one of the most promising types of drivetrains for near-future cars. This must mean that it’ll slot in before the delayed Ram Ramcharger.

There will also be a twin-turbo 3-liter Hurricane inline-six engine available as well, making 420 horsepower at 5,200 RPM, and 468 pound-feet of torque at 3,500 RPM. Do you want to know the compression ratio? It’s 10.4:1. It’ll take 7.5 quarts of oil, too!

Oh, and here’s what the likely slightly squishy engine cover will look like:

More interesting is the EREV version, which will use a 3.6-liter V6 coupled to a 130 kW generator. Electric motors will drive the wheels, powered by the V6, batteries, or both; this combination will provide 647 hp and 620 lb-ft of torque, which can shove the Grand Wagoneer from parked to 60 mph in 5 seconds. The range for this setup is estimated at 500 miles, quite impressive for a vehicle of this size.

Design-wise, the big change is an all-new face, which is a bit taller and more squared-off, and now eliminates chrome. In place of chrome for bling is light, as the traditional Jeep seven-slot grille (which doesn’t actually seem to be a real grille; all the air intake looks to come from the actual, large trapezoidal grille below) is now illuminated. The upper part of the seven slots extends into some DRLs, which are combined with some rotated-T-shaped lamps below, which I suspect house the indicators as well.

The slots read more toothy than slots, really, but the overall look isn’t bad, and I suppose an improvement over the outgoing Wagoneer, which had a face like this:

Jeep seems to be really proud to get rid of chrome; the press release gives this absence a whole paragraph:

“One of the most significant design shifts is the introduction of a chrome-free exterior, a first for Grand Wagoneer. The new Grand Wagoneer embraces a more refined and modern palette. As the design team embraced more sustainable materials and processes, the shift to ”no chrome” marks a bold move toward a cleaner, more responsible and modern expression of luxury.”

There’s also no brass on the SUV, but I don’t see them making a big deal of that.

The rear now has full-width taillights as well, since we’re well into the Era of The Universal Heckblende, and the overall look does seem a bit cleaner and more refined. I think I like the contrasting color roof as well.

Interiors seem quite premium and well-appointed, with “Nappa leather with Axis II perforation,” whatever the hell that is. There are enhanced interior packages that include

“For those seeking elevated appointments, the Limited Reserve features more amenities, including a 19-speaker McIntosh audio system, tri-pane sunroof, power steps and HUD”

and, if 19 speakers just isn’t enough for your discerning ear-palates, then you want the Summit trim with

“a state-of-the-art 23-speaker McIntosh audio system, ventilated rear seating, an integrated front console cooler, a front passenger display and a sophisticated black appearance.”

You can get three rows in the Grand Wagoneer, should you need to haul around seven or eight people, and cargo space looks pretty cavernous with all the seats folded down:

By the numbers, the cargo space breaks down like this:

Cargo volume behind first-row seats, cu. ft. (cu. m) 116.7 (3.3)

Cargo volume behind second-row seats cu. ft. (cu. m) 70.8 (2.0)

Cargo volume behind third-row seats cu. ft. (cu. m) 27.9 (0.8) Grand Wagoneer / 42.6 (1.2) Grand Wagoneer L

While there are plenty of screens (even one on the passenger side) and a nice big HUD and all that, there seems to be plenty of physical controls, which is nice. Also, there’s a generous number of USB ports (A and C) and even an HDMI port there? I guess to plug in your Wii U or Blu-Ray player?

If you want to tow with a Grand Wagoneer, you’re in luck! These can pull pretty massive trailers: the shorter 123″ wheelbase ones with 2WD can tow 6,210 pounds, and 4WD ones can tow 6,030 pounds with the 3.55 axle ratio or a massive 10,000 pounds with the 3.92 ratio axle.

The 130″ wheelbase 2WD models can pull 5,960 pounds, and the 4WD ones can tow 5,770 pounds with the 3.55 axle ratio or 9,860 pounds with the 3.92 ratio axle.

Are you planning to off-road a Grand Wagoneer? Really? Okay, if you say so. Here’s some relevant information about that:

Approach Angle (degrees)

21.4 — standard suspension

25.2 — air suspension (Off Road 2)

Ramp Breakover Angle (degrees)

18.7 — standard suspension

22.1 — air suspension (Off Road 2)

Departure Angle (degrees)

21.2 — standard suspension

23.9 — air suspension (Off Road 2)

Be careful with the fancy paint and all that expensive-looking lighting if you do that, though.

These new Grand Wagoneers will start at $62,145 for the base 4×2, $65,145 for the 4×4, and the long wheelbase ones start at $65,145 and $68,145 for the 4×4.

The “Limited Altitude” trim is 4×4 only and is  $71,140,  $74,140 for the longer one. The Summit Obsidian trim is $93,390, and $96,390 if you want the extra length.

Top photo: Jeep

The post The 2026 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Will Get 500 Miles Of Range As America’s First EREV appeared first on The Autopian.

Health officials in South Carolina are warning that the highly infectious measles virus is spreading undetected in communities in the northern part of the state, specifically Spartanburg and Greenville counties.

Last week, officials in Greenville identified an eighth measles case that is potentially linked to the outbreak. Seven outbreak cases had been confirmed since September 25 in neighboring Spartanburg, where transmission was identified in two schools: Fairforest Elementary and Global Academy, a public charter school.

Across those two schools, at least 153 unvaccinated children were exposed to the virus and have been put in a 21-day quarantine, during which they are barred from attending school, state officials said in a press conference. Twenty-one days is the maximum incubation period, spanning from when a person is exposed to when they would develop a rash if infected.

It's unclear how the latest case in Greenville became infected with the virus and how they may link to the nearby Spartanburg cases.

"What this case tells us is that there is active, unrecognized community transmission of measles occurring in the Upstate [northern region of South Carolina], which makes it vital to ensure that the public have received their measles vaccinations," the South Carolina Department of Public Health said in an announcement.

The two recommended doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine are about 97 percent effective at blocking the infection, and that protection is considered lifelong. Without that protection, the virus is extremely contagious, infecting 90 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed. The virus spreads easily through the air, lingering in the airspace of a room for up to two hours after an infected person has left.

State and national trends

According to state data, both counties linked to the outbreak have low vaccination rates among school children in the 2024–2025 school year. Spartanburg's immunization rate is 90 percent, and Greenville's is 92.4 percent, both well below the target of 95 percent that experts say is needed to prevent community spread.

Spartanburg has the highest rate of religious vaccination exemptions among students in the state, at 8.2 percent. That means that even if all other students get their recommended vaccinations, they would still only have vaccine coverage of 91.8 percent. Neighboring Greenville has a religious vaccination exemption rate of 5.3 percent, with a max of 94.7 percent.

In the past five years, vaccination rates in South Carolina have slipped from over 95 percent to 93.7 percent, while religious exemptions have risen. Both trends have played out across the country as anti-vaccine rhetoric, misinformation, and disinformation have taken hold. The latest data indicates that the MMR vaccination coverage for US kindergartners was just 92.5 percent in the 2024–2025 school year, down from 95.2 percent in 2019–2020. Non-medical exemptions are now at 3.4 percent, an all-time high.

Relatedly, the US is experiencing its highest measles case count in 33 years, stretching several years past when the virus was declared eliminated from the US in 2000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tallied 1,563 confirmed cases from 41 states this year. Most of the cases are linked to the 44 identified outbreaks. The largest so far occurred in Texas, which has reported 803 cases this year.

Three people, including two previously healthy school-aged children, have died of measles in the US this year.

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Owners of some Jeep Wrangler 4xe hybrids have been left stranded after installing an over-the-air software update this weekend. The automaker pushed out a telematics update for the Uconnect infotainment system that evidently wasn't ready, resulting in cars losing power while driving and then becoming stranded.

Stranded Jeep owners have been detailing their experiences in forum and Reddit posts, as well as on YouTube. The buggy update doesn't appear to brick the car immediately. Instead, the failure appears to occur while driving—a far more serious problem. For some, this happened close to home and at low speed, but others claim to have experienced a powertrain failure at highway speeds.

Jeep pulled the update after reports of problems, but the software had already downloaded to many owners' cars by then. A member of Stellantis' social engagement team told 4xe owners at a Jeep forum to ignore the update pop-up if they haven't installed it yet.

Owners were also advised to avoid using either hybrid or electric modes if they had updated their 4xe and not already suffered a powertrain failure. Yesterday, Jeep pushed out a fix.

As Crowdstrike showed last year, Friday afternoons are a bad time to push out a software update. Now Stellantis has learned that lesson, too. Ars has reached out to Stellantis, and we'll update this post if we get a reply.

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Hello, dashing readers! As you may be aware, today is Indigenous Peoples Day in many states, Columbus Day in others, but whatever you’re choosing to pretend to recall and carefully reflect on, it’s a day off. And days off are important, as we need to let our writers brains marinate and re-absorb their creative juices, gels, and, occasionally, custards. So, yes, we’re not going to have the full buffet of stories today, but to let you know we still care, here’s a fascinating concept car named Columbus for you to consider.

Columbus was an Italdesign concept from 1992, and the initial goal of the project was to make a “sailing ship for dry land” because, of course, that’s what everyone was clamoring for. I bet people really wanted more hardtack and salt pork in their diets, too.

The result was something really remarkable, and, even more so, bonkers. Italdesign envisioned Columbus as being something ideal for “the urban scenarios of the United States,” though I think if anything it would have excelled in the non-urban scenarios of the United States, as this thing would make a fantastic long-distance, across-America road trip machine. I mean, look at it:

It’s sort of like a smaller tour bus, in a way; the driver sat centrally up high in the front, oddly removed from the six (expandable to eight) passengers behind. The layout sort of suggests a hired driver as opposed to, say, a parent or something, seeing as how they’re sort of removed from the greater population of the van. But maybe not; there’s actually three seats on the “upper” deck, so the driver isn’t really that alone:

Look at the layout of this thing! That’s a BMW V12 mounted transversely in the middle there, driving all four wheels. The rear wheels are capable of turning as well (up to 15°) a quality it shares with some of the seats, which are Captain’s chairs and capable of turning as well.

As you can see, everything is very early ’90s swanky, and I can imagine that beige carpet getting nice and filthy over less time than you’d likely think.

The exterior design is a little clunky, being a sort of merging of two very ’90s smooth, biomorphic, river-rock-eroded masses, but it sort of works in it own odd way.

It’s a pretty massive beast; it’s no wonder Italdesign was targeting this at the American market. Something this size in Europe would probably require zoning permits and landscaping.

It tends to look oddest in profile, where it feels like a sleek, almost sporty minivan got fused with a sort of fastback, kind of. Or maybe it was a van that was melted and stretched, kind of like those ’70s carnival prize melted and stretched soda bottles.

The front also has the face of a sort of grimacing or leering snake?

I kind of love this ridiculous thing, and while I couldn’t really picture anyone owning one, I could imagine a world where a family that normally had little city cars would rent one of these for a big road trip. In that context, they kind of make sense!

Anyway, I hope there’s lots of you out there with the day off, and I hope it’s fantastic. We’ll be back in full force tomorrow!

The post Happy Indigenous People’s Day! We’re Taking Today Off, So Enjoy This V12 Double-Decker Minivan appeared first on The Autopian.

Look, the rest of the hotel room I was in was perfectly nice, but this one chair had absolutely the most unseemly aura. I did not sit in it. I did not place anything in it. Indeed, I tried not to look at it. Madness would undoubtedly follow.

I did make note of it to the front desk dude, who grimaced in acknowledgement and assured me that the entire hotel was going to have a visual refresh in December, which presumably means this chair will be on its way to the junk heap. Not a moment too soon, clearly.

On my way home now. All the chairs are immaculate.

— JS

Last week was a good one for Tesla, as it beat analysts' estimates for the number of cars it could sell in the third quarter of the year. This week is probably a less good week for Tesla, since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation has opened yet another preliminary probe into the automaker—the third this year alone.

2025 hadn't been going long before NHTSA announced an investigation following multiple crashes involving Tesla's remote parking features. And last month, the agency started a second, concerning multiple deaths after the company's signature retractable door handles became inoperative after a crash.

Now it's the controversially named "Full Self-Driving" feature in the crosshairs, after dozens of reports of Teslas breaking traffic laws while using this partially automated driving assist.

You crossed a line

NHTSA says the complaints fall into two distinct scenarios. It has had at least 18 complaints of Tesla FSD ignoring red traffic lights, including one that occurred during a test conducted by Business Insider. In some cases, the Teslas failed to stop, in others they began driving away before the light had changed, and several drivers reported a lack of any warning from the car.

At least six crashes have been reported to the agency under its standing general order, which requires an automaker to inform the regulator of any crash involving a partially automated driving system like FSD (or an autonomous driving system like Waymo's). And of those six crashes, four resulted in injuries.

The second scenario involves Teslas operating under FSD crossing into oncoming traffic, driving straight in a turning lane, or making a turn from the wrong lane. There have been at least 24 complaints about this behavior, as well as another six reports under the standing general order, and NHTSA also cites articles published by Motor Trend and Forbes that detail such behavior during test drives.

Perhaps this should not be surprising. Last year, we reported on a study conducted by AMCI Testing that revealed both aberrant driving behaviors—ignoring a red light and crossing into oncoming traffic—in 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of testing that required more than 75 human interventions. The rest of the time, the system was capable of quite sophisticated behavior; "its seeming infallibility in anyone's first five minutes of FSD operation breeds a sense of awe that unavoidably leads to dangerous complacency," said AMCI Testing's director, Guy Mangiamele.

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