Jeep Compass: Tracking Positive New Direction

Jeep Compass: Tracking Positive New Direction

by Lauren Woods

The Chrysler Group's Jeep brand has one good reason to be thankful about the Compass - its new compact crossover. The Compass, which made its public debut at the 2006 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in January, is now tracking a positive new direction by stealing purchasers from rivals.

The Jeep Compass, according to the automaker, defies expectations and pulls more customers to the brand. The crossover is especially engineered to attract young drivers as well as enthusiasts of other automakers. It may not be featuring the BBK cold air intake and other traditional parts but the crossover boasts its sophisticated equipment and car accessories - more than enough to hold interest and make that interest linger.

Jim Swint, 56, a college professor and a technology consultant from Fremont, Ohio, had a few complaints about the 2004 Volkswagen Jetta which he owned. His wife did not feel safe in the sedan when the couple zipped along I-75 amid a multitude of big rig trucks. Also, there was not enough trunk space to house his golf clubs. And when the sedan needed repairs, Swint had to travel 45 miles to the nearest VW dealership. So he swapped the Jetta for a 2007 Jeep Compass.

Yes, somebody traded an import for an American-made model. And not just any American-made model, one that was widely panned when it debuted last year for not hewing close enough to its Jeep roots. But the Compass - a newbie in the brand lineup known for its rock-crawling capabilities - is defying expectations. The car-based model snubbed by hard-core Jeep fans for being too soft is drawing consumers from other brands at a faster pace than the Jeep brand overall, one of the best known marquees in the world.

According to data from the J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network, during the first three months of the year, more than 84 percent of Compass buyers traded in a vehicle from another brand as compared to 69.9 percent of those who bought non-Compass Jeeps. Jeep's new Crossover is drawing in Honda enthusiasts at nearly twice the rate of the Jeep brand. Additionally, the crossover is attracting a younger, more feminine crowd that might otherwise give Jeep a pass.

"This is the first crossover that Jeep has offered," said Tom Libby, the senior director of the Power Information Network. "This is what they hoped for and this is what they got - they got new customers."

By far, among Jeep models, the Compass has the youngest buyers on average, said Mark Heber, the senior manager of marketing for Jeep, a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group. Jeep's data reflected that the average Compass buyer is as young as 39 and skews more female than buyers of its brawnier cousin, the new Jeep Patriot.

J.D. Power sets the average age of Compass purchasers at 42, compared to Jeep's 43, with women accounting for faintly over half of Compass sales, up from 38.6 percent for Jeep overall. "Our information is proving that our decision to build both of the vehicles - the Compass and the Patriot, with the great fuel efficiency, the fun-to-drive capability and making them affordable - was the right decision," Heber said.

In October, Catherine Zamieski of Roseville, 39, exchanged a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica for a Compass. The Compass, which shares the same platform as the Dodge Caliber and the Patriot, looks small from the outside but is spacious enough to seat Zamieski's three children and her boyfriend. "And it's under $20,000," she said.

That is the reaction that Jeep hopes more consumers will have, analysts said. Sales of the Compass and the Dodge Caliber, which are built in Belvidere, Ill., are "better than I expected," because they both "look cool," said Karl Brauer, the editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com, a vehicle shopping Web site. "It's all image and looks."

"One of the reasons why it's doing well and is attracting new buyers is probably because it drives better and has better handling than the Wrangler or Liberty because it's a crossover," said Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst with Global Insight Inc. "It has a friendly but aggressive stance to it."

Lindland said it is hard to pinpoint what is drawing buyers from other brands to the Compass. "But the brand itself has a certain appeal to it," she said. "When you say Jeep, you don't think of an older person. You think youthful and active lifestyle. Something like the Compass allows people to get into the brand without sacrificing ride and comfort."

Ron Kutz, the general manager at Dallas Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep dealership, said tha tthe vehicle does skew toward more women buyers, as Jeep intended. "It's an added value," he said, "but I don't see a lot of Hondas out here parked for trade-ins. I'll be the first to tell you that in the Sunbelt, it's hard to get anybody out of any import into a Compass."

Frank Ban, a civil litigation attorney in Houston, earlier purchased a Compass for his 24-year-old daughter. "We looked at the Corolla and the Civic," said Ban. "She heard through a friend that this came out and we looked at it and she fell in love. She liked the idea that it was a small SUV." During the test drive, Ban and his daughter agreed the Compass had a better ride. "We don't regret our purchase," he noted.

George Horta III, 32, a self-confessed meticulous auto purchaser, said that he was captivated by the new Compass. For six months, Horta perused Edmunds.com, visited a slew of dealerships and test-drove possible cars like the Honda CR-V and Subaru Forrester. "I even got the spreadsheets out," said the Mason, N.H., resident.

Horta, a defense contractor in Tewksbury, Mass. who commutes about 40 miles to his computer security job, was on the search for something with "gusto and more gas mileage." Horta said he wanted good handling and enough room to fit his six-foot, four-inch frame. Although he preferred the CR-V's interior, the Compass won him over because of its four-wheel drive capability, which easily handles the dirt path that leads to his home. "The only complaint I have is there are some blind spots," said Horta, who purchased his leather-seated Compass for $23,000. But for me, it met every single need."

Camp Jeep in New York and soon in Virginia

Camp Jeep in New York and soon in Virginia

by Lisa Ziegler

Jeep® brand maker of high quality Jeep oxygen sensor is celebrating a Camp Jeep event as its way of allowing its customers to enjoy and experience what the brand has to offer and for this year the event will be taken to New York. The Camp Jeep® New York which is made bigger and more remarkable than ever is going to be held for the first time outdoors during the New York International Auto Show (NYAIS) from April 6 to 15 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.

The 45,000 sq. ft. Inner Roadway of the Javits Center will be transformed by Camp Jeep New York into an off-road driving adventure allowing customers to experience the world's most capable 4x4 vehicles as well as the lifestyle that comes with them. The vehicles will be driven by professional drivers to allow customers to simply enjoy the ride.

And that's not all! One very lucky individual who takes a drive test will win an all-expense paid trip with their family to Camp Jeep Virginia, which is an annual three-day mix of off-road driving and other outdoor activities that families will surely enjoy. The winner that will be chosen at the NYIAS will the 500,000th person that will take a ride on a Chrysler Group auto show test drive course since the beginning of the Corporation's auto show test drive program in 2004.

Camp Jeep Virginia is an exclusive event for Jeep vehicle owners only and will be held on July 26 to 28 at the Oak Ridge Estate in Nelson Country, VA, near Charlottesville, where the Country music star Tim McGraw will perform on the same date, July 26.

For this coming April 14, 2007 the Jeep brand will donate $5 to the Wildlife Conservation Society's "Tigers Forever" project for each individual who takes a ride on the Jeep Trail Rated® Test Track at the Camp Jeep. The main objective of the project is to help increase the number of tigers by at least 50 percent in key areas of the world over the next decade.

The main emphasis of the exhibit at the NYIAS is the Jeep Trail rated Test Track which includes water fording, articulation, ground clearance, traction, and maneuverability demonstrations. The track was made into an off-road playground where consumers can experience the capability and comfort that goes with Jeep vehicles such as the 2007 Commander, Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Wrangler, and Wrangler Unlimited.

The test track will be comprised of seven different surfaces namely dirt, mulch, gravel, rocks, water, wood, and asphalt plus include an 18-foot vertical climb on a Jeep Mountain. More than 220 yards of dirt and mulch are used to construct the Trail Rated course. All the dirt used for the tracks are going to be recycled and returned to its original source.

Participants to the Camp Jeep will also have the opportunity to scale a 16-foot climbing wall, play video games that feature Tony Hawk and have their pictures taken with a Jeep in the Jeep Photo Zone. The Camp Jeep is for the whole family so kids will also enjoy and get to test drive mini Jeep vehicles on the Mini Jeep Kidz Course.

The organizers of the Camp Jeep New York experience is expecting for at least 35,000 participants. The Camp Jeep that will be held in New York marks its third consecutive year.