Press Kit: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee at 2009 NYIAS

New York April 7, 2009 - Every facet of the development of the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee was aimed at addressing quality and reliability.

“Excellence comes through the execution of a well-thought-through plan,” said Doug Betts, Vice President – Chief Customer Officer, Chrysler LLC. “Our all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is a solid example of a well-thought-through plan properly executed.”

Engineers will conduct approximately 7.5 million customer-equivalent miles for durability and reliability testing of the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Testing and validation in various climates include road trips to a variety of locations including Yucca, Arizona, Baudette, Minn. and Morgantown, West Virginia. A full battery of lab testing will include full-frame fatigue testing, door-slam testing and a road-test simulator.

The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee has gone through more than 244 hours of wind noise and aerodynamic evaluations in Chrysler LLC’s state-of-the-art aerodynamic and acoustic test facility in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Reliability and quality were achieved through extensive validation testing in developing the Jeep Grand Cherokee’s all-new 3.6-liter V-6 engine. More than 3.3 million customer-equivalent miles were recorded on engine dynamometers prior to production. Severity testing was increased 50 percent versus previous Chrysler V-6 engines in order to accommodate high-load applications including trailer-towing.

The reduction of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) was a key objective for every component during the design phase of the engine and was achieved by utilizing an advanced computer-aided engineering technique.

The use of a Quality Assurance Fixture (QAF) assures a high level of compliance at the start of production. The QAF allows engineers to look at the interior of the vehicle on a “simulated perfect body” which is a milled aluminum shell where all attachment points are matched exactly to CATIA modeling earlier in the program. This allows changes and design improvements earlier in the manufacturing process.

The company also employs techniques of Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), which is folding in "voice of the customer" data along with lessons learned to ensure that every vehicle is of the highest quality. The all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is the first new vehicle to have more than 100 DFSS projects.

“We focused on perceived quality of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and worked with J.D. Power and Associates to address customer satisfaction and quality efforts through early evaluations of initial vehicles,” said Betts. “We plan to execute this vehicle flawlessly by effectively responding to the voice of the customer.”