Jeep Grand Cherokee fails "Moose Test," Chrysler insults testers

[Secret Chimp]

Chrysler claims the vehicle's maximum weight was ignored, testers maintain the door sticker was followed. Supposedly the below near-roll started at only 39 mph! Cars are loaded down to their maximum payload weight for this test.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/07/chrysler-fails-moose-test-and-breaks-first-commandment/#more-452284

European automakers know that there is only one thing that is worse than Teknikens V?rld fabled moose test, and that is failing the moose test and then arguing with the Swedish magazine. Italy-owned Chrysler is getting that education.  Not enough that Teknikens V?rld  found  the Jeep Grand Cherokee ?lethal in evasive maneuver.?  

It now caught Chrysler?s propaganda arm committing a deadly sin in the hoopla business, violating the first commandment of flackery: When you stepped in the shit, don?t walk around the house.

After  ?the Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 3.0 CRD V6 tipped up on two wheels and was close to rolling over in the Teknikens V?rld moose test, despite having packed the car in accordance to Jeep?s specifications,?  Chrysler lashed out against the magazine, calling the report ?definitely ?set up,? which is nothing short of criminal.? Chrysler says the vehicle was overloaded by 110 lbs, a claim many overworked and underpaid web editor swallowed and printed.

Not true, says Teknikens V?rld. In a spirited retort that may get more traffic than the original story, and Chrysler in trouble with the authorities, Teknikens V?rld editor Mattias Rabe writes:

?Prior to the moose test we packed the car with four passengers and sandbags with a combined weight of 602 kilos (1 327 lbs) which is the maximum amount according to the cars certificate of registration that has been provided by Jeep/Chrysler to the Swedish Transport Agency, Transportstyrelsen. We proceeded to our test track to conduct the moose test. We immediately noticed that there was something strange about the car?s behavior ? it tended to tip over on two wheels even at low speeds. We accordingly unloaded 100 kilos (220 lbs) out of the car so that the total cargo weight now registered at 502 kilos (1 106 lbs), 100 kilos under Jeep/Chryslers own registered maximum cargo weight. When we hit the track once again ? now at the, for the type of vehicle, low speed of 63.5 km/h (39.5 mph) ? the car went up on to two wheels and nearly rolled over.?


How the test is conducted: Standard evasive maneuver, no moose needed
Not enough that the Grand Cherokee failed the moose test, something that can seriously impede a car?s career in Europe (ask Daimler about the A-class.) Not enough that Chrysler?s public remarks will have attracted the attention of even the laziest lawyer. Spurned  Teknikens V?rld now alleges that Chrysler supplied wrong information to the Swedish government, saying that the car weighs ?a full 158 kilos (348 lbs) more than what Jeep/Chrysler claims the car to weigh in the official documentation provided to Swedish authorities.?

Sweden is a member of the EU, the EU has Whole Vehicle Type Approval (a car legal in one EU state is legal in all,) and providing wrong information to one government quickly can turn into a pan-European mess.

Chrysler?s reaction, including the recommendation that Teknikens V?rld editors take ?phosphorous tablets, ?a well-known supplement to support brain and memory? is mean spirited , and it is guaranteed to produce lots of bad PR.

Some may notice that the tires are in a perilous state on that picture. Teknikens V?rld says the moose test was ?conducted with the correct tire pressure for maximum load according to the recommendations provided by Jeep/Chrysler via a sticker on the car?s B-pillar.?

It's pretty alarming that the thing will readily get up on two wheels at just under 40 mph with a heavy load, but regardless of the question of the stated maximum weight being followed or not, Chrysler's reaction is stupefying.

[mzziaz]

Ha, ha!

Don't fuck with Teknikens V?rld. Chrysler needs to fire some PR persons - and build better cars it seems.

[Laconian]

You should tell users to take phosphorous tablets for the next help article you write. That's an awesome response. Was the Chrysler rep drunk?

[2o6]

I don't know guys, there's another article where Chrysler and this company was unable to replicate these results.

[Galaxy]

Ah yes, the famous moose test.



That event was responsible for the success of ESP. At the time only the S class had ESP. The failed moose test spurred Mercedes to add it to the A class as standard equipment. Other manufacturers then were forced to follow suit.

[Raza]

I thought it was called the "elk test", not moose test.

[93JC]

In Europe 'elk' = moose. (In Swedish they're called älg if I remember right.)

They don't have the animals we call 'elk' over there.

[cawimmer430]

They should have tested a Grand Cherokee SRT-8. Now there's a track performance machine! 

[r0tor]

When you drive a 5,000+ lb SUV, you dont swerve around a moose, you drive through it ... -shrug-

[mzziaz]

In Europe 'elk' = moose. (In Swedish they're called ?lg if I remember right.)

They don't have the animals we call 'elk' over there.

Yes.

Impressive!

[MX793]

When you drive a 5,000+ lb SUV, you dont swerve around a moose, you drive through it ... -shrug-

I don't know.  Moose are a lot bigger than deer.  And they're tall enough that even in an SUV, their body is likely high enough up to go over the hood and through the windshield (which is pretty much instant death for the driver and front passenger).

[Galaxy]

In Europe 'elk' = moose. (In Swedish they're called ?lg if I remember right.)

They don't have the animals we call 'elk' over there.

We don't have your Elk over here. But your elk is refereed to as Wapiti here. Ironically the world wapiti comes from N. America. Some Indian tribe language.

[r0tor]

When you drive a 5,000+ lb SUV, you dont swerve around a moose, you drive through it ... -shrug-

Oops this is a diesel plus 1,300 pounds... thats more like close to 7000 lbs

[Rupert]

Still. I would swerve for a moose in 4x4 1 ton mega cab pickup with a grill guard, full load and an 8000 lb trailer. Moose are fucking huge. Without a really sturdy grill guard, I would probably swerve for a deer in the same truck (does depend some on the road). Deer also do serious damage, though they aren't likely to go through the windshield of a huge truck.

[93JC]

We don't have your Elk over here. But your elk is refereed to as Wapiti here. Ironically the world wapiti comes from N. America. Some Indian tribe language.

So is the word moose. They're both from Cree, if I remember right.

[Soup DeVille]

So is the word moose. They're both from Cree, if I remember right.

The origin of the word moose is debated somewhat. soem say its from a shortened Cree phrase for "he strips" (referring to bark, and probably the result of some miscommunication), and some say its shortened from the latin word "animus" meaning the strong one.

[GoCougs]

When you drive a 5,000+ lb SUV, you dont swerve around a moose, you drive through it ... -shrug-

No, you most certainly do not. Owing to the moose's leg height, you clear out the legs and ~1,200 lb+ slams into your windshield at the indicated velocity and you die if not get seriously/critically injured if you're doing any sort of meaningful velocity. The windshield and A-pillars aren't designed for that sort of impact.

[SVT_Power]

When you drive a 5,000+ lb SUV, you dont swerve around a moose, you drive through it ... -shrug-

Sure if you have a death wish

From a paper from the SWEDISH NATIONAL ROAD AND TRANSPORT RESEARCH INSTITUTE

"Four out of five who die after colliding with game in Sweden have hit a moose. The moose appears suddenly and unexpectedly, the driver has little chance to swerve or even break. The long legs of the moose catch the bumper and knock the heavy animal over the bonnet and into the windscreen. What happens next depends mainly on the make of the car and the impact speed.

The typical moose accident where someone dies or is seriously injured occurs at a public road with the speed limit 90 km/h. The driver is more often than in other accidents sober but has little or no time to react. Primarily the head, neck, chest and arms get injured, both by the moose and intruding parts from the roof and windscreen. A cloud of shattered glass both from the windscreen and side-windows hits the car occupants. Since the moose often penetrates well into the coupe and in addition crushes the roof and windshield towards the occupants, seat belt and airbag make only a marginal improvement, if any. The important factors for the outcome of the accident are the strength and design of the front of the vehicle above the bonnet."

[Submariner]

When you drive a 5,000+ lb SUV, you dont swerve around a moose, you drive through it ... -shrug-

Some of the vehicles I'd feel comfortable hitting a moose with:







Otherwise, I'm swerving.  

[hotrodalex]

Some of the vehicles I'd feel comfortable hitting a moose with:





Otherwise, I'm swerving. 

[r0tor]

Nothing weighing 7000lbs is going to be able to swerve or stop all that well...

[SVT_Power]

Nothing weighing 7000lbs is going to be able to swerve or stop all that well...

Honestly if I had to choose, I'd swerve and roll rather than hit a moose at speed. I don't have numbers, but I'm pretty sure your chances of survival are higher with a rollover.

[Lebowski]

When you drive a 5,000+ lb SUV, you dont swerve around a moose, you drive through it ... -shrug-

Do you not know what a moose is?

[r0tor]

Yea I do... I've seen them... And eaten them...

[Secret Chimp]

Video:

http://www.teknikensvarld.se/jeepmoosetest-part4/

When the JGC is loaded to Chrysler's specs, it keeps blowing its front left tire.

To spec or not, its suspension behavior is pretty strange compared to the VW and Volvo they show running the same test. You can see how the chassis loads up in the initial turn, then the whole thing practically rebounds itself onto two wheels. Why is it so bouncy? It looks like something my old Dodge would do if I threw on giant torsion bars without changing the shocks.

[CJ]

The XC90 did pretty well for being a 10 year old car.

[Cookie Monster]

Holy shit, that is some terrible suspension tuning.

[280Z Turbo]

Yea I do... I've seen them... And eaten them...

You must not have eaten the bones, though. Those are the parts you don't want to hit.

[giant_mtb]

Video:

http://www.teknikensvarld.se/jeepmoosetest-part4/

When the JGC is loaded to Chrysler's specs, it keeps blowing its front left tire.

To spec or not, its suspension behavior is pretty strange compared to the VW and Volvo they show running the same test. You can see how the chassis loads up in the initial turn, then the whole thing practically rebounds itself onto two wheels. Why is it so bouncy? It looks like something my old Dodge would do if I threw on giant torsion bars without changing the shocks.

Bouncy as fuck.  The other cars are planted and look relatively un-stressed.  The "yeep" is just out of control.

[mzziaz]

Damn, the Swedes are fucking Chrysler over pretty good.

Payback for that press release, methinks

This will hurt sales significantly, at least in Scandinavia.