After the unsuccessful relaunch of the Grand Wagoneer nameplate on the ZJ platform in 1993, the storied model name was put on ice. The years rolled by as SUVs of all sizes continued to gain popularity and morph into the adjacent Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV). This was great news for Jeep, which saw its sales increase throughout subsequent two decades. During that time the Grand Wagoneer name was not entirely forgotten: Various projects aimed at resurrecting a Grand Wagoneer came and went but never moved past the ideation stage. But that was about to change.The 2000s were not a great time for Chrysler, in general, and saw the company fall to Daimler ownership, and subsequently was purchased by Cerberus Capital Management. The Great Recession of 2008 was the final nail in the coffin. Chrysler declared bankruptcy in 2009.
Cerberus was a step ahead, and separated Chrysler Financial into a separate entity prior to the bankruptcy. The firm purchased the entirety of Chrysler in 2007 for $7.4 billi …
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Author: Corey Lewis
