Just heard today the Aspen will be coming back to the line up . I was excited until he mentioned it will be based on the durango platform. What a crock! I wish they would let me review it for them I would love be a test subject so I can show them how horrible the durango is compared to my aspen. I think they have lost it and may just not get it. A family needs a suv not a four wheel drive station wagon! It makes me wonder if anyone actually listens to the consumer or if they just decide for us. Well I have almost 50,000 miles on my Aspen and I guess I should start saving for a diferent product. I hate to leave but will have to! I would like to know if anyone knows if I can change my Aspen 5.7 liter so it can burn E80 the dealer I called could not answer!

 

Why would you want to burn E-80 (?) our 08 Aspen with the 4.7L is designed as a "Flex Fuel" capable of running on E-85, but even the owners manual states using E-85 will lower your mileage by 30 percent. The only way our Aspen willever see E-85 is if regular unleaded or E-10 is not available!!!!

E-85 is simply a wet dream developed by the "Greenies" and the ethanol producers to sell to suckers!

 

Not to mention the govt subsidies just to make it affordable for the consumer. It's not a viable option.

 

Where are you getting this information from? There have been no announcements to this effect, and I don't see there ever being. They are great SUV's, but didn't sell well. Chrysler's biggest interest, Fiat, isn't too big a fan of SUV's. In fact, I've seen articles saying that Jeep will have a few lines cut in the next few years.

 

The new Durango interior is light years beyond the old Durango and the Aspen, and I too am happy to see the column shifter go. I'd be just as happy to see the electric transfer case switch go in favor of a good old fashioned transfer case SHIFT that won't start shifting on its own due to some stupid electronic part made by the lowest bidder having a spasm! You can thank Daimler for the cost cutting that resulted in the interior being less than it should be, AND for the sub-par parts quality etc. ad nauseum.

You can ALSO thank Daimler for the platform of the new Durango, which leaves me underwhelmed at best. I'll take the old body-on-frame, solid rear axle architecture over the 4-wheel independent suspension, no ground clearance, useless off pavement, BUT EVERY BIT AS GODDAMN HEAVY (despite LOSING 20 cubic feet of cargo space) unibody platform of the new Durango ANY day! Give me the old Durango/Aspen with the upgraded interior and better parts, assembly and quality control, since it's a whole lot more useful as a vehicle than the new Durango. The gas mileage certainly hasn't gotten any better (unless you're skirt is getting blown up by what, ONE mpg on the EPA ratings?!) unless you're prepared to drive a 2 1/2 TON vehicle (CURB weight - UNloaded) with a V6 engine that can't get out of its own way - NO thanks!!

Here's hoping that the next platform for the Grand Cherokee and the Durango goes on a serious diet. C'mon, Fiat, surely you can engineer some serious flab out of these bloated Daimler legacy platforms! The new Durango is a perfect illustration of the fallacy that holds that unibody vehicles are lighter than body-on-frame vehicles. The old Durango/Aspen vs. new Durango shows the REVERSE to be true, when you're dealing with large vehicles.

 

Aspen was a great value vs. Tahoe or Expedition. It's a shem they did not continue it as "old style" SUV to compete iwth Tahoe and make the "new" Durango and Jeep styles. The new Jeep Grand Cherokee with Pentastar motor is very nice.