Finally, the Cherokee is back.

Many a Jeep enthusiasts felt a little pain in their heart after they killed off the Cherokee in 2001. Maybe this new Jeep Patriot might help heal that old wound. After many delays due to computer glitches at Chrysler's Belvidere assembly plant, the new Patriot officially goes into retail production today. With a base price of only $14,985, more room, and better fuel economy, it doesn't seem like a bad replacement. Heck, it's a $1,000 less than the purist disapproving Compass and only $750 more than it's kissing cousin Caliber.

Even though Jeep has been pretty good about this in the past, with the Wrangler at least, it's still nice to see a company stick to its roots and not let its product line get too diluted. The Patriot looks like the quintessential Jeep of yesteryear and is an off-road worthy machine right off the dealer's floor. The Jeep aficionados seem to love it an so do the analysts. The word on the street from the number crunchers is that it's poised to out sell the Caliber (which is at 97,000 units world wide right now) and end up being the best selling SUV of the three produced at the Belvidere plant.

Let's see. A cool SUV that has out of the box off-road capabilities, character, some sex appeal, and it's affordable? Is Detroit starting to get the message?

[Source: Register Star]