Cherokee Nation To Jeep: No More Cherokees!

 

It's probably not news to you that Jeep sells a ton of Cherokees throughout the course of a year. As a matter of fact, Jeep offers 3 distinct SUVs that go by the name of "Cherokee". They sell the Cherokee, a sporty 5-seater, the Grand Cherokee, a Honda Pilot-type SUV, and the Grand Cherokee L, a large SUV to compete with the likes of the Lincoln Navigator and Chevrolet Tahoe. The Grand Cherokee alone sold more than one-quarter of a million units in 2019. In 2018, The Cherokee sold roughly the same, with 239K units. Though the Grand Cherokee L is not for sale just yet, it is expected to sell quite well. 

So, we get to the issue: if Jeep are forced to change the names of their top-selling SUVs, what are they going to do? Chuck Hoskin Jr, chief of the Cherokee Nation has caused quite a stir when saying "It does not honor us by having our name plastered on the side of a car". He also declared "I think we're in a day and age in this country where it's time for both corporations and team sports to retire the use of Native American names, images, and mascots from their products". However, Jeep might have a way out. The dark red SUV pictured, the Grand Cherokee L, was originally supposed to be called the "Grand Wagoneer" To be honest, that is actually a suitable name to turn to if Jeep get in even deeper trouble with the Cherokee Nation. Instead of the Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and Grand Cherokee L, it could be Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer, and Grand Wagoneer L.