LONDON, England - A charity initiative that brought Jeep and the Rolling Stones back together has ended and a new Jeep Renegade, its bonnet signed by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts, has been sold in a global charity auction for the equivalent of more than R500 000.
The auction ran from December 5-23 2014 and the profit, which was not disclosed, will go to a London "organisation that tackles the causes and consequences of social exclusion by developing and running excellent practical activities and by sharing the local experience with practitioners and policy-makers nationwide".
'FIRST IN ITALY'
Jeep was the "presenting sponsor" and automotive partner with its flagship Grand Cherokee of a "14 On Fire" Stones European tour during which the new Renegade was unveiled at an ancient stadium in Rome - though first seen at the 2014 Geneva auto show.
Co-incidentally, the '15 Renegade is the first model in Jeep history to have been built in Italy and the first Fiat Chrysler collaboration between Italian and US designers.
The Renegade will be sold in more than 100 countries complete with "class-leading off-road capabilities, more than 70 safety devices and (claims to be) the only car in the segment with a nine-speed auto transmission, two drive systems, rear-axle disconnection and an instrument panel with a 19cm display".
It would have been nice, Wheels24 says, if the organisers had told the world how much of the R500 000 would reach the designated charity and on what, exactly, it will be spent.
Jeep, any answers?
*Though the Renegade is not yet on Jeep SA's price list, a similar Wrangler starts at R451 000.