????Jeep 2014款切諾基（Cherokee）的首發一點也不理想。2月份在博客Autoblog發布了新車型下線的模糊圖片后，這家汽車制造商馬上確認了這個設計的真實性，并立即發布了光彩照人的、適合于媒體發布的高清圖片。但這款新車的前衛設計并沒有像計劃中一樣，獲得精心策劃的汽車發布和媒體首發的待遇。

????坊間反響談不上熱烈。Autoblog泄露新車下線信息的帖子很快吸引了超過1000條評論，但很多評論都是負面的。Jeep迷們在Twitter上嘆息新車型配不上切諾基的名號，前臉就像是“一張令人毛骨悚然的小丑臉”。（當然，這款車也獲得了一些贊譽。）克萊斯勒（Chrysler）設計總監拉爾夫?吉利斯在接受汽車媒體Wards Auto采訪時竭力維護這個頗受爭的新車外形，說“這款新車必須要對一些東西做出回應。我個人認為，設計中有著過去大切諾基酷酷的DNA特質。”

????那么，新款Jeep切諾基難看嗎？恩，它的確……有些不同。 它的新車鼻有點像以前的Jeep。消失的是標志性的圓形頭燈。取而代之的是傾斜的狹長頭燈。作為其身份代表的7豎孔格柵呢？它們不再是豎直的，而是在中間被提高，沿發動機蓋上折過去，就像頭大象坐在中型越野車車頭。

????切諾基承載了很多東西。2002年，Jeep用車型較小的自由人（Liberty）對之前的切諾基車型進行更新換代。Ward雜志編輯的汽車數據總匯AutoInfoBank顯示，2002年當年該公司售出了創紀錄的171,212輛。十年之后，這個數字已經下降至僅75,482輛。與之形成鮮明對比的是，去年競爭車型本田（Honda）CR-V和自由人的銷售之比達到了3:1。上周二發布的銷售數據顯示，3月份Jeep的銷量環比增長了35%，但同比下降了13%，大部分原因是Jeep自由人車型停產。

????如今，這家公司正在努力滿足不斷提升的燃油經濟標準——因此，也就產生更加符合空氣動力學的設計風格。（目前的自由人車型在高速公路上每加侖汽油可以行駛22英里；新款切諾基在相似條件下每加侖應當可以行駛31英里。）更重要的是，克萊斯勒需要Jeep成為一個真真正正的國際品牌。新的設計部分目的就是為了吸引美國以外的、更廣闊的市場。新款切諾基將在俄亥俄州托萊多生產，出口至中國和其他約150個國家。

????從很多方面看，Jeep面臨的問題可能還是一些汽車廠商夢寐以求的問題。Jeep是一個標志性的品牌，深具眾多汽車廠商渴望打造的品牌資產。即便是它產品線中評價差的車型，比如運氣不太好的指南者（Compass），也不太能損害品牌。Jeep仍舊是Jeep。問題是，克萊斯勒應如何擴大Jeep的吸引力，同時又不疏遠狂熱的Jeep迷，也不會削弱自身優勢？

????很少有公司能做到這一點。如今，通用汽車（General Motors）的別克（Buick）車型被很多人視為主要是高齡車主的選擇，因為只有那些上年紀的客戶可能還記得這個品牌的時尚時代，而那已經是上世紀50年代。福特（Ford）的林肯（Lincoln）車型也在努力重獲新生，它也遇到了同樣的問題。與此同時，英國豪車品牌美洲豹（Jaguar）也舉步維艱，因為它堅持自己的標志性設計已經太久了。

????The debut of Jeep's 2014 Cherokee has been anything but ideal. Shortly, after a blog released blurry pictures of the new model rolling off the assembly line in February, the automaker rushed to confirm the design was real -- and put out crisp, press-friendly photos. But the polarizing new look didn't get the manicured auto show launch and media roll-out planned.

????The reception wasn't exactly warm. A post about the leak on Autoblog quickly generated over1,000 comments, many of them negative. Jeep aficionados on Twitter lamented that the new model wasn't worthy of the Cherokee name and compared its front facia to a "creepy anime clown face." (Of course, some praised the vehicle too.) In an interview with Wards Auto, Chrysler design chief Ralph Gilles defended the controversial shape, telling the publication, "There are certain things this new styling has to respond to. I personally see a very cool DNA strain going back to the Grand Cherokee."

????So is the new Jeep Cherokee ugly? Well, it's certainly … different. Its new nose looks a little like those found on Jeeps past. Gone are the iconic circular headlamps. In their place: sharply slanted slits. The signature seven-slot grille? Instead of standing upright, it is creased in the middle, folding over the top of the hood as if an elephant sat on the front of it mid-safari.

????A lot is riding on the Cherokee. Jeep replaced the previous version in 2002 with the smaller Liberty. According to Ward's AutoInfoBank, the company sold a record 171,212 units in the U.S. that year. A decade later, that figure had fallen to just 75,482. In contrast, Honda's (HMC) competing CR-V outsold the Liberty three to one last year. According to sales figures release Tuesday, overall Jeep sales were up 35% month over month in March, but year-over-year sales dropped 13% thanks in large part to the end of Jeep Liberty production.

????Now the company is trying to meet rising fuel economy standards -- thus the more aerodynamic styling. (The current Liberty achieves 22 miles per gallon on the highway; the new Cherokee should get 31 miles per gallon under similar conditions.) More importantly, Chrysler needs Jeep to become a truly global brand. The new design is, in part, an attempt to appeal more broadly to markets outside the U.S. The Cherokee will be built in Toledo, Ohio and exported to China and some 150 other countries.

????In many ways, Jeep's problem is a desirable one to have. It has an iconic brand -- brimming with the so-called brand equity automakers are so keen to create. Even poorly reviewed extensions of its lineup, such as the ill-fated Jeep Compass, haven't done much to ding that. A Jeep is still a Jeep. The question is, how can Chrysler broaden Jeep's appeal without alienating a rabidly loyal fan base or undermining its strengths?

????Few have managed that feat. General Motors' (GM) Buick is known as a ride of choice for the elderly mostly because only older consumers can remember the last time the brand was cool, the 1950s. Ford's (F) Lincoln division, which is attempting to revive itself, suffers from a similar problem. British luxury brand Jaguar, meanwhile, faltered badly because it held onto its iconic design language far too long.