AutoWeek contributing editor and test-track driver Pete Albrecht experienced firsthand the seriousness of that warning on Oct. 16. He was driving a Jeep Liberty in a slalom test when it rolled over twice, landing back on its wheels.

The Liberty was bent on almost every body panel; Albrecht suffered cuts to his hands and still has a sore neck a month later. He was evaluating the new-for-2002 compact SUV for an AutoFile road test, driving a 490-foot slalom laid out in a level parking lot at California Speedway. The course uses eight traffic cones in a straight line, 70 feet apart, for seven gates.

DaimlerChrysler officials question the test methodology, its applicability to the way owners drive, the suitability of the test site and the driving technique. They also say no other testing agency or customer has reported an accident like this one.

Albrecht’s speed in the rear-drive 3.7-liter Jeep Liberty Sport was around 40 mph, comparable to the best-handling compact SUVs tested previously.

“I remember rounding the seventh cone and thinking I had this one in the bag,” said Albrecht. “The next thing I remember is an impact, and being tossed back and forth.” AW West Coast Editor Mark Vaughn, the other AutoFile test driver, was observing and timing the run from about 300 feet away from the center of the course.

“On the second-to-last cone, the Liberty lifted its driver-side wheels off the pavement, then settled back down, and Pete made the move for the last cone,” Vaughn reported. The Liberty rolled, driver-side first, the A-pillar and roof first contacting the pavement just past the last cone.

 

It's a Jeep,
what else should we expect?

 

were other cars tested the same day by the same driver ?
if so how did those other cars do?

 

My Jeep flipped over a month ago. I got hit by a drunk driver from behind and the Jeep started rollin crazy. That is how got the Acura. I had a Wrangler. Brand spankin new. i put power windows, starter/ alarm / stereo system... the works into it. It was pretty sweet. But when i rolled.....i said no more jeep!!!

 

i read in the aricle, that it was the only vehicle in its class, and the only one that rolled, there were two different drivers, but they each drove all of them

 

I thought they put "training wheels" on all the SUV's they tested in the slalom since the Suzuki incidents in the 80's. Everytime I have seen them testing SUV's, they have these four bars with small wheels at each end. They are at all four coners of the vehicle, so if a rollover is eminent, the wheels keep the SUV from rolling over. Maybe he got lazy and cocky. Who knows. Sucks to be him.

 

I rolled my brand new Jeep Cherokee after having my license for 2 days. Must be a Jeep thing.

 

I wouldn't be too harsh on Jeep for the rollover...

Let's not forget the Acura Trooper...er..SLX debacle.

 

Yeah but the sad thing is that the guy is a professional driver. I once had the opportunity to drive new Wrangler on a dealer trade. It was stripped - no air, 4 speed, and soft top. It was 90° that day and after I almost died trying to merge into 75mph traffic, the thing was shimmying like nobody's business. I tried to unzip the window to get some air since there was no A/C, but that only made it worse. I just remember thinking, "I can't believe this POS is street legal."

No offense to Loseit. I also happen to really like the Liberty and with exception to the Wrangler death trap, I think the Jeeps are safe for regualr driving.

 

i don't know what business they have running a jeep through the cones, i mean real world driving ?

 

Hey I've seen this happen before too on a Pathfinder. But all I saw was the rolling part and I was like how the fuck di that happen?!?! Took me a while to figure out and even longer to absorb it.

 

the swerve is an important accident avoidance maneuver in the real world.

you can't always stop in time to avoid hitting something, so you may need to go around it. it helps if your vehicle doesn't roll in the process.

hell, the whole point of abs is to allow the driver to maintain steering control (okay, and directional stability in certain instances) under heavy (read panic) braking situations.

running through the cones like that is supposed to measure the vehicle's agility, which directly impacts accident avoidance capabilities.

 

Rolling over is the nature of the beast when you have an SUV. I almost rolled my companies 4Runner... I took a turn the wheels started screeching... I was at 40miles an hour trying to merge onto 422 West near Oaks.... I think. Anyway, the CL would have been fine... but different types of vehicles have different driving charastics. My dad's ML320 handles better than the POS Lincoln mark VIII it replaced. People simply need to understand that when you're higher up you need to take those turns slower.