Americans in for a Jeep snowjob

By Alastair Sloane

Remember the television advertisement for the Jeep Grand Cherokee? How it climbed over a wall of rocks to get into the grounds of a mansion? Well, Chrysler Jeep is sticking with a similar theme for its 2000 model year campaign.

The advertisement will first screen in the United States. It will show the four-wheel-drive Grand Cherokee climbing the snow-covered roof of an A-frame house.

We don't know how the vehicle in this opportune photo got there, or if it drives down the other side. We don't know if the Jeep is actually sitting on the roof or on special tracks. We don't know if it drove up under its own power or was towed by hidden cables. What we do know is that the advertisement was filmed in New Zealand - under the shadow of Mt Cook, in fact.

The Jeep film crew turned up from the US, vehicles and all, early in July. It had the A-frame built and waited for a decent snowfall. But the snow stayed away. So the crew had the white stuff trucked in. Then they shovelled it about and rolled the cameras.

The advertisement will probably say something about how the Grand Cherokee will overcome all obstacles and always get your home.

Also on hand but sitting in shipping containers were two PT Cruisers, the 1940s Chrysler sedan lookalike which will go on sale in New Zealand in 2001. The Cruisers were apparently undergoing testing at a special circuit near Lake Wanaka. The region has become a favourite proving ground for the world's carmakers.

French tyremaker Michelin was there a couple of weeks ago, testing new truck rubber.