"What I don't know is whether we'll have another vehicle called the Commander in the next generation," Klegon said.

Chrysler will look at the market and ask, "Is there a need for a Jeep vehicle that is three rows? If the customer says 'yes,' we'll make one. What I don't know is whether we just call it a Jeep Grand Cherokee or whether we have two body styles and all of the marketing and the things that goes with that, or do you have a Jeep Grand Cherokee that's offered in a couple different ways? I don't know."

Chrysler will drop the slow-selling Jeep Commander in mid-2009. That’s the word from insiders who asked not to be named because the decision has not been officially announced. The cancellation is blamed on high gas prices and changing consumer buying patterns which have significantly reduced demand for large SUVs.

Introduced in 2005, Commander sales hit a peak of 88,497 in 2006, its first full year on the market, but dropped to 63,027 units last year. At the pace set in the first quarter of 2008, annual sales are forecast to be about 36,000 units.

Introduced at the New York auto show in 2005, the Commander will only go for one life cycle and cease production sometime around 2010. Slow sales and company reorganization — along with weak fuel economy and poor reviews — have doomed Jeep's seven-passenger 'ute.

Chrysler confirmed Friday that it was recalling nearly 300,000 vehicles because of an error in the braking system.

The affected models include 2006 and 2007 Grand Cherokees and Commanders, 2007 Jeep Wrangler SUVs and 2007 Dodge Nitro SUVs, said a company spokesman.

An error in the electronic braking system can cause momentary braking delays on hills in rare instances. The braking system comes from a supplier outside Chrysler. An estimated 296,550 cars are affected.

So Nardelli's suggestion that he might euthanize brands and models at Chrysler got the assembled auto writers revved up. When he descended from the stage, he was mobbed in a scene that reminded me of the rushing reporters knocking over the phone booths in the movie "Airplane." Does Chrysler have too many SUVs? What brands are you going to kill? Nardelli backtracked—slightly. No, he's not doing away with the Dodge, Jeep or Chrysler brands. But it's time to get Darwinian about what's sitting on showroom floors. "We have to look very hard at some of the products within those brands," he told the throng of jostling journalists, "and make some tough choices."

"The Jeep Commander is doing a great job," Nardelli told reporters at an event marking the 10th anniversary of Chrysler's Prowler roadster.

Hmm. Commander sales fell 18.7 percent last month compared with a year ago, demand is off 15.5 percent in 2007 and word is it could be on the chopping block in 2009.

Since it was Nardelli's first week on the job, Business Insider will give the former Home Depot Inc. executive a pass. Heck, we'll even make up an excuse for the slip of the tongue: Perhaps an enthused Nardelli read Chrysler's monthly sales chart upside down.

The Durango/Aspen will evidently share a platform with the Grand Cherokee, while the absence of the soon-to-be-cancelled Commander will free up plenty of space at the Jefferson North plant for all three models, and possibly the yet-to-be-named JC49 crossover.

The future of the hulking Jeep Commander SUV introduced a little over a year ago looks bleak.

Auto analysts and other industry officials say the Commander, a boxy three-row SUV built at Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, is likely to be discontinued after the 2009 model-year.

"We removed the Commander from our forecast" after the 2009 model year, said Jeff Schuster, forecasting analyst with California-based J.D. Power and Associates. J.D. Power and other auto forecasting firms gather information from suppliers and other industry sources privy to automakers' future production plans.

It's good news for car buyers who can lease a loaded Jeep Commander full-size SUV at some dealerships for less than $200 a month. But analysts say it could prove a risky strategy for Chrysler, particularly as 2007 models are arriving at dealerships.

To make payments attractive, automakers typically have to subsidize leases with precious marketing dollars. Moreover, Chrysler could take a hit on the back end when it sells vehicles coming off lease -- especially if it overestimated their residual, or resale, value when the lease was calculated.

"They basically want to use any tool to move inventory, but there's so much pressure on them to move the units that there's a tendency to want to raise the residual, which will lower the monthly payment," said Tom Libby of J.D. Power's Power Information Network, which tracks vehicle sales. "The long-term problem with that is you could then have a loss on the unit when it comes back."

...snip...

Recently, Fortinberry was leasing a $32,000 Jeep Commander for 27 months for $179 a month. The deal required an initial payment of $1,995. Chrysler employees' monthly payments could be as low as $118.

The deal was possible because up to $8,000 in incentives applied toward the lease. Fortinberry quickly sold all his Commanders.

Likewise, at Mike Riehl's Roseville Chrysler-Jeep, a customer can lease a 2006 Commander for 27 months at a monthly payment of $169. That compares to $483 a month for five years with $1,877 down to buy the same SUV.