(December 14, 2010) Chrysler on Monday unveiled the 2011 Jeep Compass, a compact utility vehicle slated to be replaced in 2013.

The Compass is among 16 all-new or significantly updated vehicles and is one of the few that until Monday had been kept under wraps.

The redesigned Compass, which goes on sale this month, bears a stronger resemblance to the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the first new vehicle of the automaker's product revival.

"With the new 2011 Jeep Compass, we've applied the premium design cues of our award-winning new Grand Cherokee," said Mike Manley, head of Jeep.

That is a good thing, said analyst Aaron Bragman of IHS Automotive in Northville. "The old one didn't have the macho image of a Jeep," he said. "It was too cutesy and junky. The redesign is definitely a step in the right direction."

The Compass shares underpinnings with the Jeep Patriot and Dodge Caliber. All are made at Chrysler's Belvidere, Ill., plant.

But the Compass and Patriot will be discontinued in 2012 and replaced in 2013 with a single Jeep crossover from a family of vehicles engineered by partner Fiat SpA. Chrysler executives have not said which of the two Jeeps will be the successor, but the redesigned Compass appears to be a strong contender.