why so many jeeps now on road?

[the old grind]

WW I might have delayed auto engineering progress more than the depression did. (V-8 'Deuce' to '40 in 8 yrs .. not bad.) Model T lasted for ~19 yrs before Edsel Ford (saving FoMoCo the first of several times, btw) convinced the old Man that progress & competition was inevitable and that he'd better keep up.

Anyway, that's not about Jeeps or their modernization. Many of us enjoy tractors, guns, cars, motor-bikes as old as we are. Which ones are more useful/versatile/fun? How about easier to get parts for??

My kinda real bug is the stream of Jeep & Jeep SUV phone junkies that rush by me, ride my six, or pull out/cut in front of me. Too many look 20-40 ish, pass on the right, etc. And IMO there's a generation/culture aspect at play with what & how many we see on the roads. Cup holders, premium sound, etc .. what consumers want.

 

[cathy liebchen]

We have a 1982 Jeep CJ8 pickup with the 6 cylinder and 5 Speed, bought it in 1990. Gets 10mpg but always starts and runs. It’s a rough ride but a great farm vehicle. Everyone wants to buy it. My son has a 2020 JT with automatic on 35” tires and it’s another whole deal, great truck for younger person. But for my personal truck things we have a Tundra V8 4x4 and a couple of trailers

 

[Hay Dude]

CJ8

 

[Hamlin6]

Keep owner here. Bought it back in ‘07 new. It it is just just touching 240k. Love everything about it for what it is designed to be. Just recently purchased and new truck and didn’t consider trading it the Jeep.
I’ve been able to do just about anything I’ve wanted to do with it from driving mostly across country multiple times, trail rides and pulling a trailer with 3 round bales on it without issue

They are currently a fad, but they have been a favorite for decades. The fad will fad but those of us who like them will keep theirs.

 

[rzimmermann]

I also notice how many used Jeeps are in used car lots. Bad reliability! I'll stick to my Toyota.

 

[panamaguy]

in the past few months, i notice a huge increase of Jeeps on the road here in town & on way to place out of town. Why? my theory is covid release. lots of wanna be adventure seekers out there now. most of them will never go off road, mostly mall cruisers, but still, i'm amazed.

covid craze it is. people are on a spending frenzy. same with home remodeling on my block. lots of spending, with lots quitting jobs, with the supply chain starved.... no wonder inflation is skyrocketing (of course for other reasons as well).
what is it about this Jeep craze? then there is the new Jeep Pickup...don't get me started on that wannabe retro model, i have too many enemies already

Not really sure about the new ones except what I hear about gas milage but I sure wish I still owned my M38A1. It was slow and sparce but would go anywhere you pointed it. Even found a manual at a old car swap meet that showed you the pattern to plow fields as I guess lots were used after the war as tractors. That was back in the 70s. Bought a new Warn 8274 8000 lb winch I mounted on the front. Still have the winch now mounted on a car trailer but wish I had the jeep. The body on mine was made by Ford for jeep. I guess everyone pitched in those days. If I remember the flat head 4 had a screaming 40 hp which was lots and 556 gears. A stump puller

 

[Alan46]

My dear wife has a 2015 Rubicon with only 27K mi. Original air in the tires. She loves that thing, compact, sits up high, V6 plenty of power did I say she loves that thing. We live in the woods in Oregon, 20 miles from town does great in the snow without chains.

 

[Thoffman]

I bought my TJ Wrangler is 2001 and am still driving it. A great little vehicle. My wife says it rides like a 2 horse cart but I love it. It is simple and fun to drive. I have noticed a bunch of Wranglers on the road here but I figured that was a function of living in the NC mountains.

The new Wranglers (and now the Gladiator) are much more complicated now. They look cool but I think most of the people buying them never use them to their potential; especially when they buy a Rubicon model. Most will never lock a hub or disengage their sway bar or even know why they would do that.

The Gladiator looks cool but like most hybrid-type vehicles, it's not really a Jeep and it's not really a truck so it doesn't do anything particularly well. I'm sure it works for some.

 

[oldpilot]

The new four-door Jeeps are really a handsome vehicle. But OMG they cost north of $40,000!

When Fiat took over the bankrupt Chrysler company, one of the big lures for the US govt was the promise that the Fiat 500 would at last give Americans a really serviceable sub-compact car. How did that work out? I never seen the Fiats on the road. But when I visit Italy, as I used to do every year until 2020, I'd see little Jeeps everywhere -- Patriots, Libertys, whatever they're called. Now that the French got into the act, the company is called Stellantis, ugh. They should have called it Jeep Inc! It's the one truly great American passenger car (with a touch of truck in there as well).

Pity they're so pricey.

 

[Torvy]

JD Power's initial reliability is a joke. It is taken after 90 days. Some individuals seem to have good luck with Jeep. Statistically, they are among the least reliable vehicles. See Consumer Reports, any year's auto issue will do.

Jeeps look cool, but for me, there are better choices.

 

[OzarkChris]

in the past few months, i notice a huge increase of Jeeps on the road here in town & on way to place out of town. Why? my theory is covid release. lots of wanna be adventure seekers out there now. most of them will never go off road, mostly mall cruisers, but still, i'm amazed.

covid craze it is. people are on a spending frenzy. same with home remodeling on my block. lots of spending, with lots quitting jobs, with the supply chain starved.... no wonder inflation is skyrocketing (of course for other reasons as well).
what is it about this Jeep craze? then there is the new Jeep Pickup...don't get me started on that wannabe retro model, i have too many enemies already

I know I've said this in other posts, but at least 'round here, the new fancy jeeps (pickups, suv's, etc) are owned, mostly, by big city folk. They tell me "I've got the best", fill in brand, "on my block & everyone (@ work) loves it!". Essentially saying it's a status symbol. Most of them shudder when they have to use the dirt roads round here and spend most days cleaning & polishing their vehicles because, guess what, it's dusty out here . The other thing I've noticed out here are all the "Blackout versions?" or whatever they are called. I've learned a thing or two when I lived in small southern town AZ, in places that get hot, you really, really do NOT want dark colored vehicles (and definitely not black). I'm not saying here in AR is as hot as AZ where I was, but we still have a bunch of sunshine and Temps in the low 100's during the spring & summer months. So like a dummy, I ask folks why they got a black vehicle/blackout edition - this is more humorous during the summer, obviously. Normally, between the cursing about how hot it is or about how long it takes to cool down their vehicle, I get the (obvious) answer, "because it's cool & everybody loves it!".

I did see that Jeep had some decent sales earlier this year, but for some of these blinged out vehicles I'm pretty sure they have more in "dealer options" than the price of the basic vehicle - All of which will probably be worthless at trade in time - e.g., lift kits, $500+ tires & rims.

I will say, one of the best vehicles I ever had was a old 70's jeepster. Had a 3 speed Hurst shifter & straight 6 that would get you either so stuck that you got someone else stuck while getting you unstuck or would get you anywhere you wanted to go. But that's a story for another day.

As he carefully drags his soapbox out in the middle of the floor, and stands on top of it.

So, the question I have is "Why"? Why the need to be the envy of everyone on the block/work, or do they just have so many high dollar loans that they essentially live paycheck to paycheck with no time to "play" with said vehicle? Do they have more dollars than sense? Why the current fascination with these "Black out" versions? Why would somebody buy a hummer, Jeep, 4wd pickup, etc, etc and be afraid of taking it off road - or heaven forbid, get it dirty?

he carefully gets off the soapbox and puts the box away, for now.

 

[rosey]

…….. for the same reason that I love to drive my Silverado crew cab, long bed, Duramax 4x4 one ton diesel DUALLY. I see a lot of one ton pickups on the road & I happen to ENJOY just driving it when not towing my 5th wheel travel trailer. Sure there are a lot of Wranglers out there but also tons & tons of pickups & SUV’s out there today too. The American sedan with trunk is dead.

 

[OzarkChris]

Just read that regular unleaded is 5 bucks in Kalifornia and we all know that will spread eastward.

I'm dreading it, even if my buggy gets 40 mpg.

I buy my "unleaded" bulk (as well as my red fuel) and to keep it fresh, end up using it in ~4-6 weeks. For the past 4 years I've been "buying" $300 worth for the fuel farm every time we need it. Until recently (last 10 months or so), $300 would usually get me between 200 - 300 gals. Just filled up the other day, $300 = just shy of 100 gals (96.3). Guess I need to budget $500/month for gas (and don't ask about the red fuel, it's depressing - and really hard on the checkbook).

 

[Root Cause]

For all the naysayers out there, please give me a list of other vehicles that I can safely flat tow? My last 3 Jeeps have all been good vehicles. May not be a Camry in quality, but they all ran fine. And my resale value is awesome when I sell them. Meanwhile, they are fun to drive and I work them hard off-road too. How does your Prius run off-road?

Saying many are on car lots may be more of a symptom of so many being made not that they are bad. Saying that is just BS. I see RAM trucks on the side of the road but that doesn't mean they break down more, it may just mean that a lot of people own them.

There is another group that does take them off-road. It is a LARGE group of people. IF you don't have one, you probably just haven't been out there to see it. Go look at the jeep forums and see how many post pictures of them off-roading.

Many of you are correct. There is a fad with people who want to look cool dragging their jeep over a speed bump at the mall. So what? It's a free country. We all make choices that are not based on need. If you own a tractor with a cab or more than one gun, you should get that.

The thread was why are there so many on the road and I answered that pages ago. They are the Leggo's of the automotive world. You can dress them up or build them to rock crawl like no other in the consumer vehicle on the market.

 

[slider909]

Maybe because people don't want SUV's and a small jeep is close in size to a car? OR they believe the advertisements and picture themselves flying over mountain passes, forging streams, plowing through snow drifts, driving to that secluded spot by a stream where they setup a tent and watch the sun set over the mountains.

 

[whitehair]

I suppose that the new owners don’t care about a smooth & quiet ride. I’ve rode in several and they remind me of the M113A1, dang they are a rough ride

 

[Root Cause]

Maybe because people don't want SUV's and a small jeep is close in size to a car? OR they believe the advertisements and picture themselves flying over mountain passes, forging streams, plowing through snow drifts, driving to that secluded spot by a stream where they setup a tent and watch the sun set over the mountains.

see post 94

 

[Root Cause]

JD Power's initial reliability is a joke. It is taken after 90 days. Some individuals seem to have good luck with Jeep. Statistically, they are among the least reliable vehicles. See Consumer Reports, any year's auto issue will do.

Jeeps look cool, but for me, there are better choices.

JD Power's initial reliability is a joke. It is taken after 90 days. Some individuals seem to have good luck with Jeep. Statistically, they are among the least reliable vehicles. See Consumer Reports, any year's auto issue will do.

Jeeps look cool, but for me, there are better choices.

See post 19 for details and let me know what higher rated vehicle has 4 wheel drive and can be flat towed behind my RV with a 5000 lb limit.

 

[northcreek2624]

I bought a JGC because nobody else makes a mid size SUV with a V8 and I love it. GM used to,with their Trailblazer and Envoy models but now those are just the rebadged Equinox.

 

[PILOON]

LOL, also had an old M98A1 but it was mainly bondo and patches.
For a roof I made a canvas cover with frills around the edges.
I think every kid 50 miles around learned to drive on it.
I gave it up when the master brake cylinder quit as it was buried under the floor and needed a lift to access it.
Also in my hilly terrain that 3 speed was the pits.

All to say I wished that I still had it even with all the downsides.