Dear Fiat, Please Don't Ruin Jeep...

Here's your chance to sound off on what you'd like to see for the future of Jeep. Fiat has said they're not going to mess with Jeep's core character, but for sure there will be changes coming. Hopefully some for the better. What would like to see Fiat do for Jeep, or NOT do?  

Jeep's are American vehicles. Americans love our freedom. The latest offerings from Jeep(excluding the Wrangler) have been too watered down and "car like" for them to be called Jeeps. Not exactly giving us the freedom to go anywhere. I remember reading a CEO or high level executive for Chrysler a few years ago saying "Does every Jeep vehicle need to be able to drive over the Rubicon Trail? No, I don't think they do." or something along those lines. That was where jeep started slipping. The Compass? has a hard time with speedbumps. The Patriot? can't get out of its own way. The Commander? Damn them for building a pile of crap in the Cherokee's image. BUILD JEEPS! Not a damn Mercedes with a different body and INDEPENDENT(!) FRONT AND REAR SUSPENSION(new Grand Cherokee). This does not a Jeep make. Give us back our solid axles and get rid of the damn mall crawlers. Build Jeeps for America, not Europe. We like rally racing, but it's not as huge here as it is in Europe. We like trail riding, muddin',and rockcrawlin.
If you're going to base your designs off anything not American, look at what they do in Finland and Iceland or Thailand. Give us vehicles we have a choice as to how mild or hardcore we want it to be and keep it simple. And bring back the Cherokee and get rid of the Liberty. Give us an offering that will take us places a person in a Prius can't get to. Go to Easter Jeep Safari, Tierra Del Sol, a run over the Rubicon, any off road park and take a look at what we are doing with our Jeeps. The new Grand Cherokee wouldn't make it in a lot of these places and nobody is going to take something they paid that much for and go wheel it. Bring in engineers who are off roaders, or better make the guys from Skunk Works the lead designers for Jeeps. You want to build cars? Have the guy who designed the Compass do that. Get Jeep back to what it was from the beginning. A go anywhere, do anything vehicle that is fairly, easily modified by the owner for his or her wants and needs. America(at least Jeep owners) will welcome you with open arms. Keep going the way they were before and your sales will dry-up quickly.  

I gotta agree with you Re: Compass. That was one of the sorriest excuses for a car I've ever driven, never mind being a so-called Jeep. Jeeps need to be tough and capable. I hope that's what future Jeeps will be all about once again.  

I'd like Jeep to introduce a small vehicle with flatfender dimensions. It needs to be body-on-frame, straight axle, fuel-efficient and have a real transfer case with low 4-wheel drive.

Another company did this a while ago with great success. It was called Suzuki.  
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just for your info,the jeep liberty IS a cherokee outside the US so be carful what you wish for.they just change the name  

Phil Howell - 4WD and SU Editor-in-Chief:
I'd like Jeep to introduce a small vehicle with flatfender dimensions. It needs to be body-on-frame, straight axle, fuel-efficient and have a real transfer case with low 4-wheel drive.

Another company did this a while ago with great success. It was called Suzuki.

Phil. I think that would be awesome, but in this day and age of liability, I wonder if we're ever going to see compact off-roaders along the lines of the Samurai, Sidekick and Rocky again. But something slightly smaller than the JK with the same basic driveline arrangement would be pretty cool.  

I agree.  With the JK's introduction, there has been a pretty big gap left in the Jeep Line-up.  Those of us who are older, probably remember the YJ's base price was well under $10,000 till the early 90's.  They offered a 2.5L I4 which was small but did what it needed to do.  The Wrangler S models were what many HS and College kids bought as a first vehicle.  Jump forward today and the cheapest JK is $21,915.  The JK isn't small either nor is it light weight.  The lightest is still 3760 lbs.

I doubt we'll see the Wrangler return to it's smaller size though.  It will be interesting what Fiat will do with the Panda.  It's supposed to enter into the Jeep line-up.  The Panda brings light weight and fuel efficiency but not much else.  I'd like to see one do the Rubicon Trail.  The stock Liberty, Commander and Grands, didn't fair too well even though they got through the trail.  The Panda is FWD with a viscus coupler to add 4WD when it slips.  It may not be prefect but it's a lot better then the Caliber based Patriot and ill-fated Compass.

The problem I see with making it a body-on frame with straight axles is that it's going to compete directly with the Wrangler X.  I don't see any reason to buy an X if you can get something smaller, cheaper, has better gas mileage and still has a transfer case.  I'm sure they/Jeep don't either.  

Actually, I think there are some interesting possibilities for Jeep's future. I think anything smaller than the Wrangler, for better or worse, will probably be unibody. But the Humvee proved that 4WIS doesn't necessarily mean it has to suck off-road. Then again, 4WIS on an off-road vehicle generally means expensive.

I'd like to see something about the size of the CJ or YJ with a 2.0 turbodiesel with about 150 horsepower and 240-250 lb./ft. of torque.  

Well, the HMMWV isn't really designed for what most of us would call 'off road'.  It's too big and too heavy.  Now the XJ on the other hand was a good example of what could and can be done.  JeepSpeed proves they can take a real pounding.

I'm not sure if I want diesel or not.  With the usage of turbochargers more prevalent, higher HP and TQ numbers are being made while still maintaining decent gas mileage.  Not to mention, the US is still pretty much gas-centric so I think sales would be low still.

Honestly, I love the ICON CJ3B idea.  Small, classic looks, live-axles and a 4banger with a turbo.  Parts are readily available since it used Rubicon axles and a GM Powertrain.  For size, I think something smaller then a CJ/YJ/TJ would be best as they are a only marginally smaller then a JK.  Like what Phil said a Sami size vehicle is what they need.  Although, if they bring out the Panda Cross as a Jeep, I could see people doing axle swap for solid axles in it's future.  

Yeah, but the ICONs are pricey, though. About $100k for the FJ. Don't know how much the CJ model is, but I'm sure it's up there.  

The CJ3B, I think is in the $40-50K range but you're getting a lot in that small package.  Still, it's basically a buggy as there isn't really a top nor are there doors so it's not going to be a expedition vehicle or daily driver by any means.  Well, unless you're made of stone.

Back in 2007, Fiat entered two Panda Cross's into the Dakar and they completed the rally.  So they're not THAT soft.  For comparison 2010, there was a privateer who entered a Jeep.  I think it was a TJ.  They dropped out after a few stages.

 

Intriguing possibilities, that's for sure.