Slightly OT Jeep Dropped the Ball on this one.

[jdoggmoney]

I have got to think that this is going to do nothing but hurt Jeep. I haven't paid much attention to it until now, but they should be showing up at your local GM dealership any day now.

2009 HUMMER H3T - Hummer Truck

Let's see, a V8 option mid size four door truck with available front and rear lockers. Jeep (Daimler Chrysler) left the door wide open and Hummer ran right through.

We are hanging onto the Wrangler by a thin thread I think.

[spook2]

Originally Posted by jdoggmoney

I have got to think that this is going to do nothing but hurt Jeep. I haven't paid much attention to it until now, but they should be showing up at your local GM dealership any day now.

2009 HUMMER H3T - Hummer Truck

Let's see, a V8 option mid size four door truck with available front and rear lockers. Jeep (Daimler Chrysler) left the door wide open and Hummer ran right through.

We are hanging onto the Wrangler by a thin thread I think.

Personally I don't see the issue. GM pumps out yet another vehicle desperately trying to hang on to a brand image that it hasn't deserved since GM produced it's first bastardized version, and completely diluted the brand in the process. IOW, hummer hasn't been a Hummer since they took over.

I think the sad fact is that a serious off-road truck in the vein that we would like to see is not likely to happen at the moment. Given the current economic situation and fuel prices I don't think they could draw enough of a market right now to make the investment worthwhile.

Jeep has created a number of fairly recent concepts that I, and I am sure many others here, would have been all over had they come to market, Remember the most recent Gladiator and the Rescue concepts? I would suggest though that the current 4-door JK is a watered down version of the latter so maybe in sense that one did make it to the market.

In any case, GM is marketing a poor mans version of the Hummer so middle America can wipe its hand across its nose, sniff, and say to its Bubba buddies "yep, bought me a hummer".

[Rio_Grande]

I Believe Jeep has made the mistakeof lack if variety.... They should produce a modern day Scrambler, the wrangler a charokee variant and make them the best on the market. insted they have been riding on the shirt tails of the cj's and it is running out. I have yet to understand Jeep manufacturing the wrangler se,x,sport, and rubicon all at one time, Why not build the right the first time and have the reputation if the best!!!

Anyway I don;t think this will hurt jeep any worse than it is hurting its self

[jeeperjohn]

Originally Posted by spook2

....... middle America can wipe its hand across its nose, sniff, and say to its Bubba buddies "yep, bought me a hummer".

At least it is not as ugly as the rest of them.

[jdoggmoney]

I'm not endorsing the Hummer by any means. But that vehicle fits a nitch that I for one an very interested in. Jeep could have built a better version building off of the Gladiator or four door Wrangler platform. They have access to the Hemi engine, have already had good experience with locking difs and the Wrangler drive train aa a whole.

The draw back to owning a Jeep IMHO has always been hauling and storage. Hummer is addressing both of these issues and adding a V8 and 33 inch rubber. Rio's right... seems any Jeep you can buy nowadays (minus Wrangler) is a box with four doors... you can only make so many boxes with four doors before they all start to look the same.

[JeepnGreg]

meh...i dont want an other V8...i want a smaller 4, 5, or 6 cylinder turbo diesel...... 2.5L to 3.5L would be fantastic in a smaller vehicle like a jeep.

GM can keep its hummer-truck...i'm waiting on a jeep diesel....and I'm sure i'll be waiting a looooooooong time

[SilentBob2]

I think they are ugly, then again I don't think jeep has got it right after the CJ. They are getting closer but not quite there.... Gotta get rid of those big plastic fenders......

[spook2]

Originally Posted by jdoggmoney

I'm not endorsing the Hummer by any means. But that vehicle fits a nitch that I for one an very interested in. Jeep could have built a better version building off of the Gladiator or four door Wrangler platform. They have access to the Hemi engine, have already had good experience with locking difs and the Wrangler drive train aa a whole.

The draw back to owning a Jeep IMHO has always been hauling and storage. Hummer is addressing both of these issues and adding a V8 and 33 inch rubber. Rio's right... seems any Jeep you can buy nowadays (minus Wrangler) is a box with four doors... you can only make so many boxes with four doors before they all start to look the same.

Since Jeep dropped their trucks they've never been about hauling and storage. At least not in any serious fashion. Ford, GM, and Dodge more than have that covered already, not to mention the recent foray into that market by the imports, and one of those has dropped production in its US market. As far as that goes check the production numbers for the big 3 truck lines and see where they are. Not nearly what they used to be I'd wager.

Jeep is a filling a fairly narrow market. There just aren't enough "special" people like us out there that are interested in the type of vehicle that Jeep produces and when they do go after those "0thers" everyone in here biatches about the grocery getters and mall crawlers Jeep is building.

I don't think Rio is right at all. You say Jeeps these days are pretty much a box with 4-doors. You could say the same thing about any of the big 3s 4-door trucks. They all look pretty much the same from bottom of the line to top of the line. I don't see a big difference between them and the new H-whatever that GM is hawking. It's just going to be a Hummified truck that Bubba can afford to buy and pump out his chest over, when his money would have been better spent on a real truck.

Jeep produced the X models because people that cant afford to buy a Rubicon model can still by a dang nice 4x Jeep. Each model is a step up in features, price, and the types of folks that can afford them.

There probably aren't too many people in here that could afford to buy a real honest to god Hummer, but I bet they'd jump all over a stripped down no frills or options version ala the Humvee.

Nobody does trucks like the big 3 and nobody does serious factory 4 whl drive like Jeep. Unfortunately for Jeep their market is a lot smaller and that's why you see them producing stuff like libertys, commanders, and such. They're just trying to grab more market and increase sales.

[Jim_Lou]

Somebody will buy anything that Jeep builds. The question boils down to: Will enough of any new product be sold to pay back the production setup costs, and return a profit?

The thing about a Scrambler version of a TJ is that the seup costs would be very small - It wouldn't cost very much to build a bed onto a TJ and slap it on an XJ frame.

For all we know they may be working on it right now, or they might have already determined that the market is too small to justify even minimal setup costs.

[RRich]

There are alot of folks that buy stuff for it's "cool" looks. Most of the Hummers out there have never been off road. They just want to look "cool" at parties and the opera. (Personaly I don't think it's Cool, just ridiculous.)

Why don't you see them off road much?
Why is it when you do they are either stuck or broken? And that's not even on the harder trails.

But "cool" sells!

Real off roaders are far between, the market is limited.

I have a Chevy PU, and don't feel a need to put an ugly body on it to pose!

He He - seems like about 25% of the Hummer people also love to dress up in pseudo military dress too. It's a fetish.


But - sadly that's what the trend is with more and more land closures.

Not long in the distant future will be a "Hard Core Run" will be posing in 3 different shopping centers in one day.
Then the winner will be the Chevy with the ugliest body - A Hummer!