[1731]

http://www.autoextremist.com/page2.shtml#Rant

In the middle he talks about how Jeep has not only lost it's way, but that it will loose it's way even more in the future by going for "cute utes".

FYI - this web page is a weekly weblog for those interested in the auto-industry goings ons. Comes out every Wed. morning.

 

[Guest]

Did i read the right article? what I read is a guy saying jeep has lost sales because it will not waiver from it go anywhere do anything stance. (we all know thats untrue they built the liberty) he goes on to add that jeep needs to go after the "cute ute" market.
My personal opinion is that of what you wrote. Jeep needs to forget cushy rides and stick with its bread and butter. the "soccer mom" utes sell numbers now but will soon destroy jeeps image ultimitley dooming their own existence. I think to some extent they understand this.
As for his comments on the h2. "stealing jeeps thunder" maybe for the bat of an eye. honestly nothing as ugly as that h2 will be anymore than a quick passing overpriced fad. not to mention it is a clearly an incapable vehicle.
but what do I know. I'm just some flunky who can't afford to buy anything anyway.

 

[3125]

It's clear that the person who went on this rant has never, and will never buy a Jeep. There is something that he was missing as he rambled on about nothing. The difference between the Jeep and any other Automotive manufacturer is that when you get a Jeep, you're not only buying the Product, but you are buying heritage. What other vehicle on the road do the owners openly wave at each other regardless of whether they know each other. The only other I can think of is Harley. With a Jeep comes confidence and pride.

It irritates the heck out of me when I hear someone referring to vehicle as a "Jeep" when it isn't in fact a Jeep. NO! Its a Suzuki, get it STRAIGHT!

The simple fact that the word Jeep has become a generic title for any vehicle that can go off road similar to inline skating being constantly reffered to as Rollerblading says something.

I'm tired of the marginalization of the automotive product lines. Whats the Difference between a Blazer and a Impala... Two inches of ground clearance and a worse gas mileage - thats it. The fact that the Jeep product line has stayed true to its customers and its heritage validates the integrity of their vehicles.

Would you go to a gas station to go grocery shopping? True, they sell groceries there, but it is common sense to go to a Grocery Store for grocerys.

Get a Jeep, and be happy with what you bought because you can trust they had you in mind. Otherwise, go get one of those Fisher Price versions of SUV's.

 

[Guest]

And here is my rant: pnut, I think that csjjeep is correct in his assessment. It seems to me that the editor was condemning Jeep for sticking to their guns as long as they did while endorsing their movement towards the "Cute-ute" market. I do dissagree with csjjeep to some degree however. The Liberty is arguably the most capable of the cute-utes on the market. I've seen some surprisingly good reviews about it's off-road capabilies which upset me because I want so much to hate it for killing the much beloved XJ(I've got a '98). The Liberty however, cannot be modified with a simple lift kit and some off-road tires and come even close to the performance of the XJ due to the limitations of the IFS. I think that it was a necessary step for Jeep to make in order to stay alive as a company and I won't cry if they introduce another similar model, just so long as they don't kill off the TJ or even the ZJ in their current solid-axle configuration. I can see the ZJ going over to the dark side soon though, because the majority of its buyers are people who cart their kids to and from soccer pratice and value a better ride more than its ability to rockcrawl. I don't think that this is true of the TJ since it is far to short a vehicle to give a good ride even with IFS so why mess with what works. Judging from the number of TJ's I see on the road I don't think that Jeep is having much of a problem selling them. As far as the H2 goes, who the heck can afford one? Even if you can pay the sticker price, who can afford to keep the gastank full. Those are for the hip-hop crowd to show off their bling-bling and like all fads they will get old soon. Anyway, this is just my two cents.

 

[1731]

Just for the record, I feel that Jeep SHOULD stay as hard core as possible. That is what they were founded on, that's what they have done well, and that's what they should stay doing. Not chasing sales, or following what's hot, but sticking with a unique set of vehicles capable of doing what other vehicles simply can't.

I posted the link so that you'all could see what the view is (unfortunately) inside the industry. Much to my dismay it is always about the money.

 

[3125]

I figured that you held that view - otherwise you wouldn't be perusing this board!

Sean

 

[1221]

In reply to:

Jeep basically had to sit back and watch as lesser, boulevardier-type, "cute utes" gobbled up huge amounts of the four-wheel-drive market in the low, medium and luxury segments - pushing Jeep to the "do not call" list.

[/ QUOTE ]

Man, can any of you remember the last time you went to the Jeep dealership to look at Luxury Vehicles?

In reply to:

To make matters even worse for Jeep, GM came out of nowhere to steal Jeep's thunder with the H2.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I'm pretty much in line with the rest of this forum when I say that if I were to buy a "STOCK VEHICLE" with the intent of wheeling it, I would much rather have a Rubicon than an H2, but maybe that's just me.

 

[sourpwr]

While I did not read the attached web page, I did see an interesting but frustrating article the other day. I believe it was in the Orlando Sentinel. The article basically said that DC was going to move Jeep into/toward the cute-ute market. They would no longer live up to the marketing campaign "all vehicles Rubicon capable." The article was unclear as to the longevity of the existing product line, but did state that they two lines might co-exist.

In my opinion, this approach diminishes the heritage of Jeep which is their biggest asset.

Mike

 

[Guest]

In reply to:

I do dissagree with csjjeep to some degree however. The Liberty is arguably the most capable of the cute-utes on the market.

[/ QUOTE ]

i don't think we do disagree. yes most capable of the "cute utes". my point was meant to be the liberty is a step in the wrong direction. it less capable than xj it replaced.

perhaps jeep make a move similar to that of Range rover land rover. have its hardcore segment and its luxury segment. the trail rated designation could very easily make that determination. have a jeep brand and jeepster brand. jeep hard core 4 wheel drive and jeepster can be a capable off road vehicle which focuses more on its on road manners.

Thoughts?

 

[305]

The Jeep heritage started down the crapper the day DC bought the line.

 

[1060]

Rockcrusher hit the nail on the head.

 

[RRich]

The Jeep helped defeat the Krouts - they still hate them. They'll kill it.

 

[jdoggmoney]

I'm not gonna put much stock in the article. Sounds like it's filled with double talk. So Porshe and BMW are going to die because they forgot about their previous successes. And then Jeep is going to die because it took a gamble and tried expand it's views to get a larger chunk of the market. Double talk.

Don't get me wrong, I hate to see things go cute ute

, but Jeep may have to find middle ground to keep up with all these wanna be yuppies that fancy themselves hardcore off-roaders.