2020 Jeep Gladiator
- Thread starter 68 4spd Fury
- Start date
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
And 90% of the yahoos that buy them will never use them as off road pickups.
68 4spd Fury
Senior Member
True enough, something about spending $30k + and having it scratched by branches and dinged by rocks. However, since my Grand Cherokee has had some years and many miles, it has seen allot more off road action.
Snowflakes will take the doors off and think that they are part of Rat Patrol.
pomonamissel
Senior Member
what ! why no v8 hemi ?
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
30? Hah. They're going to be all 50 grand Special Editions with 84 month notes.
67Monaco
Old Man with a Hat
Just as fugly as the rest of the crap they make these days.
Back in the earlier '80s, I was at a body shop customer's shop and he had one of the "MACHO" Jeep pickups sitting outside. He started talking about needing a new bed for it. I asked why? He showed me and told me how it happened.
Seems the Jeep pickup was being repoed. The repo wrecker guy backed up to it, raised his boom, and then drove off with it. One of the trailer hitch balls on the end of the boom didn't engage too well on that side of the rear bumper. End result, the Jeep became disengaged from the boom and nailed a telephone pole, dead center of the rear of the bed. Of course, the tail gate was not on the bed. BUT, there was a perfect round imprint of where the telephone pole impacted the bed floor. Just the width of the telephone pole's diameter, wrinkled metal on the front of the 'hole", but that was ALL the damage there was. Bed still in perfect alignment with the back of the cab and NO broken paint or dimples from it's contact, either! IF it'd been a GM or Ford pickup, especially a GM, the bed would have impacted the back of the cab and broken the back window I was amazed, to say the least. What did Jeep know about building strong vehicles that the other guys didn't???? Especially in an era when frames were allegedly not nearly as strong as the current ones alleged are!
Anyway, after the wrecker guy saw what was happening and had later happened. He went back and got the Jeep hooked up like he would normally hook up a normal tow, then proceeded with it.
With the big roll that Jeep is on in sales and such, the addition of a pickup truck will probably keep that roll going. Of course, some will spend another $20K+ with suspension kits, wheels, tires, etc.
When it gets factory options of leather and a heated steering wheel, we'll know something's gone awry!
CBODY67
Seems the Jeep pickup was being repoed. The repo wrecker guy backed up to it, raised his boom, and then drove off with it. One of the trailer hitch balls on the end of the boom didn't engage too well on that side of the rear bumper. End result, the Jeep became disengaged from the boom and nailed a telephone pole, dead center of the rear of the bed. Of course, the tail gate was not on the bed. BUT, there was a perfect round imprint of where the telephone pole impacted the bed floor. Just the width of the telephone pole's diameter, wrinkled metal on the front of the 'hole", but that was ALL the damage there was. Bed still in perfect alignment with the back of the cab and NO broken paint or dimples from it's contact, either! IF it'd been a GM or Ford pickup, especially a GM, the bed would have impacted the back of the cab and broken the back window I was amazed, to say the least. What did Jeep know about building strong vehicles that the other guys didn't???? Especially in an era when frames were allegedly not nearly as strong as the current ones alleged are!
Anyway, after the wrecker guy saw what was happening and had later happened. He went back and got the Jeep hooked up like he would normally hook up a normal tow, then proceeded with it.
With the big roll that Jeep is on in sales and such, the addition of a pickup truck will probably keep that roll going. Of course, some will spend another $20K+ with suspension kits, wheels, tires, etc.
When it gets factory options of leather and a heated steering wheel, we'll know something's gone awry!
CBODY67
barnfind
Old Man with a Hat
I'd rather rebuild an old cj-8, than drive that.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Those will be 30k in 2030. 50k minimum buy in, plus dealer gouge for most of 2020 just to be the Joneses.
@barnfind you could jam a hellcrate in a CJ plus resto and still be in for less$$$
@barnfind you could jam a hellcrate in a CJ plus resto and still be in for less$$$
You’re light.....
barnfind
Old Man with a Hat
Agreed
Great if you want a twisted frame, A 304 , 401 is plenty in those short frames.
I spent today at the Los Angeles Auto Show taking a look at all the new offerings and listened to a lot of the "reveals" of the auto manufacturers on their new products. These are the press days and because of my former job, I fit one of the categories where I could get to take part in these events.
The Jeep Gladiator stand was easily the most populated site in the whole show. And I must say, while I am not a Jeep kind of guy, the Gladiator did look really well done. One thing that really hit me today compared to the past events is how much all the manufacturers have converged on the same basic styling and interior fittings, like they are all using the same vendors for materials and the designers are all thinking along very similar lines. But the Jeeps really stand out and that is probably one of the reasons they are doing so well.
There was also a Rivian fully electric pickup truck the size of an F150 with supposedly 400 miles range on display from a Chinese manufacturer. It had the luxury interior the quality of the top of the line Fords and Dodges for example. It was very likely one of the other most populated sites at the show as well. The Chinese have come a long way.
My other "take away" is why are there still so many vehicle manufacturers out there still pretty much making the same stuff with just different brands on them? I would have thought we would be down to maybe 5 major world manufacturers and most of the other ones gone by now. What a waste of money and resources with so many variants of the same types of vehicles all looking very much the same. And somehow, Mitsubishi is still managing to stay in the game - their heavy industries must be underwriting them.
Its a vicious dog fight out there.
I doubt I will go back there in future years, as nothing really excites me any more that is new. I remember too vividly the Forward Look years in the middle 50s to the early 60s and how so unique the offerings of different manufacturers were. That imagination and enthusiasm is just gone. Today, virtually all the cars are just excellent appliances.
The Jeep Gladiator stand was easily the most populated site in the whole show. And I must say, while I am not a Jeep kind of guy, the Gladiator did look really well done. One thing that really hit me today compared to the past events is how much all the manufacturers have converged on the same basic styling and interior fittings, like they are all using the same vendors for materials and the designers are all thinking along very similar lines. But the Jeeps really stand out and that is probably one of the reasons they are doing so well.
There was also a Rivian fully electric pickup truck the size of an F150 with supposedly 400 miles range on display from a Chinese manufacturer. It had the luxury interior the quality of the top of the line Fords and Dodges for example. It was very likely one of the other most populated sites at the show as well. The Chinese have come a long way.
My other "take away" is why are there still so many vehicle manufacturers out there still pretty much making the same stuff with just different brands on them? I would have thought we would be down to maybe 5 major world manufacturers and most of the other ones gone by now. What a waste of money and resources with so many variants of the same types of vehicles all looking very much the same. And somehow, Mitsubishi is still managing to stay in the game - their heavy industries must be underwriting them.
Its a vicious dog fight out there.
I doubt I will go back there in future years, as nothing really excites me any more that is new. I remember too vividly the Forward Look years in the middle 50s to the early 60s and how so unique the offerings of different manufacturers were. That imagination and enthusiasm is just gone. Today, virtually all the cars are just excellent appliances.
What many might not be aware of is that there are several Indian vehicle manufacturers. NOT to forget about the "partnerships" of China with USA OEMs to build and design vehicles for sale in China. It might be interesting to see if the Rivian has "licensed" propulsion units or otherwise?
The Detroit Auto Show will always kick off the season, but it seems the LAAS has been slowly emerging as a companion event, of sorts?
When vehicles were bigger, it was easier to develop "lines" and "Character", but with shorter lengths, only so many ways to carve up a "jellybean" (as Chrysler termed them in the later '80s). Good that the LX cars aren't in that mix!
CBODY67
The Detroit Auto Show will always kick off the season, but it seems the LAAS has been slowly emerging as a companion event, of sorts?
When vehicles were bigger, it was easier to develop "lines" and "Character", but with shorter lengths, only so many ways to carve up a "jellybean" (as Chrysler termed them in the later '80s). Good that the LX cars aren't in that mix!
CBODY67
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
The "theft recovery" look will take over... In FL they take the bumpers off too...
A youngster at work did this... I kept asking him "does your mom know somebody stole her fenders?"... "It's not my mom's, I own it".... "Sure, so you haven't told her then"...
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
You'd never buy one...
"The Gladiator's 5-foot bed..."
Not sure practicalities play a part in most vehicular purchases .
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
This one is a better design in my opinion. It seems to have better proportions.
MarPar
Meat Man with a Hat
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