Wrangler Announcement Alludes to Possibility of a Jeep Pickup
With all the attention Ram has been getting lately due to its impressive U.S. sales, the success of its light-duty half-ton turbo-diesel and its best-in-class torque numbers from the Ram heavy-duty Cummins, it's easy to see how Ram might get the lion's share of attention from Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. But Jeep, another FCA brand that also has been growing at impressive rates in the U.S. and around the world, has been keeping Marchionne busy. That's certainly been the case at this year's Paris Motor Show.
According to Automotive News, Marchionne recently announced in Paris that the next-generation Wrangler could be made from aluminum, use a turbocharged engine and might shed its rugged ladder frame construction in favor of a unibody chassis. Marchionne said doing so means shifting production from Toledo, Ohio, where the Wrangler is currently built. That announcement was a bit of a shock to folks in Toledo because in January, during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Marchionne said the Wrangler would always be built in Toledo.
As you might expect, this has the Toledo plant leadership wondering what to think, but there might be a silver lining in the form of the long-awaited, longer-wheelbase Jeep pickup truck. If production of the next Wrangler moves to a more modern, more flexible and larger plant in Illinois or Michigan, the Toledo plant could still produce other vehicles with a traditional ladder frame (maybe just a little longer and beefier than the Wrangler Unlimited frame) that could be a solid platform for a Wrangler pickup (Gladiator?) that would likely be different from any midsize pickup Ram could offer.
As difficult as it might be for some Jeep enthusiasts to believe their beloved Wrangler could go to independent front and rear suspensions and convert to a unibody chassis, they might at least find comfort in knowing that the hard-core Jeep tradition would be carried on with the return of a ladder frame Jeep pickup (which didn't exist with the Comanche from 30 years ago).
No matter what happens, it looks like Jeep is ready to go global with the new 2015 Renegade as well as introduce the possible return of a Jeep pickup produced at the Toledo plant as soon as announcements are made about when and where the next Wrangler will be produced — it's likely due in 2017. That puts the Jeep pickup timing somewhere around 2019 by our guess, just three short model years away.
Manufacturer image
Comments
Don't count on it...
Sweet!
That would be awesome if they keep it a solid(live) axle up front.
That wheelbase is to long for a Jeep, its not a jeep as it would get high centered to easily.
Pretty cool eventhough Fiat-Chrysler is flip-flopping on Toledo.
If they make those changes to the Jeep Wrangler, plus move it out of Toledo, they can kiss it goodbye.
Joe: that one is just a concept. I suspect that if it's made it will be offered in 2-door trim only with a 4-4.5' bed.
Seems par for the course--water it down just like the Fiat 1500 for the buyers that can't be bothered with "truckiness" but want to have the image. Plus, Chrysler fans will buy stuff from China, Mexico, wherever, as long as it had their badge on the hood.
Jeep first rolled out that concept pickup back in 2005.They teased then,as they are now.BTW,under the hood of that concept truck is a 2.8L CRD.
V8 is a must.
A truck like this would be just perfect.
Despite popular belief, most people could care less about payload.
I need my truck mainly for carrying all my fishing gear, but what does it do most of the time? It just hauls air.
I am amazed at the ability to slap a JEEP badge on an otherwise mediocre vehicle will draw customers to a showroom. People do love their "Trail Rated" JEEPS!
Michigan Bob, What vehicle are you driving now?
@JC
I had to downsize to a Saturn Ion. The fiberglass and plasic body is cracked and the paint is faded. I can't actually drive it right now because my mom grounded me.
why does the hard top 4 door Wrangler cost $44K when the 2 door soft top is $22K?
The local FCA dealer in my town built a Wrangler pickup conversion. It sat on the lot for 2 years. The box was big enough for a spare tire and a cooler.
Jeep won't get a truck because it could cut into Ram sales unless they build a Strada sized trucklet with a Jeep badge on it.
This would be a whole lot better for FCA than trying to bring back the Dakota if they want to dip into the midsize market. Slap the 3.0 EcoDiesel in there and put Dana 44's under it and it would probably sell like hotcakes
Aluminum and turbo diesels are not a problem; however, if they get rid of the live axles, then you no longer have a differentiating characteristic to the vehicle. It might as well be a Jeep Compass. That would be foolish.
2014 2Door Jeep Wrangler Willys, sitting outside right now, doors off, top down, 80's hair-nation, I don't miss my truck, best 28k I have ever spent.
There is little chance a wrangler pickup is coming and zero chance it will have a solid front axle if it comes. The next wrangler is going IFS, that precludes a SFA for a wrangler truck.
@Lou BC--Wow 2 years, someone must have gotten a buy. I think Fiat Chrysler is floating this out to the public to see how much interest there is in a Wrangler truck which I think Ford is doing the same with a pickup based Transit. Not saying they would never make it, but highly unlikely.
pure tease is all.
I bought a 2dr Wrangler Rubicon in 2010 specifically because it was the smallest vehicle I could find that still had a frame and solid axles. I hope that doesn't change with the next generation. Real shame to loose what makes the wrangler unique in a sea of endless crossovers.
"that could be a solid platform for a Wrangler pickup (Gladiator?)...That puts the Jeep pickup timing somewhere around 2019 by our guess, just three short model years away.."
We are going to hold you to that. If there is no Jeep pickup by 2019, then no more possible Jeep pickup articles unless solid info is given. 10 years have passed since the first Jeep Gladiator article and nothing happened.
http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/autoshows/naias2005/jeep/gladiator.html
I don't mind it being aluminum with fully independent suspension, just as long clearance and articulation is at least better than the current Rubicon. I'm less thrilled about unibody, but Jeep has made some very capable unibodies with solid front axles in the past. I would like to see them use the VM Motori 3.0 V6 diesel and 8 speed auto. That would be an absolute beast, both on road and off road. Yes they should do a pickup version too.
heck, I would take the commanche again, I thought they were good trucks.
Its not going to have a fully independent suspension. Just an IFS, which is heavily based upon what Ram uses. No chance of VM 3.0. Doesn't fit.
@BAFO
Speak for yourself. You claim you know what's going on here, but you have yet to prove your theory. What is interesting is that Denver Mike was your original target. Once you realized he wouldn't engage with you, then you moved onto zviera and now me. 90% of the posters here are fed up with you. The problem here is you and you alone.
Any controversy that occurs here somehow involves you. Is that not odd? You have a distinct dictation style and it is abundantly clear when you are posting using another name. PUTC has my IP and email, they are free to emaile any time. If they had any intention of banning me like you claim, it would have happened long ago.
They might use this suspension I read about a while ago.
http://www.allpar.com/SUVs/lil-blue.html
Very capable, patented and interesting.
And because of no engine bay room the 3.6 liter V6 would likely be swapped out for either a Hurricane 2.0 turbo and/or the smaller 3.2 V6. Many believe a diesel will be optional.
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2014/10/wrangler-may-leave-frame-factory-steel-behind
If FCA can build a Jeep that is cheaper than our 'Japanese' pickups with a small diesel it will be a seller on the global markets.
A cab chassis version is needed with at least a 2 500lb to 3 000lb payload and a tow capacity of 6 500lbs to 8 000lbs.
It needs to be cheaper because of it's agricultural finish. In all seriousness it would have to be under $30k AUD or $26.5k USD.
Judgine by the photo this Jeep could only manage a 6' tray on the back when the Japanese, Indian and Chinese trucks can manage an 8' tray.
Because of it's utilitarian finish it would be aimed at farmers and compete with some of the other bare as bones budget 4x4 utes.
Wranglers do sell here, but are not as popular as in the US. They do represent a cheaper alternative to other 4x4s.
@All1, they're not the only ones he went after. I just wish people could be mature enough to agree to disagree sometimes. We all have different tastes and experiences. It's ok to like different cars.
I wish FCA had the GUTS to build a modern J1O/J20 Pickup . I still miss my 1976 J20, spartan-yes and tough-absolutely . They could regain some GLORY from this. I fear this idea will get RAMed by some bean counter who will DODGE an opportunity for another Fix It Again Toledo solution to why Jeep only has one real Jeep worthy of the name product. Just sayin. But seriously a return of a real Jeep pickup would be cool, but not anything like last micro bs thing who's model name I cannot recall and was not worthy of the brand.
@Big Al @ Alex
While this post is mine......
"Sweet!
That would be awesome if they keep it a solid(live) axle up front.
Posted by: ALL1 | Oct 8, 2014 12:42:14 PM"
This one however is not
"Posted by: ALL1 | Oct 8, 2014 9:05"
Some years ago,it was said that Ram and Jeep couldn't both have a midize.Either one or the other but not both.Ram has not shown any kind of concept geared towards a midsize,yet jeep has been showing this concept since 2005.Actually,they kind of roll it out around every 2 years to'gage the publics reaction' to it.Oh yeah,the last time they showed it,it was painted yellow,and that was around two years ago.Will they build it? I would say it's a definite possible maybe,or not.
@zviera
Its not going to use the lil blue suspension. Chrysler so no longer has the expertise to pull that off. It would take them years to get it working on any modern vehicle (and its too expensive). The next wrangler is going to have an IFS similar to the Ram 1500. Very unlikely that a pickup will come of it but I sure hope one does.
@All1, I wish Mark would setup a login requirement to post (with a rule against multiple accounts). Then we wouldn't get trolls posting under different names.
@Alex
Source?
Source of what? Not following you.
@Alex,
How will this help.
You will still be able to circumvent that level of security via changing MacAdresses and IP Addresses;)
Read that in what ever fashion you want.
Well you could, but I think people do it more so on this site because it's so easy. It doesn't even make you validate your email, so I don't bother putting in my real email. But if someone is motivated enough to troll a forum to change IP addresses after signing out, creating another account, remembering to sign in to that one, then I suppose they could get away with it. I dunno, I think most trolls won't bother going to all that trouble.
"pure tease is all."
@jim,
Why do you say that?
Source?
As zveria stated, they might use this suspension.
http://www.allpar.com/SUVs/lil-blue.html
Chrysler anchors mpg ratings
by David Zatz • Posted on October 8, 2014
From being the most fuel efficient American automaker in the 1980s, Chrysler is now the least fuel-efficient major automaker selling in the US, due largely and ironically to high customer demand for its popular Jeep SUVs and Ram trucks.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s annual report put Chrysler at the bottom of major sellers, though not by a large margin. The top maker, Mazda, does not have vehicles in the worst-mileage categories (full-size pickups, true off-road SUVs, etc). Volkswagen and Toyota, generally thought of as “high-mileage” by consumers, were #5 and #7, respectively, with BMW sliding in between them, thanks partly to Mini. Ford was the top American manufacturer, though it came in below all imports except Daimler (which sells both Mercedes and Smart cars).
Nissan, Subaru, and BMW have made the largest gains, with 2 mpg increases. Toyota and GM have had the smallest increases, of 0.2 and 0.3 mpg over two model years.
Chrysler is working on increasing fuel economy with diesel pickup production rising, hybrid minivans coming within a year, a new line of turbocharged four-cylinder engines, stop-start technology, reduced-weight Wranglers, greater use of eight and nine speed transmissions, and other measures. While the company has been trying to make its cars more compelling, customers’ preference for its heavier vehicles has kept it from increasing gas mileage more, despite achieving higher EPA ratings on specific vehicles and having the most fuel-efficient full-sized pickup.
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2014/10/chrysler-anchors-mpg-ratings
Retro reboot: Deeper into the supercharged HellCat V8
To be used in the 2015 Charger and Challenger, it is a nicely executed piece of engineering, especially with the claimed 22 mpg (highway) fuel efficiency. The engine does not have cylinder cutoff, making the 22 mpg figure more impressive.
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/hemi/hellcat-deeper.html
BREAKING NEWS!
Report: Fiat Chrysler CEO Marchionne 'done' in 2018
Sergio Marchionne is planning to retire as CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles at the end of 2018 after completing a five-year plan unveiled earlier this year.
"I'll undoubtedly do something else" after the end of 2018," Marchionne told Bloomberg Businessweek. "I am not going to do any more turnarounds. I'm done; let some of the young punks do it."
http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/chrysler/2014/10/08/marchionne-retire/16900363/
@ToxicSludge,
The problem with the US market is the US can't import any pickups as a litmus test.
So whatever the manufacturers produce must sell in massive quantities to cover costs. This Jeep pickup is no different.
As I stated the US manufacturers seem to sample all of the time with encouraging vehicles that never eventuate. Because of risk.
With such a huge risk why would any manufacturer set up a factory to produce 100 000 vehicle per year without any real gauge if the will reach this target.
This is why I do think the Chev Colorado should receive that coveted Truck of the Year Award.
Chev have taken a far bigger gamble than Ford did with the aluminium F-150.
Chev need to manufacture 100 000 Colorado's a year.
How many F-150's will sell, even if they are aluminium.
As many on this site have told me full size pickups are very dominant and nothing can replace them.
So, get rid of the chicken tax and let import in so you guys can sample some nice little trucks.
This will open the US to export pickups, especially vehicles the size of the Wrangler in a pickup. Who will accept a Wrangler pickup from the US? This is needed so the US will manufacture pickups like this Jeep.
When the US taxes them to import a pickup from their country. It's just common sense.
This is a "slow news day" story, guys.
It's a tease, I'm telling you. Look at how all of you get worked up over it. Lots of clicks.
The entire body/frame period of automaking is coming to a close during the next ten years. This concept Jeep truck is body on frame to the max. A cartoon.
Question: How cheap would Jeep have to sell these things to generate the sales volume needed to just cover its cost?
Let's say they sell a really 1960s-style very spartan base model with no AC, stick shift, steel wheels, AM radio and vinyl seats. I can't see them getting much under the 20k price point at all.
At that price there are already SUVs and trucks which address that market space (Nissan Xterra comes to mind) and they really don't sell very well. What was the name of the ugly Toyota SUV they built a few years ago, the FJ--you almost never see them. They can't sell them much less than 30k).
Sorry, about this Jeep truck--it's a tease fellas.
@papa jim
Source?
Aluminum body, Turbo in-line diesel and a 6-speed manual please.
WTF! AGAIN?
Hey fiat! You know what happens when you tease the bear too often? The Gladiator was a good idea ten years ago when its conceptualization was revealed to the general public. But you teased us too often. Even if you produce it now it's too little to late. Though, I would like to see it on some dealer lots. I'd like to take it for a test drive..... JUST SO I COULD WHIZ IN IT AN LEAVE IT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, KEYS IN IT, ENGINE RUNNING.
Ten years is too much. Way, way. WAY! too much.
Believe NOTHING Sergio Marchionne says. His 3.0l diesel Grand Cherokee scheme? I would like to see him dragged into court to answer for his false advertising reguarding the engine. By the time you get all of the required add-ons, get the diesel, and pay $4,000.00 for the PRIVILEGE of getting a 183 cubic inch diesel motor. It will in fact cost you an extra $14,500.00. And that is before the stealerships start tacting on their extra.
I've seen a lot of grafting and scheming. But this is the longest running snake oil scam I can remember.
And yes. I stand by what I have said. " Believe NOTHING Sergio Marchionne says. " Demand PROOF! No amount of claims and promises can make up for or 'replace' actions.
I believe the the current venacular is ' Show me the money' .
I'm too ticked off right now to even begin to talk about the stealership scheme involing the ram 1500 Ecodiesel.............................................................................
Hint: It involves keeping the engine in short supply on purpose. Or at least make it -seem- like it is in short supply. It has a lot to do with gouging consumers as much as possible. If you are old enough to remember the movie "WallStreet" you may remember the terms 'maximize profit' and 'F*ck the people, their sheep'.
OMG! Finally the Gladiator or J12 could see the light of a production line???
I have been following the Jeep pickup discussion since the Gladiator showed up in 2005.
Then I remember the story that broke in 2010 when Manley rolled the repainted Gladiator out on to the stage in front of his dealers and said ("you never know what might show up in your showrooms..." and nothing happened.
The cam the J12 in 2012 in the Moab desert - the red truck with plaid seats and made from the parts bin at Jeep impressed Jeep followers from across the country...and nothing happened.
Talk about crying wolf!!!!
Despite the huge profit center this truck would be; despite the clamor in the market for the truck; despite the record popularity of the brand and the market's seemingly unending interest in Jeep - the management at Chrysler continues to over think this decision. We hear one lame excuse after another. Yet we have seen the Patriot come along and capital investment made and the Compass and capital investment made and who can forget probably the biggest hit of the SUV sales market of all - the Jeep Commander! Whoa that was a keen use of capital investment - but no no no - Jeep couldn't build the Gladiator after all it wouldn't work for the market - PLEASE stop the teasing and the fumbling around.....
I'll believe this when I see it on the showroom floor.
Please, please, please........ all I have owned since the 80's (CJ5 and CJ7; no YJ's) are jeeps (2 TJs and a Wrangler Sahara unlimited); and to be honest I have always looked longingly at pickup trucks and thought how wonderful it would be to own one..... but my blind allegiance to jeep has kept me in check. I beg you, bring it on!
I did come close to converting my Wrangler but the $30000 price tag was too steep.
Go Gladiator!!!!
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