"Sure, Chevy and GMC, with the exception of some features and technology, sell the same midsize and full-size pickups and seem to be doing pretty well for the umbrella company. With that template already out there, it seems that FCA could chart a different, more diverse, path with a two-truck option."

Except for one HUGE thing. Chevy and GMC trucks are not sold at the same dealerships. Jeeps and Rams are. So not only would there be unnecessary market competition between a Jeep pickup and Ram, there'd be direct competition inside the dealerships as well. (That is the reason the Durango and Caravan are on the endangered list - the showroom-floor competition).

So pretty much Chrysler won't allow a jeep truck, despite consumers begging for one, because Ram is their truck brand. Nevermind the fact that no Ram products are a direct competitor for a jeep with a truck bed, so buyers probably compare jeep with other midsize brands, all from different manufacturers of course.

So, which currently profitable assembly operation is Fiat Chrysler going to be scrapping, for the sake of taking a swing at the specialty market with an untried concept?

There would be very little if any competition from within. The Dodge is a full size, the Jeep would be midsize. The jeep drives horrible compared to the Dodge, interior design/features would be pretty different, the payloads might not be to far off though as Dodge has some pretty laughable payload specs. Overlap would be very minimal, less than say the Gm mid size trucks overlapping the full sizers or the same with a Ford Ranger being added, those overlap a good amount more.

Jeep would be silly not to bring a small pick up back. It would be relatively cheap than designing a whole new platform, shoot it should/would utilize a good portion of the front half if the body and dang near all the frame of a wrangler. The 45 year old suburban dads wanting a cool midlife crisis vehicle with a touch more practicality and the twenty year old bros won't be cross shopping pretty much any Dodge truck.

Build it Jeep, it is the right thing to do!

We've seen a huge upswing in small truck sales with the introduction of the Colorado/Canyon siblings.
I can't see how there would be much cannibalization of full sized truck sales unless Jeep just happens to build a tougher more capable small truck than Ram 1500 ...................... on second thought I can see why Ram is afraid.

After all the upshopping, down shopping, cross shopping, inside competition, outside competition arguments there is another marketing point - owners of Rams trucks and their family members may be very interested in adding another kind of truck to the stable. I know a lot of Ram owning contractors and their family members that would jump at having this as a personal option in the family.

I'll take a copy of the red one please.

I'm not a Jeep fan, but I think Fiat Chrysler Automobiles should still go ahead and make the Jeep truck. At the end of the day the profit all goes back to the same company, so I don't know why they'd be so concerned about cannibalized sales.

I'm starting to see it panning out like this:

Ram - Truck division
Jeep - SUV division
Dodge - Affordable divison
Chrysler - Luxury division

Simply put I don't think FCA has the assets to set up plants to build a Jeep trucklet. We all saw what happened to Hummer as well. There is demand, but is it sustainable? I don't think it is. You'd get alot of buyers out the gate then sales would stagnate or worse erode sales of the 2 door models.

If jeep will builds a truck similar toe the AEV brute concept -- it will sell. I will buy one for sure. Never understood the ignorance of the manufacturers. We asked for crew cab 1/2 ton trucks for 25 years before they finally gave us one. And now, they outsell regular and super cab versions. As much as I like some of the quality improvements fiat has brought, I really don't like their design teams for exterior design. I really dislike the feminine looks of the new cherokee and renegade. I hope its' not the future of the grande cherokee and the Wrangler. If so, jeep will suffer.

Nothing like the author contradicting himself within the article. First he says, "All of these reasons, plus the recent growth of the midsize truck market — the new GM twins, Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma all have strong sales growth — fuel speculation about the possibility of a Jeep pickup... ", followed by, "The problem for FCA, though, is introducing an in-house Ram 1500 competitor." And when you consider that the Gladiator concept is anything BUT a full-sized pickup and that even the AEV Brute Double Cab carry a significantly narrower bed and much lower cargo capacity by weight, there is no way a Wrangler-based pickup would even be cross-shopped with a full sized Ram 1500. They're simply too different!

The FCA boys wants to merge with Ford or GM.

LMAO.

https://www.google.com/search?q=chrysler+merger&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=chrysler+merger&tbm=nws

I love how this article calls GM the GM twins, now that's funny.

Jeep pickup would be awesome

@KeithCT: First off, you left out a few categories.

Fiat: Sub compact.
Alfa Romeo: Sport Coupe and Spyder.
Maserati: Sport Luxury (or "Personal Luxury")

As for whether or not they have the capacity, apparently you overlooked the point about Toledo, Ohio offering tax incentives and actually buying land adjacent to the Toledo plant to help Jeep expand their capacity at that location. It would be an almost perfect fit for a Wrangler-based pickup truck expansion.

Hummer's failure wasn't in trying to grow too fast but rather in losing focus from what made the Hummer what it was--the original HMMMV. The Hummer's original drivetrain offered better terrain clearance than any other type of street-legal car out of a factory and gave it the ability to surpass the original Jeep lineup with almost amazing off-road prowess. The H2 dropped back to a conventional solid-axle driveline that was still capable, but no where near as good as the original Hummer's. The H3 then made matters worse by making it smaller and lower still, letting the Daimler-designed JK Wrangler surpass almost all of its abilities. Personally, I still want an HMMMV but simply cannot see owning one where I currently live as they are so bloomin' big and thirsty. It wouldn't even fit in my driveway without taking up two parking places.

On the other hand, had Hummer kept with the original's driveline, even if re-sized for smaller vehicles, it would be the deFacto master of American off-road prowess and likely able to more than challenge some of the even bigger Eurasian and African rigs as seen on Top Gear (UK) and YouTube.

@Bret: As much as you may not like it, the Cherokee's and Renegade's design are going to continue on; Jeep can no longer afford to ignore aerodynamics in their design policies. They simply need to become more rounded, lower and sleeker to achieve CAFE specifications. Even the smallest diesel couldn't achieve enough economy on its own to overcome wind resistance at highway speeds and still give the mandated mileage figures. On the other hand, a plug-in hybrid driveline (PHEV) might--IF you could get enough mileage on battery alone to push the base fuel economy up enough. Then again, if they adopted Tesla's overall drivetrain concept with a small diesel engine to recharge the batteries on longer runs, it might just work. And imagine the available torque for rock crawling!

"So, which currently profitable assembly operation is Fiat Chrysler going to be scrapping, for the sake of taking a swing at the specialty market with an untried concept?"

The Compass/Patriot are on their way out.

i don't think a jeep pickup would compete with ram for sales as much as it would compete with other jeep models. The people that would buy it are the jeep guys that would prefer to have a pickup bed instead of a traditional jeep. Either way I don't think it's going to bring many new buyers. I would like to see a jeep pickup but I'd be surprised if it happens.

I do hope FCA can influence it's Chrysler brand to make an extra long wheelbase Wrangler pickup. From what I've seen Sergio appears to rule the roost. But we haven't heard much of him of late.

Chrysler really needs to extend the wheelbase of the Wrangler for CAFE purpose. This will remove some of the Wrangler's off road capability.

I've been saying for some time now that FCA requires a global midsize competitor and I think a Wrangler pickup could fill in some the demand.

To make the Wrangler work as a midsizer a few issues need to be resolved first. The bed for a global pickup is around 8' in length and just over 6' in width. So, the image of the top most Wrangler pickup must have another 6" added to it's wheelbase.

The 2.8 diesel is a must and so is a decent 4 cylinder gasoline engine.

To me, it seems FCA could make a Wrangler pickup very easily. Also, as I've stated there isn't enough competition in the US pickup market. Especially if FCA are concerned about it's own potential midsizer competing with a full size.

The US really needs to open up it's doors to external commercial vehicle competition.

@roadwhale

did you say Compass/Patriot? Sales numbers on those Forester-wannabes cannot be very exciting.

Can't argue with killing off those two, that would have been the right thing five years ago. Both models pre date the Fiat relationship, yes?

Another area of improvement is the interior and finish of the Jeep. If it is to sell and compete with the Ram it's agricultural and low grade interior must be improved.

This improvement will also be required for a global model, or only Jeep diehards will buy it. If it can't refine the Jeep it will be competing with Indian and Chinese pickups.

@big al

by low grade interior you refer to the Wrangler...

the interiors on other RAM and Jeep products has been ok in my opinion.

@papajim,
I'm referring to the Wrangler. If FCA make a Wrangler pickup the interior is required to be improved, by a large margin.

If it can't be improved and FCA can manage to sell a Jeep Wrangler pickup very cheaply it would sell.

The Wrangler with it's short wheelbase and live axle front end makes it a bit of a pig on road. Extending the wheelbase would help a little in the handling department, but it would still be a pig on the road.

Combine this with a 3rd World interior then you have a vehicle, like I mentions that would compete with Mahindra and Great Wall.

From a capability perspective a Wrangler pickup with a half decent payload and the 2.8 VM diesel would more than challenge many pickups off road. It might even come closer to performing as well as the 70 odd Series Landcruiser pickups we have with the V8 diesels.

They would be a lot cheaper than the 70 Series Landcruiser, this would make them attractive and competitive in farming, mining and remote construction work.

But they will need at least a 2 700lb payload.

Why does the 4 door Jeep Wrangler costs $20K MORE than the 2 door Wrangler?

Al - A 6ft wide bed on a midsize? Full size beds arent that wide. No way Jeep would do an 8ft long bed either as whatever they might entertain would certainly be an extended or crew cab. I highly doubt they would buld a regular cab 2 seater.

The Renegade is slotted to replace the COmpass and Patriot.

Ohio can offer all the incentives they want but they aren't buildng the plant. Building an all new plant costs money. Same with adding a new vehicle to an assembly line. FCA would have to make sure that a Jeep truck would sell big beyond 1 year for it to pay off or bother keeping it around. Seeing the capability of the Wrangler truck conversions there are already, Jeep would need a new platform to even make a truck competitive. It would need to at least be equal to the GM mid size twins in capability or why bother? You'd essentially get current Jeep owners to buy them then sales would flatline.

@KeithCT,
So, how wide can a bed be that is fitted to a Colorado cab chassis?

@Big Al - the Colorado box is 44.4 inches at floor between wheel wells. The box opening at the rails is 55.5 inches. Length is well um 74 inches for 6'2" box and 61.7 inches for 5'2" box.

Flat decks or "trays" area different ball of wax so why muddy the waters with something civilian buyers are unlikely to purchase.

@Lou_BC,
Read my comment. I was discussing a Wrangler pickup for global markets, since it appears it will not be a goer in the US market.

I definitely would like to see FCA offer a midsize in the global market, as you can never have enough competition.

Many midsizers are sold even to civilians in our market as a cab chassis.

For business single cabs are used with trays or specialty bodies.

Ute backs are used, but mainly by people like myself who use them as a car/SUV alternative.

My thoughts on this: I cannot see a Jeep Pickup, too much duplication and competition in NA, outside again way too much competition, especially when about 5 new models are to be released

@Big Al: "To make the Wrangler work as a midsizer a few issues need to be resolved first. The bed for a global pickup is around 8' in length and just over 6' in width. So, the image of the top most Wrangler pickup must have another 6" added to it's wheelbase."

I disagree with two points. I don't see where the bed NEEDS to be eight-feet long nor that it NEEDS to be six feet wide. Six long and just over 4 wide (let's call it 74" x 50") would be almost ideal IF it uses a drop-down tailgate. This would also help keep the center of gravity lower and between the wheels as the bed walls themselves would be just inside the tire track (56.5 inches tread center to tread center assuming a "standard" gauge ) when stock. Of course, today's wider track designs would easily let you have even a five-foot wide bed without having the inner fenders impinge on the load floor.

After all, we're talking about a supposed "mid-sized" truck, not a full-size wannabe like the Colorado/Canyon.

@Tom #3: "Why does the 4 door Jeep Wrangler costs $20K MORE than the 2 door Wrangler?" -- It doesn't. When comparing model for model, trim for trim the difference is roughly $3k between the 2-door/4-door models. However...

When it comes to the Brute Double Cab above, that is a full-on custom rebuild on the JKU chassis with an 18" (I think) extension and other modifications that costs at a minimum roughly $16K over the base price of the selected model or on top of whatever you paid for your existing JKU. Yes, I could even get my '08 JKU turned into a Brute DC for that $16K and hopped up even more with engine and suspension modifications. Of course, I'd lose my lifetime drivetrain warranty if I did. Oh, and that $16K is the most basic conversion, the added mods can add more than $25K more to the price.

@KeithCT: "The Renegade is slotted to replace the COmpass and Patriot." -- False. The Renegade is in a slot by itself; there's a different vehicle planned to take the place of the C/P models and expected to arrive in '17. For all we know (but I don't expect) it may be a downsized Wrangler, returning to a more traditional size. I rather expect an all-new model, though.

As for the plant, you're partially right. However, the land alone is a big part of the price of any expansion as you're typically talking 40-60 acres of prime land whose cost could be as much as $100K per acre PLUS land taxes. In today's economy, building the structure itself is relatively cheap at a few million tops while the internals get expensive. Still, if this becomes just an extension of the existing plant, some of that cost is ameliorated by simply spacing sections wider apart that would allow for more vehicles on the line and a larger selection of parts on the racks waiting for install. After all, modern design has made it possible to build 20 different versions of the F-150 in Ford's three existing plants not counting the F-250 and F-350 also with multiple trim packages. Any help in such an endeavor improves the bottom line when it comes to production.

Compass and Patriot are scheduled to end next year. One vehicle will replace both of them.

I don't think the auto-truck makers understand the new normal, the new mentality, how people think.
Nobody cares anymore.
Everybody should be frightened about the future such as everybody in the world is fighting and killing each other, California is running out of water, taxes are out of control, and people will spend money they don't have on a new truck they never needed in the first place.
I say Jeep should build it for that reason.

Another reason car and truck sales are up is everybody hates each other like you're mad cause some a hole has a nicer truck than what you have so you go into debt with a loan you can't afford just to show him up.
You're a loser but you think a new truck can correct that.
That new truck excitement wears off very fast then later you regret you bought it in the first place.

Come On! Lets be honest ! You guys know I'm right but you'll never admit that!

@Roadwhale,
You are thinking in "American" not global. What's good for the US market isn't necessarily good for the global market.

Why would a global pickup want a short bed?

These are used to carry more than a couple thousand pounds.

With the tray back a midsizer offers more bed space than a full size 1/2 ton and some HDs that you are accustomed too.

"@KeithCT: "The Renegade is slotted to replace the COmpass and Patriot." -- False. The Renegade is in a slot by itself; there's a different vehicle planned to take the place of the C/P models and expected to arrive in '17."

My latest Car & Driver reviewed the Renegade and stated it was a replacement for the Patriot and Compass. Please link where FCA has said a new platform is replacing them. I cannot envision why they would as they pretty much have the market covered aside from a Tahoe/Expedition sized competitor. One of the reasons they are killing the Patriot and Compass off is because they are repetitive.

Al - Last I looked this article was about the North American market. Not sure why you chime in about the world market or flatbed options. I will state it upfront in regards to mid sized chassis cabs, they will not sell in any volume here. Why? Unless you are in a confined space, the fullsized trucks do the job better. More space available, more capacity and more power. Also add in the flood of the Eurovans both full sized and compact. Toyota offered a 1 ton duallie mini truck here for a bit. It was pre Tacoma. It vanished afer a short time due to not selling. People who needed the payload wanted the extra bed space and power to move it. People that didn't need the payload really didn't need a flatbed or could simply convert and existing mini truck of their choice.

a 6ft wide bed behind a compact would look rediculous anyhow. A full sized truck bed isn't even 6ft wide and it has a wider stance. Put something like that on a mid size truck and it will look like a sheet of plywood on a skateboard.

Roadwhale - FCA isn't Ford or GM when it comes to production processes and efficiency. There is a reason their products have always been a step behind the competition. I'm sure they are improving now, but to think they can simply retool and add lines an exisiting plant and accomodate a new vehicle is over simplifying. That new vehicle has to repay the investment or it wasn't worth it. Heck, they cannot even keep up with Hellcat production currently and ceased taking new orders until they get caught up. How does that compare with the Raptor? Ford not only increased production to meet demand, they added a crew cab to increase demand.

FCA needs to stop worrying about stealing sales from RAM and start worrying about NOT stealing sales from Colorado/Canyon/Tacoma/Frontier. Allowing GuvMotors the economies of a larger product run cedes an advantage.

Had an '88 Commanche Metric Ton package. Awesome truck. I still see it on the road around here from time to time.

Actually don't care if it comes out as a Jeep or a RAM Dak. Might even prefer the Dak. Serve the market. Or someone else will.

I actually agree with AL, the American market is far more strict than the global in how pickups are used. heck, over seas they don't do the emissions crap like here in the US, nor are they as stringent on weights and measures.

I don't about a jeep that could have a 6-8K towing capacity here, that would be based on weight distribution only, most people towing (unless a big camper) aren't using WD, so then its more like 3500-5K lbs

I have been tracking the Jeep pickup development since the introduction of the Gladiator concept in 2005. Two basic things escape any consideration of logic in regards to Jeep's handling of producing a Jeep pickup truck.

Number one is the track of the vehicles they HAVE decided to build over the years: Lets review shall we - the Jeep Commander - how many of these did they sell? How profitable was that junk? How much did that compete in the market place and with other Chrysler offerings? The Patriot and Compass - these not only competed with other Chrysler offerings they cancel each other out!!! And they're still building them!!! The reviewers when evaluating these two vehicles (Consumer Reports, Motor Trend, Car and Driver) comparatively feel that they're junk - even Dodge dropped the Caliber and yet Jeep soldiers on with each of them (until finally the Renegade is going to knock one out) - Jeep ponders and over thinks the pickup idea - going on 10 years now and two different ownership groups - and still nothing but the green light and produce this junk??? Makes no sense.

Secondly, this idea of competing with Ram is crap and hollow! I waited and waited for the Jeep pickup and finally I had to do something so I just bought a Ram 1500 Laramie 3 weeks ago (love it by the way - much better than even the new '15 F150). I think it would make perfect sense to let Jeep have FCA's mid-size truck offering and let Ram have the light-duty and heavy-duty market segment. Furthermore, Ram has consciously declined a mid-size truck offering - although they to have dabbled and teased several mid-size concepts over the recent years. With this being the case let Jeep have it and there will be plenty of separation and mo market infringement. A jeep truck that resembles the Gladiator or the J12 concepts (I personally think they should build both using the same frame) would be VERY profitable and have no problem establishing there market share.

A Jeep pickup would look nothing like the RAM. Build it. My son saw an older one and thought it was really cool. It's not my thing. I would take a RAM.

@KeithCT

RE your request for a link to future product for Jeep. Both of the below resources are credible.

FCA Investor Day is May 6th-7th. 5 year plan is typically part of the presentations.

Automotive News has "Future Product Pipeline" section. You can obtain access to Automotive News by subscribing. It does cost more than Car and Driver.

Looks like they are just replacing the current Patriot/Compass with a Fiat chassis car based crossover. Essentially just updating the Patriot and killing the Compass while using a Fiat platform. Doesn't sound too ground breaking.

There will be a jeep gladiator and it will have a diesel engine and 4 doors and it will be built in toledo Ohio fca and toledo and the governor of Ohio are working on an incentive package for fca expect an announcement forthcoming.

@KeithCT: Here's the info you're looking for: http://www.allpar.com/corporate/chrysler-group/2014-five-year-plan.html

@Big Al: "You are thinking in "American" not global. What's good for the US market isn't necessarily good for the global market."

No, I am thinking Global. While I understand that a long bed pickup truck is desirable where such has the room to maneuver, an eight-foot bed, especially in European and Asian locales make maneuvering difficult unless it's a cab-over design, which is one reason why so many trucks ARE cab-over designs in those regions. Simply put, their overall length and inability to maneuver in tight quarters would make such a long bed an inconvenience. On the other hand, out in the wilds such as the outback, size really doesn't matter, as exemplified especially by the multi-trailer road trains especially common across Australia but also seen in less-congested portions of even Canada (three trailers or more as compared to the only two trailers permitted here in the States). Then again, two of our Class I railroads offer "RoadRailer" service, where a locomotive may pull a string of fifty or more OTR trailers with rail bogeys (no, I'm not talking about "trailer train" flatcars. Look it up with BNSF and NS railroads).

Yes, I do agree that even the compact pickups seen in the US back in the '70s and '80s had long-bed options, but the majority sold were short bed reg cab or short bed extended cab. They got away with using just two frames to support three body styles. On the other hand, small trucks the approximate size of the little unibody Rabbit pickup are doing remarkably well in South America, Africa and Europe.

So yes, I am considering the global market. As I've said more than once and even you have said, "One size does NOT fit all".

@RoadWhale,
No, most small utes/pickups are midsizers. Many are single cabs with a "6x8" tray.

Thailand the world's second largest pickup market is using more and more pickup beds. I think this is in line with it's increasing affluence.

Small vans are more common than small forward control trucks.

There are small forward control trucks that are midsizers, they generally have a 6x10 tray can can usually carry around 4 000lbs or so.

http://allparnews.com/index.php/2015/03/compass-honey-i-shrunk-the-grand-cherokee-28086

Compass rendering.

@HEMI: RAM wants there advertising copy back.

I for one, think a Jeep pickup makes sense if it's essentially a mid-sized pickup based off the 4-door Jeep Wrangler. It would fill the void left by the departure of the Dodge (Ram) Dakota pickup, and compete with the Chevy Colorado and Toyota Tacoma.

"Ram 1500
"Why buy any other truck?
"A TRUCK FOR EVERY JOB
"Performance. Efficiency. Intelligence. That’s strength evolved. "And nowhere is it more evident than with the legendary towing and hauling capability of the Ram 1500. Smart engineering such as the class-exclusive available Active-Level™ four-corner air suspension+ or our standard TorqueFlite® 8 eight-speed automatic transmission means there isn’t much the Ram 1500 can’t do.
"Posted by: HEMI | Mar 18, 2015 1:17:24 PM

Sorry Hemi. You're just plain wrong. While I'll agree that the Ram 1500+ is a good choice for BIG jobs, that doesn't make it ideal for all or necessarily even MOST jobs. To be blunt, it's too blamed big for many tasks and situations. I just sat in a Ram 1500 just today and I felt like I was riding in a bus, not a personal vehicle. And yes, it was a 4x4 version. With its size there are many places it simply cannot reach due to tight quarters.

And they are far from the safest vehicles on the road. Sure, I'll grant that they do a fair job of protecting their passengers in a multi-vehicle crash, but pickup trucks in general OWN the stats for fatalities in single-vehicle crashes.

So no, the Ram 1500 is not and simply cannot be a "one size fits all" vehicle.

I would never consider a Ram, but I'd buy a Gladiator, which has been a tease for consumers since 2005. Enough talk. Build.

The concept of a jeep gladiator pickup would be an interesting project. there is a market in the US .If it is built right, putting alot of thought into it. it should develop into a lean mean utility machine.there are many people out there that are not interested in chrome and flash. they want function and grit. I would buy one