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The Crystal Ball: What is in the future for Jeep
October 30, 2001: Cross-Over Jeep
In the modern age of the automobile, the catch phrase of the day has become the multipurpose “Cross Over” vehicles. Just take a gander at the Pontiac Aztec which is a mini-van that is sold as a sport-ute. The Buick Rendezvous is the same as the Aztec just that it is a grand pap version of the activity based Aztec. To make matters worse, this monstrous sport-ute that has the back cut off like the Blazers of yesteryear has appeared calling itself a truck. Even worse, the idiot engineers forgot to put a removable top on the back to make it a working concept. Enough of me picking on the General, even DC has a crossover concept mess in the showrooms and a lot of people do not realize it. The PT Cruiser is actually a truck that is being marketed as a multipurpose mini, minivan. But enough with the rest of the world, lets get back to the original crossover concept, the Jeep.
Now we all must look at the original GP concept because it was the ultimate crossover vehicle that served nearly as many purposes for our troops in WWII as the Army helmet. And in civilian life, the first “Universal” Jeeps were sold not only as off road vehicles capable of taming the wilderness roads of America, but could also double as a utility truck for workers or even a tractor on the farm.
With the TJ Wrangler due to be replaced in 2006 by the TK, a majority of us are concerned about IFS vs. solid front axles but there is some good news on the Jeep front that might make us forget that debate for a few minutes. According to Buzz at Car-Truck.Com, there is a possibility that the next Wrangler may come in multiple variants that will include a four door hard top similar to the Dakar concept and a two door truck similar to the CJ-8 “Scramber”
Now, if the Jeep engineers had brains that match the legendary capabilities of their multipurpose SUV, they will create a solid front axle, four door Jeep that has a soft top and can be easily converted from a Cherokee styled sport-ute to a smaller version of the Hummer truck. Talk about a crossover vehicle that is truly a cross over. It could be off road capable and around town cool. That is what the General forgot when they designed their sport-utes.