Jeep's High-end Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer Won't Be Unibody After All

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

After claiming that the upcoming Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs would use a variant of the next-generation Grand Cherokee’s unibody platform, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has changed its mind.

Speaking at the North American International Auto Show, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said the top-end SUVs will instead adopt body-on frame architecture. The change tosses the vehicles’ lofty predicted price ceiling — $140,000, according to Jeep boss Mike Manley — in the trash heap.

Both models are bound for FCA’s aging Warren truck plant, which will receive a much-needed cash injection. Describing Warren as being “in dire need of a substantial overhaul,” Marchionne claimed that a portion of the automaker’s $1 billion will help modernize and retool the plant after Ram 1500 production departs for Sterling Heights.

Since the word “Wagoneer” first left the lips of FCA executives, the trajectory of the two models has been a strange one. First, the two were rumored to simply be upper-level trims of the Grand Cherokees. FCA then clarified the roles, though both future models remained without a home as FCA shuffled U.S. production in a bid to boost Ram and Jeep output. While no longer assembly plant orphans, this latest news just adds to the unusual build-up.

Still, FCA’s greatest Jeep concern remains bringing the next-generation Wrangler to market. Describing it as “the perfect car,” Marchionne said boosted Wrangler output at the Toledo Assembly Complex (300,000 per year, on paper) will satisfy the global demand for the off-roader once the updated model comes online. “It fixes all the problems with the old car and keeps the identity of the Wrangler,” he said.

The new Wrangler will appear as a 2018 model, to be followed by a pickup variant, while the two luxury SUVs could appear as 2019 models.

What frame will the new SUVs use? The updated platform used by the next-gen Wrangler would be too narrow, leaving the next-gen Ram 1500 — due to start production in January 2018 — as a possibility, at least.

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Jthorner Jthorner on Jan 11, 2017

    Shhh, don't tell anyone a 1972 Chevrolet Caprice Classic can't have a good ride because it is a BOF vehicle :).

  • Danio3834 Danio3834 on Jan 11, 2017

    Or, perhaps one will be unibody and the other BOF...

  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
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