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Jeep dealers heading out to Vegas for the brand’s biennial show in August may have a grand surprise waiting: the 2019 Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
The revived nameplate will grace an SUV set to be the most expensive Jeep-branded SUV ever, according to Automotive News, and is aimed at those customers who normally shop for high-end SUVs from Range Rover, Porsche and BMW.
The speculated Vegas debut also contradicts FCA’s recent announcement of delaying key models to reduce overall investment into the products, which include the Grand Wagoneer and its platform sibling, the Grand Cherokee. The two SUVs were scheduled to hit showrooms in the fall of 2017 and 2018, but the introduction of the Grand Cherokee may be delayed up to a year, while the Grand Wagoneer may miss its own deadline, as well.
The previous Grand Wagoneer left the assembly line for the last time in 1991, having been in production relatively unchanged since 1962, aside from numerous facelifts and other necessary adaptations for the time.
[Photo credit: ericncindy24/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0]
I love the current JC but am not sure how that style would translate to a larger body; the old Grand Wagoneer was defined by a two-box shape with tons of glass and slab sides, and I imagine each one of those attributes getting whittled away in the name of aero and rollover protection.
Jeep needs to reissue the last Grand Wagoneer the way Toyota reissued the J70. When people are selling reconditioned ones for six figures, why shouldn’t they get in on the act?
“…and I imagine each one of those attributes getting whittled away in the name of aero and rollover protection.”
Or it will be a Jeep Flex.
A 2019 model revealed in 2015? I’ll hold my breath.
Won’t be a reveal, just a sneak preview for dealers. There likely won’t be anything leaked or published.
Some ballsy small town Jeep dealer’s nephew, along for a free trip to Vegas, will pull out his smartphone –just like he did his manhood earlier in the day at the bunny ranch – and snap a photo of the slideshow.
Historically it hasn’t happened. Security is pretty tight. The most that usually comes out of it is second hand verbal descriptions.
So instead of billing it as the most capable, they’re saying it’s the most expensive? Hello BMW, I knew that European DNA would hop over from fiat and company.
I mean, the Grand Cherokee already has plenty of Euro DNA in it, sharing an entire platform with the Mercedes-Benz M-Class and GL-Class. And even though it’s a bargain compared to an X5 or Cayenne, it can get pricey. I would pay $60K for a top-of-the-line Grand Wagoneer, but certainly not the $85K that is the price of entry for the large Range Rover or a *decent* Cayenne. I know Jeep is a very profitable and succesful brand right now, but FCA needs to chill.
I agree on your pricing, 60k, yea maybe, but if they try to put the GW into the 85k for mid level trims, that’s going too far.
I have no doubt this new Grand Wagoneer will be filled with wonderful gadgets, excellent all-road capabilities and luxury, but will it have charm? That’s the secret ingredient of the original. While other SUVs were forging ahead in style and amenities, the Grand Wagoneer had charm in spades. Often charm is due to quirks and outright lapses in engineering and design. The Commander had no charm at all, and we know how that turned out.
The Commander also had no taste or “class” as it were. Nobody with money wanted to drive that garbage.
Doesn’t everybody mostly agree that by 1985 the GW was outdated, and drove terribly (with ancient tractor powertrains, etc.)
You say that as if it were a problem.
Yes, my in-laws had an 86 GW white with the wood grain red velour interior. Sloppy steering but did provide for a nice ride though.
The prominent feature that I recall was its ability to use gasoline. I had never before or after been in a 100% bone stock factory equipped NON 1 ton or better vehicle that was as thirsty as the 360 CID equipped GW. They make an H2 look downright efficient.
That may very ell be the one feature the car buying public does not want back today. I’m not sure you can engineer a car today to get 8 mpg without of course the requisite South American drug Lord armor plating, then you may be able to accomplish the fete.
Something about the carbs being lousy old tech, right? So they ran super rich all the time just after new.
Honestly, even though the Mopar 360 is also quite notorious for drinking gas, a TBI one would probably be a LITTLE better than the carb’d AMC 360.
I already see a problem If Jeep wants the Grand Wagoneer to be targeted for the people that buy Range Rovers and Cayannes then they need to change the sales experience. Right now no American car dealer has the sales staff or the environment to be selling a car to buyers that want to spend over 50 grand. They need to work on the typical car salesman experience first before anything. Walk into any Cadillac dealership ask about a CTS-V or an Escalade and see what happens.
I agree wtih the dealership experience issue. Yesterday my wife and I went to a Fiat/Maserati dealer to test drive a Ghibli. When the salesgirl (girl, not woman) turned around you could appreciate all of her tatoos. My wife was not impressed. We need a bit more coddling to drop $75K.
“Right now no American car dealer has the sales staff or the environment to be selling a car to buyers that want to spend over 50 grand.”
I see what you mean, but I’d bump that figure to 90, maybe even a hundred grand. There are plenty of $70K Dodges, $75K Jeeps, $60K Suburbans and $90K Escalades rolling off the lots as we speak.
It might be smart for Jeep to debut the new platform WITH the Grand Wagoneer and not the Grand Cherokee. Maybe get an eight-month lead on the GC so the Wagoneer doesn’t share any panels at launch, etc. Keeps it looking premium in the minds of buyers from the start.
People with money don’t care about old GW gas mileage or whether the thing drives like a truck. It’s cool and that’s all that matters. Cooler than a silly plastic Range Rover that everyone has, or a big Lexus SUV, etc. Those things just blend into the landscape and the GW sticks out like a sore thumb. Other vehicles are “better”, but how “good” does it need to be to drive around Nantucket as a beach wagon?
If they make the new GW look enough like the old one (wood sides and all) they’ll sell every one they make.
I think you don’t understand people with money.
He has a point. Jeep GWs are a good example of a Veblen good.
While I’m not sure the new one should look as much as possible like the original, he might still be right. Look at the G-Wagen and Land Cruiser.
But he counts those as blending in, specifically mentioning the LX and RR, and I’m sure he’d put the G-Wagen in there too.
I think they’ve got to be very careful how they style this – it must hearken.
I’d honestly rather have a first gen Range Rover than a Grand Wagoneer. It’s just so…classy. And classic.
But man, trying to keep it working on a regular basis…
Eh, much rather have a classic LR Defender.
If Jeep gets most of the elements correct, should do well for FCA.
2019MY likely means hitting the dealer lots in the 1st half of 2018, so really only about 3 yrs away.
I work in global marketing. I know a little
Plastic is the future. Plastic wood grained sides that is. Wonder if they will even have that as an option.
I hope the seats are the leather cloth mix like the ones in my parents ’84 GW. They were fantastic. Tired of leather with leather or pleather.
Watching this space with over-the-horizon interest.