Jeep Rolls Out 75th Anniversary Editions; Yes, Patriot, Compass Too

by Aaron Cole

January 6th, 2016 1:00 PM

jeep rolls out 75th anniversary editions yes patriot compass too

If you didn’t know it was Jeep’s 75th anniversary this year, it’s your fault for not paying attention. Pretty much all of the automaker’s SUVs are rolling billboards for its “Since 1941” branding, and now Jeep is officially doing something to celebrate.

Jeep launched its 75th Anniversary lineup Wednesday, which includes special editions for all its models. All of the Jeeps are candied in some sort of “macho” green — Jungle Green, Sarge Green or Recon Green — with bronze wheels, some sort of opening roof, and available cloth.

Oh, and there are a bucket-full of badges everywhere so you can feel special edition too.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited receive the heaviest special edition backhand. Based on Sahara trims, the 75th Anniversary packages add steel bumpers, a body-colored grille and rock rails. The Wrangler starts at $35,570 and Wrangler Unlimited starts at $39,370. (A comparable Sahara costs roughly $2,500 less.)

Jeep also dressed up the Grand Cherokee with a unique front fascia, 20-inch wheels and cloth seating inserts for $37,770 to start.

There are also special-edition garbs for the Cherokee and the Renegade, which run $30,870 and $26,370.

For the Compass and Patriot — which may or may not make the Jeep 100th anniversary highlight reel in 2031, that’s not my call — there are special editions, too. Those unloved, but phenomenally inexpensive Jeeps right now, get bronze wheels and Recon Green paint and I kind of want one now. Is that weird?

#2016 #2016JeepCherokee #2016JeepGrandCherokee #2016JeepWrangler #2016JeepWranglerUnlimited #Anniversary #Cherokee #Compass #GrandCherokee #Jeep #Wrangler #Patriot #WranglerUnlimited

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Big Al from Oz on Jan 07, 2016

I wonder if part of the 75th Anniversary package is quality, reliability and durability for these Jeeps? I can't believe how many people consider Jeeps reliable. If they were that good do you think where reliability and durability is required off road Landcruisers, some mid sizers, Patrols, and military G Wagens (many countries) would be the vehicles of choice? Even Land Rovers are the preferred vehicle in lieu of a Jeep. Why is this so????? I still don't understand why someone would drop 20" rims on a Grand Cherokee??? Wouldn't it be better to supply the vehicle with a better off rod suspension??? We have numpties here in Australia that buy midsizers, remove the 16" or 17" rims and drop 20"-22" inch rims on a 4x4. I suppose it's a free world.

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- Heavy handle on Jan 07, 2016
  
  Big Al, I'm sure you realize that American roads, unlike Australian roads evidently, are mostly paved. Off-roading is a hobby in the US, almost nobody has a 200 mile unpaved run to the nearest trading post anymore. Those that do drive pickups. I'm not sure why you keep repeating the whole "Wranglers are unreliable" thing. Look at resale values, people don't pay that much for non-runners. A buddy just retired a Wrangler with over half a million miles on it, and that wasn't a fluke, or the result of airplane-like maintenance. He just did normal maintenance at reasonable intervals.
  
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- JustPassinThru on Jan 07, 2016
  
  Durability and reliability are two different things. The Asian manufacturers developed a reputation for reliability early on - but their thin sheetmetal and poor corrosion resistance made them fragile and susceptable to tinworm. Jeeps, as built by Willys through AMC, were simple and rugged - you could bounce over boulders and not spring a frame or snap an axle (pre-AMC 20 models) And if you did, repair was relatively easy. But long-term durability was no more, and often, as with the Kaiser OHC or Chevrolet V6, less, than other vehicles. That of course is no longer true. Part of it is the CAFE-driven weight purge; but Fiat has never had a reputation for either durability or reliability. They have a reputation for servicing closed and protected markets - and for selling their old models to collectivist state ministries that are unable to develop even primitive auto designs of their own.
  
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- Big Al from Oz on Jan 07, 2016
  
  heavy handle, Without being overly rude, I do think you should come and visit Australia. Believe it or not we don't have kangaroos hopping down the middle of George St in Sydney. And Australia is not flat and a desert.
  
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- Big Al from Oz on Jan 07, 2016
  
  JustPassinThru, I agree with your comment, but as you stated we are now going back over 50 years.
  
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- Heavy handle on Jan 07, 2016
  
  @Big Al from Oz Big Al, I was joking about that, but all the preferred vehicles you mention are optimized more for longer runs on unpaved roads. That's not the kind of offroading that's most popular in the US. Americans are more likely to drive hundreds of miles on the Interstate to get to a trail that's a few miles long. I've driven Defenders and Land Cruisers and Patrols. They work great on unpaved roads, but they are a pain on paved roads and in snow. That's probably why they've historically sold in tiny numbers in the US, they're not adapted to what customers want.
  
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- RobertRyan on Jan 07, 2016
  
  @heavy handle Big Al from Oz, just stating the general problems with Jeep here. Wrangler just used as a weekender vehicle, not a go tame the outback deal
  
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- RobertRyan on Jan 07, 2016
  
  @JustPassinThru " collectivist state ministries" last time I looked the USSR had fallen over. Fiat is undercapitalised and needs a lot of money to compete, that is why Marchionne , needs a partner.
  
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- JustPassinThru on Jan 07, 2016
  
  @Big Al from Oz Not quite fifty years. Much of the AMC legacy, which may have been partly form their inheriting the old Willys/Kaiser ironmonger engineers...much of that carried forward into the early '00s. The XJ was a wondrous achievement - a tough unibody SUV with, once the Chevy V6 was abandoned, an equally-tough set of engines. I speak from experience here, having had Jeep vehicles with both the 232 six and the derived 2.5 four. Couldn't kill either of those engines - and that's not just my experience or opinion. The six was preferred for the power; but the four was more than adaquate for routine use. Towards the end those were supremely-well-engineered - but more to the point, they could take a licking and keep on ticking. In any event, memories follow car marques. Today's Jeep sales are on cultural or personal memories of Jeeps as tough vehicles. Those fade...like the GMC line of rebadged Chevy trucks and CUVs. That's stood them well, even after abandoning manufacture of real trucks...but comes a time when it's recognized for what it is. Who thinks of GMCs these days as anything remarkable, other than a marketing effort of badge-engineered vehicles? Jeep in a decade will be the same.
  
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An innocent man on Jan 07, 2016

And to properly honor this milestone, after 75 miles the vehicles will fail to start.

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