On Wednesday, November 29th, 2018, the world changed forever. Jeep fans finally got what they wanted, and Fiat Chrysler will almost assuredly get what it wants — boffo profits and an even stronger Jeep brand.
Yes, the upcoming Jeep Gladiator seems like a vehicle that just shouldn’t exist in today’s increasingly un-diverse auto landscape. Leave it to FCA to unveil something brash and desirable, not a micro-mobility solution lusted over by tech writers and urban utopians and those who feel their own personal lifestyle is the only proper one to have. And a Sport trim? That was a surprise, leaving us very curious to see this model’s starting price.
If handed the money for a run-of-the-mill, crew cab, full-size 4×4 pickup (today’s default family hauler, it seems), would you skip past the very capable offerings from Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Ram, Toyota, and Nissan, and head to your nearest Jeep retailer for a chance to drop your top? Now, let’s ask this: should you be allowed to buy one?
As auto journos in Los Angeles gazed at the brawny Gladiator like it was sitting in a swivel chair, smoking a cigarette, getting ready to uncross its legs, debate started to crop up on the Twitters. As usual, the hot takes began trickling in from those who probably do not live the same lifestyle as you, dear reader.
In fact, it seems that some of these voices might not even have a friend who lives an average lifestyle. By average, I mean they own a single car that meets most of their needs within a fairly tight budget, as that’s where their income lies. Commuting is very likely a part of their mundane lifestyle, one which definitely doesn’t contain any OEM-paid trips to the Scottish Highlands to test the latest pinnacle of performance perfection. The vehicle that does sit in front of their home is not a tuner special or a rare exotic or some other weekend playtoy — it’s a mass-market product that could be mistaken for the one next to it in a grocery store parking lot. Yes, reliability and maintenance costs were a consideration while buying, though the dealer might have offered them a “smoking deal” to ignore JD Power ratings. This friend does not speak in chassis codes, nor does he or she spend their lives obsessing over the minutiae of competing JDM imports from the early 1990s.
Auto Twitter often reveals the presence of a bubble so thick, the Washington D.C. beltway looks like Saran Wrap in comparison. Lately — well, since Monday’s GM news, especially — some denizens of Auto Twitter have taken to suggest that Americans are buying the wrong vehicles. It’s wrong, and it angers them. You’re making the wrong choices, people! With Wednesday’s reveal of the aspirational and attainable Jeep Gladiator, things have only gotten worse.
The Gladiator is hardly a oxygen-spewing creature birthed in Toledo for the express purpose for spreading hugs to panda bears and solving the world’s environmental and social ills. It will not deliver Prius-like fuel economy, nor will it fold up and stow away in the trunk of a car. It’s a big, heavy truck that wants to scrap it out in the massively profitable truck segment. And, because we don’t live in the Soviet Union, we’re allowed to buy one, just as the OEM is allowed to build and sell one, assuming it conforms to existing safety and environmental standards.
Should the auto landscape continue to offer low-priced, fuel-efficient sedans and hybrids? Totally. I’d love to see a market that gives all buyers a chance to buy what they want. Hell, I drive a Cruze because it’s roomy enough, powerful enough, and gets great gas mileage, all for a price that’s tolerable for tight budgets. I’ll be sad to see it culled. Instead, Auto Twitter gives us a vision of a world where self-chosen overlords choose what people should be allowed to buy, based on their personal moral convictions or lifestyle preference.
Do some people just wish to own a big, flashy, road-hogging, gas-slurping status symbol? You bet. They paid a lot of tax on that vehicle and, depending on jurisdiction, more tax on the fuel they consume.
Do others just like the satisfaction in knowing they have supreme (if unused) off-road capability, should it be needed? Sure. It’s all legal. Just like buying a new Porsche 911 Carrera, 911 Carrera S, 911 Carrera Cabriolet, 911 Carrera S Cabriolet, 911 Carrera 4, 911 Carrera 4S, 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet, 911 Carrera T, 911 Targa 4, 911 Targa 4S, 911 Turbo, 911 Turbo S, 911 Turbo Cabriolet, 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, 911 Carrera GTS, 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet, 911 Carrera 4 GTS, 911 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, 911 Targa 4 GTS, 911 GT3, 911 GT3 RS, or 911 GT2 RS.
Creating a system where, assumedly, a government overseer judges your need for a certain vehicle’s capabilities (with an eye on the environment) will assuredly lead to a world with even less choice. What’s of less use to society — a Porsche of the non-Cayenne or Macan persuasion or a Ford F-150? Is a roadster that gets 29 mpg more useful to a family than a five-seat, all-weather, all-terrain pickup that gets 22 mpg? Surely there’s no need to own a quirky French project car from the 70s or an RX-7 or that that vintage Porsche when a modern, more practical alternative exists. How antisocial and selfish of you!
People assume that, in the utopia of their dreams, they’ll be the one calling the shots. Everyone else will have to change their ways. Not so. They’ll have to sacrifice just like the rest of ’em.
To bring this long-winded rant to a close, I ask you, B&B: does the Jeep Gladiator turn your crank? Why? And, should we be allowed to buy it?
[Images: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]
I’ll forever be a used car (and Jeep) buyer. But when my YJ breathes its last, I wouldn’t turn one of these down.
“Should you be allowed to own this?”
Pure clickbait headline. Were you in a rush to beat a deadline, or just scraping the bottom of the barrel today? Is there any reason in the world why a consumer in a free society would not be allowed to purchase a specific vehicle? (There could be, but it’s not the nation’s laws, but the dictatorial wifey throwing a veto at her hard-working husband’s attempts at still having some semblance of a life.)
It reminds me of the Toffifay candy commercials, which were aimed at children. Their tagline was “It’s too good for kids!” The idea was to get the offended kids to buy it, in order to prove them wrong.
Car news is terrific, but what does it take to bring up the level of journalism here a notch or two?
There are laws in our free society not to harm others by violence and murder.
How is it any different that in the future, when we finally realize we are destroying the planet, that some of us are harming others by creating unnecessary pollution and wasting resources by driving gas guzzling vehicles for no reason.
” that some of us are harming others by creating unnecessary pollution and wasting resources by driving gas guzzling vehicles for no reason.”
Care to quantify some of this? What, per you, is unnecessary pollution? What constitutes “gas guzzling” and “no reason?”
My old audi barely breaks 20mpg right now in the cold (on par with a modern half ton truck), should this car be forced off the road and my next car be constrained to the 30+mpg bracket?
I don’t think new legislation usually affects older cars on the road, so you could drive any older car you want, like older cars without seat belts. But the government can persuade you through a cash discount to get a new more efficient car, like the cash for clunkers program.
A family of 4 likely has a need for more utility and space in a vehicle. And a tradesperson of might need a large truck or van.
While a single white collar worker in a city driving a full size truck for instance might fit this wasteful criteria.
It’s not inconceivable to have a future government that limits us to licence a new vehicle depending on our family status and actual needs. Or if we really want that large SUV, we might end up paying extra in licencing fees for it maybe.
” have a future government that limits us to licence a new vehicle depending on our family status and actual needs.”
Do you really, truly think this is a good idea, on any level?
As for cash for clunkers, I hope you realize just how destructive that was to the pool of good condition, cheaper older vehicles that poorer communities often depend on for family transport. C4C basically allowed wealthier families with an old Grand Cherokee that was sitting around as a third vehicle to cash in, and really distorted the bottom of the market for people looking for sub $5k transportation, folks in my old neighborhood. It was a fantastically wasteful program in many ways IMO.
I’ve got to wonder too, what do you drive currently?
I think this is a good idea on certain levels, since it will make driving better for several reasons. But I’m not able to decide what laws are put into place, so what does it matter what I think is a good idea or not.
I’m just saying this is a possible future, and likely a next step to curb pollution in certain places, maybe California since they seem to be wanting high fuel efficiency standards. This along with having lots of electric vehicles on the road would likely meet California’s targets of reducing pollution.
I’m single and drive a ten year old midsize sedan if any of that matters to you. I might prefer to drive a smaller SUV since I’m an active outdoors person and half the year is winter, but my current car is serving me well, so I haven’t gotten around to it yet.
bts I recommend you talk to someone like my father some time about what this sort of “distribution/permission-to-buy according to need” system is like and how it works out. Highlights including standing in a long line together with my mom because their vouchers were for two tires per person, and living in cockroach ridden communal apartments with shared kitchens and bathrooms until their turn in line came up for a better apartment for a family of (now) four.
Living under a bunch of elitist overlords who decide what’s best for the rest of us ‘for our own good’ sounds like a long, miserable and boring existence. You come off as a theif of joy. I would prefer to take up arms and meet my end resisting such a draconian pit of misery than exist in it for one day.
Actually that’s what they (and people like BTS who commented) actually intend. Do a little research on the U.N.’s “Agenda 2030.” Ditto concerning “Synergy University.” Ditto concerning the “de-growth” movement.
The carbon cult (i.e., those who have embraced the idiocy that CO2 is a pollutant and that “climate change” is an imminent disaster) want to force us into living in dense urban areas in multi-family units, dependent upon mass transit or, at bet, small all-electric people movers that are self-driving.
They hate not just automobiles, but suburbs / single family homes, any sort of autonomy, liberty and free thought or free speech.
Essentially they intend high-tech Marxism, bringing it in under guise of “climate change” and “sustainability” rather than “workers of the world unite!”
Classic Marxism produced not utopia but dystopia. High tech Marxism will do the same.
So, what’s the question here – should be ALLOWED to own this, or WOULD you own this?
The first question is flamebait. The second…sure, why not?
Yeah.
ALLOWED?… It’s a free country Amigo. You have the right to pursue happiness.
WOULD I OWN THIS? No. If I decided that I need a midsize truck there are better choices for me.
Although this is likely the only less than full size truck that has a crack at snatching the resale value crown from the Tacoma.
The question is “allowed”. As the author argues, by reading the comment section of every automotive article regarding this vehicle, one might get the impression that such a thing is a blight upon the world. Internet commenters seem to only be satisfied if everyone owns the following:
1. A fuel-efficient hatchback for daily driving.
2. A Miata.
3. Some European car that we can’t buy in the US.
4. A pick-up only if one needs to tow the Miata to the track.
Everything else should be banished. The question is intended to be absurd, because the response to it has been equally absurd.
The truth is that, while the above scenario would be ideal, its simply not practical for a great number of people. In today’s world, cars are expensive. But at the same time they last a lot longer, and its a good thing since loans are being stretched longer than ever. When you’re considering a new car and you can only have one, you better make sure that that one vehicle can handle anything and everything you can throw at it for the next ten years. When you start looking at it that way, a truck or SUV starts making a lot of sense.
When factoring in inflation, cars aren’t that much more expensive, in fact, many are cheaper and better equipped than ever. However, I do get and agree with your point. It isnt always possible for people or families to own multiple vehicles (no matter if its financial reasons or other reasons), so choosing one that is the best compromise and happens to be something they like is a forgone conclusion.
No matter if we enthusiasts like it or not, most consumers don’t care about handling and lap times, and they will gladly give up some of that for a vehicle they feel more comfortable in and that suits their needs better. So long as it isn’t absurdly incompetent to drive, and crossovers and modern pickups aren’t, they are perfectly fine with the fact that a sedan can take a corner 7 MPH faster than they can.
@FerrariLaFerrariFace
And I bet the “pro-Jeep” response would be “well, Priuses suck, the people who drive them are idiots, the things should all be shot into the sun,” and so on.
In other words, flamebait.
Mike I think the difference is the Jeep/truck/etc “bros” poke fun at Priuses and their drivers in immature ways, but you’ll never see them floating ideas about forcing their drivers via legislation to alter their vehicular purchasing decisions. There also isn’t this serious guilt tripping “you’re killing my children you monster!!!” angle that we see from (some) people advocating for more efficient vehicles as a way to help the environment.
Just my observations.
There is the contingent of them that harass Prius drivers. I’ve seen it happen. Cutoff moves in traffic, coal-rolling, you name it. An idiot is an idiot is an idiot.
But, yeah, anyone who seriously believes a Jeep pickup truck needs to banned needs to get over it. I have a feeling lots of these twitter warriors are just trolling.
Yeah I forgot about that contingent. Same sort of person that throws trash and coal-rolls cyclists and such, absolute mouth-breathers.
“Mike I think the difference is the Jeep/truck/etc “bros” poke fun at Priuses and their drivers in immature ways, but you’ll never see them floating ideas about forcing their drivers via legislation to alter their vehicular purchasing decisions.”
And a barrage of darts hits the bullseye!!! Smartest comment I’ve read on the internet in the history of the internet!!!
“There is the contingent of them that harass Prius drivers. I’ve seen it happen. Cutoff moves in traffic, coal-rolling, you name it. An idiot is an idiot is an idiot.”
I’ll allow that they exist. But a VERY small sliver compared to those same Jeep/pickup drivers who always step up and help out their neighbors whenever a flood/hurricane/fire/other disaster hits. If you’re depending on some high efficiency clown car to save you in a disaster, you’re SCREWED. I’ll lay odds that the asses being saved by the truck and Jeep bros are largely comprised of these exact intellectual and academic types who haven’t a clue how to function outside of an office cubicle.
I just want to post the scene from Demolition Man where Huxley loses her mind over a minty 442 they find in the sewers.
We’re going to be living that post-Taco Bell Food Wars reality some day, where fun cars don’t exist anymore except in our dreams and history books.
Let’s not be in a rush to get there.
I’ll take one if you give to me, but I’d drive it straight to a RAM, Ford or GM dealership and get myself a proper/better 1/2 ton PU truck. I think this thing would be a lousy PU and it’s butt ugly.
Yes I love the Gladiator, and the day I’m told I can’t buy it and must choose a Prius instead is the day I’ll start looking for another country to move to.
Vehicles are my passion, my enjoyment, my pride and my desire. Although I’m not looking to buy a new Gladiator or any other new vehicle anytime soon, its extremely comforting to know that should I have the means and/or the inclination, the automotive market is mine for the picking. If I want a 17 mpg pickup, that’s my business. I’ll be the one paying for it and paying to fill its tank. If it’s an irresponsible choice, it’s my irresponsible choice to make.
My saving grace is that I’ll always have a car hanging around that gets decent mileage, so owning a gas guzzler isnt going to kill me if gas prices rise or if I’m in a position to where I’m to commute long distances.
It should be clear by now that we are nowhere near “Peak Oil”, and that ICE vehicles will be around for a very long time. There is no compelling reason why this won’t be the case for many years to come, nor a reason it shouldn’t be.
I’m not totally against a BEV (Honda’s Urban EV concept was impressive), but they’ll have to be some changes if I’m to consider one. There is nothing to suggest that buying a BEV is dramatically better for the environment as a whole. No, it doesn’t use gasoline oil, but the materials used in its construction (batteries, etc) and the power it gets from the grid (in most places) are far from environmentally conscious.
I’m quite sure there will be those commenters here, as they always are, that choose to project their values and choices on everyone else. They hate the American truck (and the American automotive industry as a whole) and use that as a catalyst to degrade others who dont feel the same. Trucks are bad! Unless it’s a Tacoma (which is less efficient than competing trucks) or Ridgeline (which is less useful and not much more efficient, if at all, than competing trucks).
John, I predict Day One for being forced to drive a Prius will be February 31, 2021. (rimshot) Not gonna happen.
And as far as your assertion that there are people that “choose to project their values and choices on everyone else,” you’re absolutely right, and the folks who buy this vehicle will be perfect examples. They’re just projecting a different set of values that may mesh better with yours. People do this with cars, clothes, housing, computers, and almost any other consumer good you can imagine.
The difference being that most of the people who buy this vehicle wont run around on social media berating others and attempting to guilt trip them for not doing the same. They may brag about how fun and useful it is, but most wont openly (and personally) criticize those who choose something else.
Your bias is showing, your pity me comments prove it. You’re literally here advocating and crying about how hard your life is because you like gas guzzlers. Who cares? And have you ever met a Jeep owner, they’re like the polar opposite of a Prius driver with some Adderall thrown into the mix. Drive what you want and stop longing toward victimhood.
My life is SO HARD because I drive a sedan that gets beteeen 25 and 30 MPG. Actually, I have two sedans, and the second is a 4 cylinder that gets even better mileage. Damn, you sure got me pegged!
You’re taking my advocacy for choice as a personal attack against you. Thats incredibly funny and it absolutely proves what I said to be true. If it makes you feel better, my personal views do not preclude whatever you drive, no more than they do this truck. You might have got that if you weren’t so hell-bent on getting offended.
@John:
“The difference being that most of the people who buy this vehicle wont run around on social media berating others and attempting to guilt trip them…”
No, I’d say the response from the fanboys of this particular vehicle who want to make something of the “issue” might be to berate the people who drive Priuses and call them names, question their manhood and patriotism, and on and on.
Like I said…it’s all virtue signaling. The only question is what virtue you want to signal.
…
Being laughed at, betated, manhood questioned etc amounts to being butthurt.
Having my money stolen out of my hard earned paycheck and redistributed to prius driving evo-dweebs costs me MONEY. Having to pay a gas guzzler fee for making the politically incorrect choice makes some politicians richer while it costs me MONEY.
ZERO comparison whatsoever. Maybe the deplorables who are heckling prius drivers are just getting their value back from those tax credits in the most expedient way possible. If I have to subsidize your lice egg hybrid, you can take my d*ckish behavior for 3 seconds of your life.
The hate for eco-weenies and their crappy hybrids and EVs is also from the fact that they’re essentially taking advantage of a system that’s set up to bribe people into making what some do-nothing beauracrats decided were the ‘correct choices’. How about If some gearheads got in control and gave the tax credits, prefered parking spots and HOV lane access only to cars WE like? Muscle cars, sports cars, Jeeps, lifted trucks, etc.
The difference is, eco-blobs barely sell at all and definitely don’t turn a profit even with the deck stacked in their favor. Let’s level that playing field: no more penalties or fees on less efficient vehicles, and mo more freebies or perks for greenie mobiles. No more carbon credit shell game. I give it two years before all the weenie-pods go belly up. That’s right, not a chance because even the most hardcore ev enthusiast knows they would be toast.
+1
did not want to comment until JohnTaurusFordTempoKiaAmantiUberDriver&CommentorOnEverySingleArticleWithAtLeastAdozenCommentsOrMoreOnMostArticles gave his opinion about this first, and now he has.
JohnTaurus93Tempo93KiaAmanti2003, tell us all your entire life story, from who you are dating, to what you are doing at any given minute, particularly on any Friday or Saturday night, to your full spectrum political, religious, economic, social and philosophical views, and much, much more of your personal viewpoints and opinions and experiences.
We all await your sharing, often up to dozens of times/comments in a single article on TTAC, and many dozens per day, with extreme anticipation, because we want to know you and your life with specificity, because you and your viewpoints are that important to the TTAC sphere and global community.
Tell us more and more and more…
Wednesday was the 28th. Just sayin’.
LandCruiser 70 Double-Cab
I want. I should be allowed to buy. I am not.
Jeep Pickup – it’s nice. Happy to see it available soon. I don’t trust reliability of anything FCA produces.
Oh you can buy one. No one will stop you from going to Australia and plopping down your hard earned dollars for one. You just can’t bring it stateside or drive it here for the next 25 years.
And being a body-on-frame Toyota product once you could drive it in this country you couldn’t drive it in the Rust Belt without the frame turning to dust.
Make it a two-door with a drop-top and I’d consider it as a second vehicle…if I were in the market for a second ride, which I’m not. As far as the culture war crap, you really need to work in a reference to Cultural Marxism to get full points.
This article would be better with screen-caps of the Twitterati comments.
I don’t get why this specifically would get called out when there are bigger thirstier trucks for this class of people to take issue with.
Sure people should be able to buy them, regardless of what the globalists and the one-worlders say!
Then they will be able to take their other cartoon car, the Transformer Camaro SS Bumble Bee, off the road in the winter.
Steph Willems ain’t so good as a fake-populist SJW.
The only complaints I’ve read about the Gladiator are from people unhappy you can’t get a regular cab 8-ft bed version with a 4-cylinder diesel, manual transmission, and canvas seats.
“Allowed”
Nice bait! Such a pathetic blog this has become, constant political baiting. Oh, woe is me, my pickup truck needs 50-gallons of peak oil so I can shuttle my kid to school! The globalist SJWs aren’t allowing me to drive what I want because they are magically increasing gas prices despite all branches of government being controlled by the republicans I voted for. Womp womp.
Do you feel better now? Lmao
Peak oil? Did you say peak oil? Is the earth you live on still flat?
It’s true: as a liberal, it’s my secret desire to use the government to control what vehicles people buy so that I can virtue-signal to my supporters just how much I view my vision of America as the only acceptable one, all under laughably false pretenses about preserving our safety and way of life.
Oh, wait – that was our president talking on Tuesday.
Golf clap.
Why is this even a question? There’s no logical reason not to be allowed to own a stretched Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with a pickup truck bed. Pickup trucks with independent front suspension are better suited to the mix of gravel and paved roads near where I grew up, but I can imagine off-road and poorly maintained road situations where the Gladiator would be better.
In the United States you can own any vehicle you want. Individual states set requirements for what vehicles you can register for use on the roads and what license is required to drive it.
Look at the rest of the world. So much of it actually de facto has answered that question with a “No!”.
I currently live in one of those countries. Sure, in theory you’re allowed to buy one. But in practice it is taxed so hard that you have to pay at least double the price of the US sales price, and you’re supposed to get that money from your already over-taxed income. On top of that who are you giving your money to = to those very a-holes that are trying to make your life difficult! Therefore many people focus on minimising their taxes and end up with miserable cars and give up their hobbies etc.
It’s a lose-lose situation: either you buy what you want for a while until you’re out of money and can’t buy what you want anymore and on top of that the people who want to hurt you now have your money, or you don’t live like you want and restrict yourself ending up living like those people who oppress you wanted you to live.
Don’t think it couldn’t ever happen to you. Sure, not very quickly, but a change in political leadership and a few decades could change a lot. Remember: most of the world lives under regimes like this, it hasn’t happened because that’s hard to do and they don’t have lots of very clever ploys to get you under their thumb like that.
Ah, yes, the “but in the rest of the world” argument.
But this isn’t the rest of the world.
The USA isn’t disconnected from the rest of the world. And it’s far from guaranteed that the USA won’t become part of ‘the rest of the world’. There are huge amount of American voters and soon-to-be voters that think that the USA should follow the rest of the world. Or just that they should be able to have absolute control over the American populace, and such ideas would be some of the first they’d implement without much thought.
That was my point. Not to mention the author clearly and specifically wanted to raise a discussion on this subject, which I am participating in.
Yup, here’s a guy who ‘gets it’. Exactly why anyone even remotely intelligent is beating down the doors to get into the USA. They sure aren’t trying to get into the socialist utopias our elites supposedly love so much.
Let’s put America FIRST!
USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
And let’s drive what we want and can afford to drive.
JEEP! JEEP! JEEP! JEEP! JEEP! JEEP!
HDC,
The US vehicle market is restricted to a select range od vehicles, most countries have access to the US vehicle range, plus whatever else ia available globally.
Take Australia for example, we have what the US has plus lots more.
I suppose your argument will be the consumer doesn’t want them in the US. My argument is, then the East Germans only wanted Trabants.
You are so provincial, narrow and rustic.
“… provincial, narrow and rustic.”
Thank you.
And I also believe in reciprocal tariffs on cars and trucks as those levied on American cars and trucks imported by trading partners, like China, Japan, the EU, etc.
Chances are we, the people, have only two more years to relish and enjoy the firm Trumpian method of trade.
Better enjoy it while it lasts before the ‘crats get into power and run our Great country into the ground again.
WTF?
Do some simple research and you will find more millionaires are moving to Australia than the US.
Proportionally more rich are moving to AUS, NZ, UAE, CAN, etc.
Australia, Canada, NZ, Sweden, most any Western EU country has more immigration than the US.
Man, that Koolaid you drink is tainted.
Start using facts, real data.
“Start using facts, real data.”
Ironically, Jeff Bezos says that he hires people to work around him that are adaptable and can change. He wants thinkers that constantly assess, reassess and adapt even when it comes to ideology. That is his definition of “high intelligence”.
Golf clap.
The biggest problem I have with Twitter is that it discourages nuance at the same time it encourages outrageousness, all for the sake of views. And painting the Gladiator as the return of Hummer (or Canyonero) is a pretty easy if somewhat misguided stance to take.
Or if you prefer:
“I am not allowed to meet the criminal government agent who oppresses me…”
In my mind, people should be allowed to buy any vehicle that meets these four criteria:
* The vehicle is reasonably safe
* The vehicle is reasonably efficient
* The driver is reasonably competent to operate
* The driver is reasonably likely to pay off the loan for
Obviously, there is room to debate what is “reasonable”.
The takeaway I get here though is a two part question I think is valid: How much does the way CAFE deals with trucks distort the market, and how might the market correct if that was changed?
This site has gone so far downhill in the past year, that it’s now almost a shadow of it’s former self. It used to be the first read of my day, now it’s really not.
But to answer the question, yes, yes you should be allowed to own this, or really for the most part, any other vehicle you wish to drive.
I get 11 mpg when I drive my Evo X hard. Buy whatever the f___ you want.
First off, I don’t understand using Twitter as a proxy for “people”. Twitter is for politicians, advertisers, narcissists and 14 year olds (and adults with 14 yo maturity levels), plus journalists who are some combination of the above. It most certainly does not represent “people”.
It’s a good looking truck. But that bed is pointless. What are you going to haul, that you can’t haul in an Equinox or Passport? Maybe Jeep people will find a use for that, but I cannot.
Suitcases stuffed with the hundreds of millions of dollars that FCA is going to make off of this truck, perhaps.
“What are you going to haul, that you can’t haul in an Equinox or Passport?”
I think this Jeep pickup is a stroke of genius, although I think it will definitely cannibalize Unlimited Wrangler sales first and foremost. I see TONS of shiny JKUs in the wealthy suburbs, it’s the second coming of the Eddie Bauer Explorer. I think many people were missing the “tough/cool” part of the SUV equation as crossovers are becoming more and more overtly road-biased. For the people that are currently snapping up JKUs AND the guys buying new crew cab half tons as do-it all vehicles in the ‘burbs to be used for commuting and family hauling mostly, but some home depot hauling and maybe some boat/ORV hauling, this new Gladiator strikes at the heart of this segment IMO.
“What are you going to haul, that you can’t haul in an Equinox or Passport?”
I know what I’m going to use it for that I don’t want inside my CUV:
Dirt bikes
ATVs
Dirt
Gravel
Deer carcasses
Car parts from the junkyard
You aren’t fitting dirt bikes or ATVs in that. It’s tiny! The crew cab boxes of the Taco and Colorado are bad enough and this is smaller.
I get that practicality doesn’t seem to matter with trucks now, but this just seems extreme. It’ll sell like hotcakes for sure.
Jeep had dirt bikes in the bed as it was revealed. For anything that cumbersome, a trailer is the way to go. The bed on this will be MORE than enough 95% of the time. For all else, a utility trailer has you covered.
Exactly, danio.
“Allowed”?
Those petty Stalins should go do something anatomically impossible.
They sound like the sort of people that Helicopter Twitter would like to take sight-seeing off the coast.
Now that the Deplorables are gainfully employed and having more babies, the Jeep Gladiator is the only vehicle their offspring will be allowed to drive.
I like this thing. I don’t think, this is a good P/u truck but I like it.
About allowed. These m0r0ns want to ban everything – gas, diesel, coal, guns, trucks… many other things. Than what people will do? half country goes on welfare, jobs restricted to 30 h/week and we become another pathetic state. Nice.
Love it. I don’t need, and won’t be buying, any Jeep – but I love the looks and specifications of the Gladiator. For a little while at least, they are going to sell every one that they can produce. A “license to print money”, for sure!
This is a niche vehicle, for the niche demographic that has accrued disposable income/savings.
This thing will sell big, as a toy for people who’ve got a ton of money at their disposal.
I remember when the AEV version of this could easily top $70K, and that was just couple of years ago BEFORE car-pricing entered the “whatever-the-market-will-bear” luxo-price territory.
HDC,
You make it sound like all of these are going to go for Raptor-like prices of $60k+. If they release a Sport version it could be much less than that, potentially less than $40k.
Not that that’s cheap, and not that this would ever be a completely rational purchase, but it won’t be limited to people with “tons of money at their disposal.” To me that’s more like a 911 or the $100k+ F-150 Platinum I saw at a dealer in Hawaii.
I’m considering buying a new 2-door Wrangler Rubicon and I wouldn’t consider myself rich. I’m also considering a ‘05 or ‘06 Rubi because the JK was an abomination.
multicam, as time (and sales) goes by, the price on these, too, will come down, just like the popular Grand Cherokee can now be had routinely with a healthy discount.
But for the first year or two, I see people paying more money for these unique vehicles.
I won’t be buying one, but a number of people I know will buy one solely because they want to be the first one on their block to have it.
Is that rational? Probably not. But neither was the purchase of a Volt by one guy I know who also owns an F150 and a Camry.
They rarely drive that Volt. Never seen them come to church with it, or a restaurant. It’s always the F150, him driving it.
My point was, that the people who cannot afford to buy and maintain 3 or 4 cars may be shut out of buying one of these trucklets if the people with readily available cash money will jump up and outbid them.
We see it in the housing market all the time. I could tell you real-life stories of out-of-state people who have bought a house from us by outbidding the local buyers because the out-of-towners cashed in in CA and were able to slap down the cash.
Great for the seller. Disappointing for the local buyer.
“Allowed”? I hear pitchforks clanging, torches burning and rifles cocking at the very SUGGESTION that anyone has to ask permission in how to spend our own money.
Despite having owned a JKU for 9 years, this truck comes nowhere close to what I was wanting from Jeep. On showing this image and others to my wife, the first thing she said was, “I’m glad you didn’t wait for this; I don’t like it.”
The problem is that the truck looks like a JLU with a bed stuck on the back, which is exactly what it is. This has none of the things that made the ’05 Gladiator concept attractive outside of that ‘Jeep’ look.
FCA would have done far better by making this a direct take on the older Gladiator concept than by going crew cab. And that Gladiator extended cab would be far more functional through the complete lack of second row seats.
It has limited appeal. But the appeal it does have is far greater than Jeep is capable of producing for.
IOW, there will be a long waiting line, like with Tesla.
Personally, I’d ignore anyone who suggested such a silly idea. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.
Ignoring the obvious clickbaiting along political/social/ideological lines, I’d say probably not.
All depends on the purchase price.
A ZR2 Colorado diesel costs less than a Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon.
I don’t buy into the “It’s a Jeep thing” mindset.
“I don’t buy into the “It’s a Jeep thing” mindset.”
Maybe not, but plenty of people do. It’s that whole lifestyle-statement thing, like buying a Harley. FCA will sell every Gladiator they can spit out, right off the transporter, and with a healthy ADM, as well.
The only thing that might slow sales is if there’s a dramatic run-up in oil prices. But, right now, with gas selling at very low rates, the Gladiator is assured to be an out-of-the-ballpark home run.
OTOH, Harley is taking it on the chin, lately, too…
“….with gas selling at very low rates…”
RegUnl 87-octane $2.089/gal at Phillips 66, and $2.129/gal at Valero in my town.
Thank you President Trump!
HDC We hit $1.00 a litre mid week. ..Rough math puts that at about $2.75 USD to a U.S. gallon. We consider that price a bargain ! The price of gas doesn’t seem to bother folks at all.
The full size GM twins ,Rams, F150’s, Tahoe’s, and Suburbans are everywhere .
That Jeep will fly off the shelves here.
mikey, I know from my previous trips to Canada that $2.75/US gal is cheap there. We filled up our rental Expedition EL there over several months we stayed there.
But what is unreal is the price of RegUnl 87-octane gasoline in Old Mexico. As you may know, we spend a lot of time in Old Mexico, and the US dollar is worth a lot of money there.
In fact, many places near the border insist that the Norte Americanos PAY in dollares instead of pesos.
So gas at the local PEMEX station is often paid for in US dollars. Last time I filled up the Suburban we use as our limo, I did the math and it came to 23 US gallons for $40 (two $20 bills).
Right HDC .. I’ve seen people put a $100 into a Yukon, and not fill it ! I hear folks say “Well if gas was $5.00 a gallon it would eliminate the gas guzzlers” …
$5.00 a gallon would indeed impact sales of such vehicles.”.. Impact ” yes . Eliminate ??? No.
We all should better enjoy it while we can, as long as it lasts because all too soon something will happen to where the price of gasoline gets jacked up again.
This, in spite of an overabundance of oil. Imagine how much oil and natgas is still out there, not yet found, untapped.
I find it ironic that when I had lots of cars, trucks and SUVs, the price of gasoline was kept artificially high.
All I have today is a 1989 Camry V6 that still gets ~20mpg….
BareNaked Clickbait, trying to rile the good ole boys, ’bout them dagblame latte-sippin’, dee-vice – usin’ libruls, whut thanks th’ Earth is Round – but I clicked – just to say so.
You guys are all missing the point…
Yes you can have one…but will you be able to justify one at real transaction costs? Not the $39,999.99 this thing will theoretically start at (Aka every one one the lot will be a $55k Rubicon)…the ACTUAL amount it will cost to get into one of these things..
ADM will be OFF THE DANG CHARTS! . I would expect MINIMUM $10K for 6-8 months, eventually $5k at the right dealer on the right day after a YEAR, putting this thing at $70k+ out the door here in SoCal when it comes out. Anyone sane will just get a Diesel at this price. Or an Escalade…or 2 regular Wranglers…etc etc.
The Tacoma’s crown is safe. Even TRD Pro’s are easy to find at sticker, regular Tacos have no markup ever. Anyone shopping both isn’t going to take the $70k jeep over the $40k loaded Taco. Not going to happen.
I hate it and think its ugly as heck.
However, I’m confident I’ll see a lot of them on the road, and in about 2 years think “man those look really good”
And then I’ll want one.
And thats how I know I’m getting old.
Cue up the timeless piece by Rush: Red Barchetta!
I like the pics and will probably like it in person. Probably will not like the price at all however
Thankfully I was allowed to buy my HD pickup. No real need for it really but I sure as heck wanted it. A very short commute helps.
I like this thing, I honestly do. I want a convertible, I’d like to have a truck and I don’t need it to be a towing or hauling monster. Something to throw bikes into, pickup some mulch,etc. A 4 door Gladiator soft top would tick many boxes in one vehicle in my driveway and having a 4×4 wouldn’t be the worse thing, except for feeding it.But since I travel all the time and don’t put much beyond 9k a year on my car, it’s not a huge deal.
But, just build and price for a normal Wrangler S with minimal option is 40k. Others have mentioned ADM and we all know this will be true initially, but I still can’t see 40k+ for a Wrangler. It’s just not a 40k vehicle to me, let alone 50k for a Rubicon or whatever other 20 “special editions” FCA will sell you.
Viewed from the “it’d be like buying two vehicles with one” I suppose it’s not a bad deal. But it’s still 40k for a rather crude vehicle. And I still like to go around corners, not off-road. I’ve heard others say that Jeep is an American Land Rover. Not the best vehicles, but still expensive, but Jeeps at least carry their value, especially Wrangler.
My last experience was with a two door Wrangler as a rental around 2000. It was kind of fun,especially since this one had the 4.0, but it lost its novelty fairly quickly. I’m sure the new one is a much better vehicle than that one, but still, it’s hard for my mind to see 40k for a Wrangler. Our Sienna SE had a 43k sticker and it’s worth 40k over a Wrangler’s 40k.
This just in, pickuptrucks dot com listed the cargo specs are as follows:
“Payload capacities also differ depending on trim, transmission and axle ratio. Manual Sport models with the 3:73:1 ratio can carry the most payload at 1,600 pounds. Automatic 3.73:1 and 4.10:1 Sport models can carry 1,105 pounds. Adding the Max Towing Package ups carrying capacity to 1,535 pounds.
Overland models can carry either 1,140 or 1,120 pounds with the manual or automatic transmissions. Rubicon models can carry 1,200 pounds with the manual transmission and 1,160 pounds with the automatic.”