2017 Wrangler to be Unibody...

[KiwiKurt]

I dont think IFS/IRS has to be a death knell. Look at the LR4. Those things go damn near every where people want them, short of rock crawling.

I think jeep can make any change work that they want to...what i don't underestimate, however, is Chrysler to work overtime in order to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. There are probably people within chrysler who are arguing at this moment that the wrangler should be based off of a modular chassis that they can share with the 200 series sedan....citing road noise, comfort, mpg's...the lot.


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[Jurfie]

I dont think IFS/IRS has to be a death knell. Look at the LR4. Those things go damn near every where people want them, short of rock crawling.

Which is why the Wrangler should never be IFS/IRS.

 

[haven]

I think the management at FCA is prepared to say goodbye to the rock crawlers, if it results in broadening the appeal of the brand. IFS doesn't keep Land Rover and Toyota from maintaining their adventure travel credentials.

Besides, who buys a new truck for rock hopping? There are millions of late model Wranglers out there, waiting to be modified. And if Wrangler goes IFS, I'm sure several companies will offer SAS kits within 6 months.

 

[Jurfie]

I think the management at FCA is prepared to say goodbye to the rock crawlers, if it results in broadening the appeal of the brand.

Harrumph! It will be interesting to see what happens, that's for sure.

 

[Itsavanman]

aluminum unibody.. so what there saying is there going to produce a wrangler that wont need a frame replaced in 8 years? seriously the frames on the newer jeeps are trash, road salt turns them into dust in less than 10 years..... as for the ifs / irs debate.. whats everyones opinion on hum-vee's?

 

[jeep-N-montero]

aluminum unibody.. so what there saying is there going to produce a wrangler that wont need a frame replaced in 8 years? seriously the frames on the newer jeeps are trash, road salt turns them into dust in less than 10 years..... as for the ifs / irs debate.. whats everyones opinion on hum-vee's?

Aluminum body panels, not the frame.

 

[Arktikos]

Bah! There are enough trucks in circulation with solid axles and ladder frames to keep the off road crowd busy for a few more centuries, or at least until we're cooked by climate change. Just use them for what they're designed for, the miles won't rack up, and they'll last indefinitely. Guess that means reconsidering using the lifted, snorkeled Rubicon with 35 inch tires for the drive over to Whole Foods to buy organic chocolate. Boo hoo!

 

[Dan Grec]

You would think they could go aluminum body, but keep the frame, plus a new motor, to get to where they need to be on fuel numbers.

That's exactly what I'm hoping for.

I imagine they're going to ditch the fold-down windscreen as well, and maybe change/slant the grill/front profile to help aero a bit too.

I know 25 MPG US is possible with the 2.8 VM in a 2 door JK (Dave H. from AEV told me the one he built does that).

So I'm hoping with a lighter vehicle and a bit more aero, they can push towards 30mpg US with SFA and alu-body on steel-frame.
Fingers crossed they use a diesel to do so.

-Dan

 

[proper4wd]

It would be a significant change of the styling and traditional design of the model to go traditional unibody. There is no way you could offer a full soft top with fold down windshield while keeping the traditional shape.

 

[Justincredible]

The Wrangler is already too expensive (outside of the base model), aluminum will only make it more so.
I love the idea of a lighter Wrangler, but not if it pushes the cost out of reach for the average buyer.


A lot of you will hate this and I'm sure there are other reasons it hasn't/won't be done, but I wouldn't be against a plastic body.
Light weight and dent resistant.

 

[Fargo]

Isn't it a little late in the game for Jeep to be considering unibody vs frame? I mean, the new 2015s are already hitting the showroom floors. Do you really think Jeep is going to design, test, and manufacture an all new Wrangler in 2 years? No way. The new 2017 Wrangler has got to be further along in development than that by now. They are probably already doing field testing with camoflagued prototypes. Remember the Jeep Gladiator Pickup concept. That was release in 2005. If you look at it in hind sight you can see they knew then exactly what the 2007 Wrangler was going to be. If you look at the development lifecycle of a car it takes more than 2 years from concept to development. I would say the 2017 Wrangler is probably 75% already finished. I could understand debating aluminum or steel body panels as I expect manufacturing processes would be similar. But surely the rest of the Wrangler has been decided by now. Just keep your eyse open for prototypes.

 

[docwatson]

The new aluminum F150 only increased $395 on the base model. So the price may not increase drastically over the current values. The encouraging note is that FCA seems to be putting more into diesel, atleast for its trucks, in gaining MPG vs Ford and its turbos. I think that points to more likely a diesel in the upcoming Wrangler then some tiny turbo'd motor. Speculation of course.

 

[Haf-E]

I could see aluminum for the 2017 jeep - especially the hood & doors. Heck there isn't that much of a body on a jeep anyways - I would expect that they would do that fist and then go to an aluminum "body" later. Probably simplify the windshield by not letting it fold (which is ok for most people it seems).

 

[Fargo]

I could see aluminum for the 2017 jeep - especially the hood & doors. Heck there isn't that much of a body on a jeep anyways - I would expect that they would do that fist and then go to an aluminum "body" later. Probably simplify the windshield by not letting it fold (which is ok for most people it seems).

Thats my thoughts too.

I really don't think that Jeep will do IFS either. To many people want solid axle. You might say we are in the minority, or that we buy used Jeeps instead of new, so Jeep doesn't care about us. But I don't think thats true. Jeep needs to consider what the used market wants as well. If there is no used market for an IFS Wrangler, the resale value on them will drop so fast that nobody will buy new Wranglers either. Why would you buy an IFS Wrangler thats going to drop in value like a rock when you could get a Nissan Xterra ( or Toyota 4 runner) with a solid rear axle and will hold its value. If they make the Wrangler IFS, they are just competing against their own Grand Cherokee and people that want an offroad vehicle will look elsewhere.

 

[Jurfie]

Isn't it a little late in the game for Jeep to be considering unibody vs frame? I mean, the new 2015s are already hitting the showroom floors. Do you really think Jeep is going to design, test, and manufacture an all new Wrangler in 2 years? No way. The new 2017 Wrangler has got to be further along in development than that by now. They are probably already doing field testing with camoflagued prototypes. Remember the Jeep Gladiator Pickup concept. That was release in 2005. If you look at it in hind sight you can see they knew then exactly what the 2007 Wrangler was going to be. If you look at the development lifecycle of a car it takes more than 2 years from concept to development. I would say the 2017 Wrangler is probably 75% already finished. I could understand debating aluminum or steel body panels as I expect manufacturing processes would be similar. But surely the rest of the Wrangler has been decided by now. Just keep your eyse open for prototypes.

The 2015 model is not "new"; it is a (barely) refreshed JK model. The next-gen has probably been in development for a long time, which I suppose is your point: if the decision was to go unibody/IFS, it has already been made. More reason to believe it isn't going to be.

Thats my thoughts too.

I really don't think that Jeep will do IFS either. To many people want solid axle. You might say we are in the minority, or that we buy used Jeeps instead of new, so Jeep doesn't care about us. But I don't think thats true. Jeep needs to consider what the used market wants as well. If there is no used market for an IFS Wrangler, the resale value on them will drop so fast that nobody will buy new Wranglers either. Why would you buy an IFS Wrangler thats going to drop in value like a rock when you could get a Nissan Xterra ( or Toyota 4 runner) with a solid rear axle and will hold its value. If they make the Wrangler IFS, they are just competing against their own Grand Cherokee and people that want an offroad vehicle will look elsewhere.

Exactly. And the Cherokee Trailhawk, too.