Interview with head of Jeep design

JIMBO

Expedition Leader
:sombrero: Thanx for the report--However

I can't imagine a Wrangler, 2dr/4dr, without a frame to support the front/rear axles/xfer case/tranny as rigidity/torsional strength for the acrobatics the jeep CAN DO--

We gonna have to wait-and-see !

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO
 

richjeeps

Eagle
Truck Trend has an interview with Mark Allen, head of Jeep design. The interview includes the following quote

"I don't know if I'd consider body on frame as that big a part of the Jeep identity...I wouldn't say body on frame is a driving factor in how we build the next Wrangler."

Interesting read.

I KNOW I don't agree! It sounds to me that he's out of touch with the "real" Jeepers of the world and wants to appeal to corpporate tends/pressure to market to mall-crawlers. I also believe he is trying to stir-up contrversy. 1 - To get more publicity and 2 to encourage people to run out and buy a new on now before they make changes.
 

haven

Expedition Leader
In fairness, Allen is quoted as saying, "I consider tractive capability more the core of what Jeep is. It really doesn't matter if it's body on frame or not, it's all about the capability."

If a future Wrangler had Rubicon-like capability, but was a unibody chassis like the Grand Cherokee, would the Jeep faithful still buy it?
 

Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
I think the whole quote explains it better:

I don't know if I'd consider body-on-frame as that big a part of the Jeep identity. I consider tractive capability more of the core of what Jeep is. It really doesn't matter if it's body-on-frame or not, it's all about the capability.

I agree with that 100%. I'll bet ditching body-on-frame would result in a stiffer vehicle, lighter vehicle and better mileage.
If it's still as capable or more capable off road, I say go for it!

-Dan
 

JIMBO

Expedition Leader
:sombrero: I'm afraid that if they decide to goto "unibody", then they'll
do away with the front axle--goto AWD and offer IFS--I'm not gonna go for that-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO
 

Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
:sombrero: I'm afraid that if they decide to goto "unibody", then they'll
do away with the front axle--goto AWD and offer IFS--I'm not gonna go for that-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

If you read the whole article you can see Mark is happy & proud the Rubicon Wrangler is the most capable off-road vehicle you can buy.
From everything else he says, I think it's extremely unlikely they are going to do anything to compromise on that, like going wimpy AWD.

-Dan
 

406to417

Explorer
:sombrero: Thanx for the report--However

I can't imagine a Wrangler, 2dr/4dr, without a frame to support the front/rear axles/xfer case/tranny as rigidity/torsional strength for the acrobatics the jeep CAN DO--

We gonna have to wait-and-see !

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

This is the Jeep ICON from probably ten years ago. It was unibody with no solid axles. If i remember correctly when I saw it at Camp Jeep 2002, it was pretty tall and short and narrow. Looked like a roll over waiting to happen. My issue with unibody is the XJs and ZJs that i go off pavement with are starting to show signs of wear in the structure that the full framed vehicles are not.

mtGur.jpg


8MSW5.jpg
 

reece146

Automotive Artist
A PROPERLY designed unibody will spank a body on frame design in strength, utility, and weight (i.e. mpg).

The floppy noodle body on the current Wrangler is a joke.
 

reece146

Automotive Artist
My issue with unibody is the XJs and ZJs that i go off pavement with are starting to show signs of wear in the structure that the full framed vehicles are not.

And yet the unibodies on the WJ show no such pattern of wear. It's almost like the WJ unibody wasn't designed by Chrysler. Hmm.
 

JIMBO

Expedition Leader
:sombrero: Interesting, what might you find a "JOKE" about the current Wrangler body on frame ???

A PROPERLY designed unibody will spank a body on frame design in strength, utility, and weight (i.e. mpg).

The floppy noodle body on the current Wrangler is a joke.

Perhaps you have a ddifferent sense of humor ?

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO
 

406to417

Explorer
:sombrero: Interesting, what might you find a "JOKE" about the current Wrangler body on frame ???



Perhaps you have a ddifferent sense of humor ?

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

I think he is refering to the body on JKs not the frame of a JK.


I dont have enough experiance with WJs to know how they hold up over time.
 

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