here is my comment As a person who has owned three various Jeep vehicles over the years, and one who has been through the Belvidere plant back in the middle 80's its nice to see it making something other then small cars! My hope as a person who loves four wheel drive vehicles especially Jeeps that DC can over take either one of the other domestic car producers in production of a vehicle. My wife currently owns a Lincoln Aviator, and I must say that it is no Jeep by any means!

here is my comment

Maybe we can create a petition :) A list of names of folks willing to purchase a Gladiator. How many would it take to spring the thing into production??

That Toyota FJ concept is definately cool looking...I grew my chops in a '73 Land Cruiser...man that Straight6 was smooth as silk....Nice Concept...I too; if Jeep doesn't step up to the plate with a REAL contender to to TJ just might see if there is indeed a Toyota in my future......

What, no Gladiator? Four door Wrangler? If Jeep continues to put out disappointments like the Liberty, I might be looking to adopt a new brand like Nissan.

I'm with Walter, build the Gladiator. Hell, I'm driving my '01 XJ waiting to add a Dakar, but since that won't be built, I'm excited about the Gladiator concept. Hope they build it, as it would be a great truck, and definitely look like a Jeep instead of resembling everything else.

In a worrisome development for Detroit automakers, consumers seem to be turning away from truck-based SUVs in favor of crossover vehicles, which are built on car bodies and provide easier handling and a more comfortable ride.

Some of the vehicles losing ground are the Jeep Grand Cherokee, with a 16 percent sales decrease, the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, down 46.4 percent, and Ford Explorer, down 41 percent

Looks like a car based model might be the right direction.. this was a clip from the detroit news
today. 2-2-05

SOUTH AFRICA, the new Patriot / Scout vehicle will not be built at the Wrangler Plant. Like the article states, the Compass and the Patriot/Scout are being built at the same plant as Dodge's next generation SX-architecture vehicle.

Like Jon said, the Patriot / Scout appears to be an all new vehicle. It has never been seen in concept form, and I know of no spy shots of it thus far.

The four-door Wrangler will be built at the Wrangler plant. Extra capacity will be available at the plant due to the actual chassis being produced at the new Hyundai-Mobis plant next door.

Dieter Zetsche has stated a decision will be made before the end of the year on whether the Gladiator will see production. If Jeep does decide to build the Gladiator, expect it as 2007 model year vehicle at the earliest. This should give most of us plenty of time to save a few pennies to purchase one.

2006 MODEL YEAR
Commander: seven-passenger luxury SUV, with air suspension, low-range gearing, and possible Cummins 610 diesel engine
Compass: entry-level, rally type vehicle, with single-range gearing
Scout/Patriot: entry-level SUV, with single-range gearing
(RUMORED, NOT CONFIRMED) Grand Cherokee SRT-8: 6.1L HEMI engine, lowered ride height

2007 MODEL YEAR
Wrangler - redesigned, with four-door model available
(POSSIBLE, NOT CONFIRMED) - Gladiator, mid-sized pickup

2008 MODEL YEAR
Liberty - redesigned

By gosh, they just may be bringing back the Cherokee in a new wrapper. Make is a six speed and diesel!

What do suppose that low 20's vehicle will be?
Have we seen anything like it in a concept vehicle?
The other small entry Jeep(Scout) was to be a result of the Jeepster concept I think. Do you think the Patriot will be a larger version of the Scout(Jeepster).
It just sounds like they are going to produce another vehicle that no one knew of.

I am hoping the Gladiator sees production also, and have sent Jeep an email letting them know this.

Jeep continously wheels out great concepts that I would love to get my hands on, but seems to have a disconnect in getting them to the market. Worse yet they only offer slush-boxes on most of them. I want to see if they intend these new "car-based" vehicals for off road or just urban city use, I constantly use my XJ for REAL off road use as well as long distance travelling, its a hard repacement. I was thinking about getting a Liberty
D to ease my fuel pains, but once again... Slush-Box only. I don't think Im asking too much when all I want is a decent 4x4 sport-ute with a manual & a diesel. But when I look at the market nothing is availiable. Im nearing 300,000k on the ol' jeep now, I don't know how much longer I can wait. Any news or comments?

"If Jeep continues to put out disappointments like the Liberty, I might be looking to adopt a new brand like Nissan."

I am very happy with my Liberty, it's very well made and far more capable than most give it credit for.

I sent an e-mail to Jeep via their webpage regarding how much I liked the gladiator. You can always do that.

I agree that Jeep needs to stop showing concept and actually start making the real thing, but your FJ comment aren't exactly fair. The Toyota FJ has a pretty impressive legacy in its own right.

At one time DCX mentioned producing two new entry-level products, that would be based on the Compass and Willys concept vehicles. The Scout/Patriot sounds like the Compass-like product, the other sounds like it could be the Willys-like product. My guess is that a production version of the Compass would be similar to a Pontiac Vibe while the Willys production vehicle would probably be like the Honda Element or the Psion(sp?). These vehicles would probably be more "Lifestyle" than off-road vehicles targeted toward younger, first-time buyers.

here is my comment :The Wrangler plant is limited and need be prepared for the new Wrangler.

This plant will build a 4 door Wrangler on the Unlimited platform it will be a Dakar look a like called Patriot. (This was the motivation behind the Unlimited anyway and not to build a modern Scrambler as many thought). A realtime experiment by DC

Jon, you may definitely be right about the capabilities of the plant. Perhaps if the Gladiator or Rescue is built it might be at this plant.

BUT, the Patriot / Scout is SX-based which neither the Rescue or Gladiator could be and maintain any of their desirable charactaristics as off-road oriented vehicles. Also the Rescue or Gladiator would cost over 20,000 because they feature off-road gear like lockers, etc. which drive the price up.

Well regardless this new vehicle is something that sounds very interesting. This plant at one time did build larger cars in the 60's and 70's so they are/were capable of it. If you read the entire article it says they are keeping some big secrets so we will see.....

Ya dont have to wait on a Gladiator from Jeep. You can have one now, they did build the pickup through the 60's just find one and do a restore. Ive seen several over the last couple of years. Heck it would probably much nicer, durable if restored correctly.

& I don't know why some of the s's didn't register in my last post! lol, That's concepts, comments.

"FJ" stands for "Fake Jeep." With competitors beating Jeep to the market in almost every corner (H2, H3SUT, 7-passenger Envoy/Trailblazer, FJ-Cruiser..,) soon other "fake Jeeps" will seem authentically original, and Jeep will seem like the copy-cat. We needed these new models not next year, not this year, but last year.

Oh man, I am really torn right now. Ok so I'm temporarily poor, but assuming this is only temporary and I recover eventually, I had planned on getting a new 4 door Wrangler or Crew Cab Gladiator, but now I find out Toyota is making the new FJ Cruiser and it will be at the Chicago auto show. I don't care, I love Jeep but I also love the new FJ Cruiser.

The Rescue was just a style exercise .I was Jeeps answer to the H2. Will they will never build it? Of course not. On the other hand the Gladiator would make perfect sense for them to build. They should build it the same way as the Wrangler. A cheaper base model for Joe six pack and younger buyers, and more expensive models of the up scale buyers.
I have a 97 tj and a 2002 Liberty. If they build the Gladiator it will be my next Jeep. If they don’t build it I will buy a Toyota.

There was a picture of the Rescue sitting next to the Wrangler in a recent issue of Four Wheeler magazine. It made you realize that the Rescue was quite a bit larger than the Wrangler. I agree that the four-door Wrangler's design lines will probably be similar to that of the Rescue. It will be am answer for all those who begged for the Dakar and the Rescue.

The Rescue was built on the Ram frame, but in person, it didn't look that big. I do think the 4 door Wrangler will look very much like the Rescue even though it won't be built on a Ram frame. It was said that the Rescue had three rows of seating, but look at the pictures, there's no way the third row was at all useful. I don't think the Rescue on a Ram platform will be built but I do think the 4 door Wrangler will be very similar and not too far from it in size.

The Rescue concept is based on the RAM chassis. This would be a lot larger than the Wrangler. I think many do not realize how large the Rescue, is. It makes the current generation Wrangler look tiny.

Even though the next Wrangler is supposed to be larger than the current generation, I do not think it will grow to RAM sized proportions.

The Gladiator on the other hand could probably work on the new Wrangler platform.

I doubt the Rescue will be built, simply because it is a very niche vehicle. The gadgetry and off-road abilities that wowed auto show viewers would push the vehicles price above that of the Commander.

I would like to see the TK platform used to build 4 vehicles. The standard 2-door Wrangler, a mid-size 4dr Dakar and Galdiator pickup and a larger Rescue. Combine this with the Compass, Willys2, Liberty, Grand Cherokee and Commander and Jeep would one hell of a lineup!

Epic has a good point. Maybe the next gen Wrangler will be more Rescue size which will be what the four door will look like. Then the Gladiator will fit in for a truck.
It is all starting to make sense now.

Does anyone think that it is possible that Jeep might be moving the Wrangler up in size and price with the next version. They might be looking to have this new Willys concept based vehicle and the Compass based vehicle move into the entry level position that the Wrangler is in now. Then make the Wrangler for the hard core offroaders at a bigger size and price level. It makes sense for them. Based on Rubicon sales, people are willing to pay a premium for the hard core offroader. This would make sense based on the recent Gladiater and Rescue concepts that looked like the next Wrangler but were bigger than the current Wrangler.

I think the Grand Cherokee will lose some sales due to many buyers moving towards crossover type vehicles. However, I think Jeep holds a unique position due to it's brand loyalty and recognition being very high.

I believe Jeep is making a smart move in expanding its lineup to counter these changes. The Liberty, Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, and Commander will continue to serve as choices for people wanting a more truck-based SUV.

The Compass and Patriot/Scout will be options for those looking for a more car-based utility vehicle. They will offer better ground clearance than a normal sedan and four wheel drive. I would not be surprised to see the Liberty go in this direction when it is redesigned, as the four door Wrangler could easily fill the slot of compact truck-based SUV. This would give Jeep a full line (from "entry-level" to "luxury") of both car-based SUVs, and truck-based SUVs.

I think the general public(the mass of people that have spurred the mid-size SUV craze over the last few years) could be starting to change their desire for those truck based SUV's. This was to be expected as nothing last forever. All you have to do is look back on the last 40yrs and see that most trends are short lived in the auto industry.
As long as Jeep forsees this and makes adjustments to the product line they will continue to survive. The Grand Cherokee is a good example. If sales continue to drop because the masses are wanting something different then it would be foolish for DC to continue to make a vehicle that people aren't buying.
Hopefully, Jeep is going to have many products to choose from which even if it does not increase their market share, it will substain what they do have.

The Wrangler will be redesigned, not replaced. Once again, that will be built in Toledo, not at this plant. UAW contracts can confirm this.

A "replacement" for the Wrangler is widely expected for the 2007 model year, so this squarish thing might well be that. The size and the price are about right.

No, this is not the Rescue. The Rescue was based on the RAM chassis which is a world away from the SX platform.

The Gladiator wouldn't be built at this plant anyway. Once again it is not an SX-based vehicle. If the Gladiator is built, it won't appear until mid - late 2006 as a 2007 model year vehicle.

The Compass concept featured more than 8" of ground clearance but a single speed transfer case. This would make it great for rough road, rally-style driving but not rock crawling.

The Scout / Patriot concept will probably feature similar performance but may offer more cargo room, etc.

Forget both of these. build the Gladator

"In February 2006, Lindland said the plant will roll out a Jeep sport utility vehicle, named Patriot or Scout.

“What we found from a variety of sources is that it is very square and about the size of the Subaru Forester,” she said. The price is expected to be in the low $20,000s, similar to the Jeep Wrangler or Liberty."

I'm confused!
We knew about the entry level low priced Scout but this is saying a "very square Forester Sized" vehicle in the low 20's.
Could this be a Rescue/Gladiator??
Any ideas??
The Patriot name would sound really good on a Rescue/H3 military looking kind of SUV.