Most Automakers have one: An iconic model that historically, or currently embodies the spirit and essence of their brand. BMW has the 3-series, Porsche has the 911, and Jeep has the Wrangler. With so much symbolically riding on this single model, it was imperative for Jeep not to screw it up. Especially considering how much the introduction of the front-wheel-drive, unibody Compass cute-ute has irked the Jeep faithful.

But Jeep made it adamantly clear that the new Wrangler is no watered-down, sissified pretender. Whereas all the other current Jeep models have abandoned solid axles, the Wrangler still proudly rides on front and rear Dana axles, a Dana 30 front and Dana 35 rear. The Rubicon model sports Dana 44s front and rear, as well as any models with the towing package.

How do you redesign Mount Rushmore?

OK, the Jeep Wrangler isn't exactly Mount Rushmore, but it's pretty darned close. Even when it was first introduced in 1986, replacing the Jeep CJ, the Wrangler was clearly recognizable as the son of the CJ. A little lower, a little wider, a little squarer but still the civilian descendent of the little off-roaders that helped whip the Axis more than forty years before.

"It's those boundaries that we zealously guard," said Mike Donoughe, vice president for the body on frame product team at DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group.

Without looking closely, it could be easy to miss that the 2007 Wrangler is a different machine from the outgoing version. Even some things you can't see have been kept the same just because Wrangler fans like them that way.

This is probably the most rumored, criticized, and hated Jeep vehicle that we can think of in recent memory (besides the Patriot, the Compass, the Liberty, the Commander, and the Grand Cherokee SRT8) — and that's before anyone even saw it. Will it have IFS?! Will it have four doors?! Will it have a diesel?! Will the windshield flip down anymore?!

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First off, it's a JK Wrangler, not TK like some others have been reporting incorrectly for months. The 3.8L is not actually a new engine; it can be found in the Dodge minivan lineup. It has similar max horsepower and torque as the 4.0L but at a much higher rpm. Only a road test will tell if it's up to the task of hauling the now-heavier Wrangler and even heavier four-door Wrangler. Rumor is that the four-door could get the 5.7L Hemi V-8. The suspension is still a five-link, like the previous Wrangler, but with slightly longer arms. A current Wrangler lift kit will not fit on the new Jeep, so expect the typical aftermarket lag time for a lift. Check out the flexible front fenders ... we're thinking they could come off and be replaced with some trick steel-tube fenders (or removed completely for a real aggressive look). We'd toss the plastic bumpers too. Ahem, aftermarket, get to work!

The question is: Will Jeep purists think the brand has gone too soft?

"Everybody is worried that Jeep will lose their name," Joe Cefali, 40, who has owned 14 Jeep Wranglers and Grand Cherokees in his life said. "I would hate to see Jeep not being on the foreground of off-roading."

The 2007 Wrangler, the latest version in the classic Jeep's 65-year history, will be equipped with a number of firsts:

- Its first navigation system.

- Its first 3.8-liter V-6 engine.

- And its first powered windows and door locks.

The Compass, a compact crossover, is the first Jeep vehicle to come with a front-wheel drive version.

"It seems like they're coming out with some things that are not really off-road capable," said Cefali, vice president of the Great Lakes Four Wheel Drive Association.