Will Jeep ever build a "Car"?

[Wallyman]

Ahhh i know theres a whole slew of marketing and engineering decisions behind what they do.
The fed Govt regulations year after year for economy and safety make it damn near impossible to have the traditional Jeep with hurky strength and uncomplicated power to boot. They deserve some of the arrows shot thier way. Engines get smaler, higher tech, theres more and MORE plastic and less raw defined character. Change, change....change.
As far as a car, i would like to see Kenworth or Peterbuilt build a car, or i guess a light truck. how about that.

 

[bjoehandley]

As far as a car, i would like to see Kenworth or Peterbuilt build a car, or i guess a light truck. how about that.

Nah, the feds would screw that up too

 

[Darky]

Car? Yeah - a while ago.

DJ-series - stock RHD 2WD. Sounds like a "purpose-built car" to me.

Jeepster/VJ? Most were 2WD. Commando C101/104? An awful lot of those were 2WD as well, IIRC.

If you want to go by characteristics, Kaiser had a dalliance with IFS in the early 1960's on the Gladiator and Wagoneer (J-series and FSJ.) They were still (mostly) 4WD - but we mustn't forget those. (Oh - that was also the first dalliance with an overhead cam engine - the 230ci I6OHC "Tornado" engine. Funky thing about it - one cam lobe was supposed to have operated both valves on a cylinder. I'd love to see one of those cams!)

Now, we've got the Compass & Patriot - which are rebadged ChryCo models, and can probably barely be considered "crossovers."

The Commander (XK) was a definite "crossover" - while it was the size of a light truck, it was built primarily for road manners and road handling. I wouldn't mind one, but I'd want an SLA front throw in instead of IFS (I'm not a huge fan.)

The WK? IFS. Wandering from "SUV" to "Crossover" as we speak.

It's nothing new, and it's the "following the trend" that usually ends up diluting a good line or brand after a while. It would be better (methinks) if they'd stick to the core values of the Jeep brand and leave all of the "experimental car" crappola to the Chrysler brand - after all, Jeep was the only real moneymaker for Kaiser and AMC, and it carried Willys until Kaiser bought them - but up until about ten years ago, Jeep had stuck to their roots. SLA fore and aft, engines that made useful power without having to be overwound, useful cargo and towing capacity, and light, nimble vehicles. I've been able to do a smooth U-turn in my XJ on a narrow residential street without too much trouble, and without bumping kerbs - without IFS - and I didn't mind the road manners of the thing at all (but, I bought it as a truck, to use as a truck. If people buy a truck wanting a "car-like ride" and "car-like handling," then they should just have bought a damned car instead.)

2wd and/or IFS do not a car make. Would a 2wd Tahoe or 2wd Silverado be a car? And I think you're missing the definition of crossover...generally speaking it's something like the RX350 from Lexus. By your definition, the XJ is a crossover...unibody, low slung with small wheel wells, designed more for the road than the dirt, etc.