The 4 door Wrangler has become the new Hummer H3...so sad.

I had to comment, as I just really have started noticing this more and more.  The 4 door Wrangler is taking its' place in the market as the ultimate "rugged poser" mommy-mobile, just as the Hummer H3 had before.  At least here in Atlanta, I can't tell you how many of them I'm noticing being driven by suburban soccer moms.  They're all decked out with winches...I said winches, not wenches thank you very much....Hella fog lights, axes, etc...  Yet there can be no doubt that the furthest these things ever venture off road is the grass parking lot next to the soccer field, which I'd bet mommy feels compelled to put it in 4WD, because you know...it's dangerous to drive off road.  Either that, or it's driven by suburban daddy who tricks it out and puts 22s on it with rubber band tires.  Yeah, that thing will go off road as often as my Elantra. 

To me, that's such a sad shame, because I always viewed the Wrangler as a hold out to the overwhelming trend of SUVs that once had actual offroad capability but now are just mall crawlers.  Yes, the 2 door is still there and I see plenty of mud covered Wranglers out there, and I'm sure there are people with 4 door Wranglers that really use their capability.  But I just have really started noticing how many posers are buying them now that Hummer is long gone. 

I should add, in full disclosure, that my wife absolutely loves them.  So I guess I'm not immune to this trend.  Every time we go to the auto show, she points it out as the one car she'd buy if she could afford it.  At least I can say that if we had one, she'd probably be up for doing some off road fun with it (not heavy duty stuff, but at least something).

TFW you can't afford a winch for actual offroad use, while soccer moms use them as ornaments

By me, Wranglers are what Defenders are in the States - a status symbol due to the difficulty and expense of importing them. Most of the Wranglers in the country have diplomatic license plates. And there's only one place that stocks Jeep parts, an independent mechanic's shop!

This doesn't seem like a new trend to me at all.  As long as I can remember I have been seeing wranglers 2 and 4 door that are clearly only used for daily driving.  That being said, to each their own.  

fiesta54 said:

This doesn't seem like a new trend to me at all.  As long as I can remember I have been seeing wranglers 2 and 4 door that are clearly only used for daily driving.  That being said, to each their own.  

Exactly.  So what if people want to use them for mall-crawling?  All that means is an ample supply of lightly-used examples in the future for us cheapskates to buy.  I fail to see the negative here.

What amazes me is so many people want them for mall crawling. They aren't exactly the best at that.

93EXCivic said:

What amazes me is so many people want them for mall crawling. They aren't exactly the best at that.

They're pretty awful at it, IMO.  Loud, uncomfortable, not very roomy for an SUV, lousy mileage, and let's not forget that awesome FCA build quality.  Most folks would be much better off with a compact SUV/crossover, but hey, if they want to look butch, that's up to them.  

I've never been one to judge other people's automotive purchases based on what I think they "need".  Once you start down that path, it becomes pretty easy to question why we "need" things like sports cars.

In reply to Klayfish :

Did you copy this off of jeep-l circa 1998-1999?

http://www.jeep-l.net/

Klayfish said:

I had to comment, as I just really have started noticing this more and more.  The 4 door Wrangler is taking its' place in the market as the ultimate "rugged poser" mommy-mobile, just as the Hummer H3 had before.

HA, my boss has one just like that - winch, lift, big wheel / tire package, aftermarket cut down fenders, auxilliary LEDs, intake, who knows what else, the whole enchilada.  99% of his driving is done on the highway in commuter traffic.  I've ridden in it.  It's horrendous.  He loves it.

To each his own, without question... but his own is not my own, that's for damn sure.  At least he found a slightly decent looking wheel for it, since most aftermarket truck wheels are like hideous icons of bad taste.

I’m of two minds on this subject: one, it annoys me somehow that people pay A LOT of money for these things, (especially the Rubicon) and they may very likely spend less time doing what they were DESIGNED for -driving off road-  (again, especially the Rubicon) than my Yukon Denali does.

The other part of me says IDGAF what people spend their money on, it’s not hurting me, that’s for sure. I’m always in a flux with these two thought processes and there are times when the annoyed one wins out despite me fighting against it.

You guys do remember what Daisy Duke drove, yes? Jeeps have been chick cars for a while. 

When I got my first Miata in 1993, the vehicle to have for all the sorority girls was...a Wrangler. This is not new. I mean, like, it's totally classic.

I'm with Tom - if they sell well for whatever purpose, then there are lots for us to play with later. And the four door is actually a functional vehicle, unlike the SWB. My favorite is the LJ, the LWB two-door. Sister in law has one, it's a good size. I'd rock one of those if I needed that kind of vehicle. Hers is set up for moderate trail running and it gets into the rocks maybe twice a year. Mostly it's for my dumbass brother in law to remind himself that he has a big invincible buggy tucked away in the garage while he's doing a latte run.

Tom_Spangler said:

fiesta54 said:

This doesn't seem like a new trend to me at all.  As long as I can remember I have been seeing wranglers 2 and 4 door that are clearly only used for daily driving.  That being said, to each their own.  

Exactly.  So what if people want to use them for mall-crawling?  All that means is an ample supply of lightly-used examples in the future for us cheapskates to buy.  I fail to see the negative here.

+1 millionbajillionfafillion!

I encourage as many people as possible to buy and lightly use all Wranglers in all flavors.  Keeps the supply chain filled!

 Why can't we all just enjoy vehicles in our own way? You shouldn't care if the "mall crawlers*" find the Wrangler as a fashion statement. The H3 was great a offroader and so are Wranglers. If a Vette owner never makes it too the track, are you just as mad at them? Or how about a vehicle with 3 rows of seating and room for 8, but only 4 people riding around in it?

My dad had an H3 for a few years, and ultimately got rid of it. One of the reasons was that people would give him dirty looks at the gas pumps or in parking lots. Of course those people never saw how he used it:

It seems short sighted to me to judge those people that have vehicles that have more purpose than an A-B appliance car just because you don't see them use it that way. Or even worse, they never use it that way. Should I judge you for driving an Elantra beige-mobile? "You couldn't possible be a gear head and drive one of those."

*"Mall crawler" should be ranked right up there with "hair dresser car" and if we are being honest with ourselves "beige appliance car".

I'll get off of your lawn now.

Everybody knows if it doesn't have round headlights, gear drive transfer case (none of that sissy chain stuff) and leaf springs, its not a REAL Jeep.

In reply to logdog :

When they stopped putting shovel mounts on the side they killed the real Jeep. 

I prefer the term "mall terrain vehicle" over "mall crawler".

I agree with a lot of what you guys have said...each to their own, it'll make for nice used ones on the market later, the Jeep has been around forever, etc...  But the 4 door Wrangler hasn't been around all that long, just a couple of years.  Before it existed, there were certainly people daily driving CJ Wranglers as DDs, no doubt.  But not many were the housewife-with-2-kids type, simply because the CJ, YJ, etc...just weren't very convenient for family use.  The 4 door changes all that.  Like I said, I see them very much like I saw the H3...99% were bought by people who wanted to look rugged and tough, but used them for things that Honda Accords were 1000x better suited for.  I never used to look at the Wrangler that way, I just think it's a bit sad.

Oh, and at least Daisy Duke offroaded her Jeep....

I just told my wife that the four door Jeep is the new minivan or suv.  Just more in the used car pool for me.  Some day I would like one for a trail and dune multipurpose vehicle.

Klayfish said:

I agree with a lot of what you guys have said...each to their own, it'll make for nice used ones on the market later, the Jeep has been around forever, etc...  But the 4 door Wrangler hasn't been around all that long, just a couple of years.  Before it existed, there were certainly people daily driving CJ Wranglers as DDs, no doubt.  But not many were the housewife-with-2-kids type, simply because the CJ, YJ, etc...just weren't very convenient for family use.  The 4 door changes all that.  Like I said, I see them very much like I saw the H3...99% were bought by people who wanted to look rugged and tough, but used them for things that Honda Accords were 1000x better suited for.  I never used to look at the Wrangler that way, I just think it's a bit sad.

 

Oh, and at least Daisy Duke offroaded her Jeep....

Dude, that Jeep is LITERALLY on a road.

My neighbors across the street have two, used as daily drivers.  Go Figure.

I'm sure my wife gets her share of disapproving looks for daily driving an Expedition EL, when probably 50% of the time it's just her in it.  Whatever.  Oddly enough, we don't get any weird looks in campgrounds when we pull up with our 30' travel trailer and us, two kids and two dogs get out.  It's the best vehicle for that particular use, a good people hauler for when we need it, a good pickup substitute for projects and Lowes Depot runs, a fine tow vehicle for hauling my broken 944 around, and a good-enough vehicle for everything else it gets used for.  But if all it ever did was take my wife where she needs to go, but she liked it, that would be fine, too.

When the 4 dr Wrangler debuted in '07,  I figured it would be cool to have one of those once prices drop into the sub $4k range...still waiting.  

Guys. This is GREAT news.

Seriously. You cannot be upset about hundreds of thousands of people buying a super-capable, TRUE off road truck.

Why? Because it means it will continue to exist. Not just new (which it wouldn't if only off-roaders bought them), but also 2nd hand. Granted, wranglers aren't cheap used, but you can't lose much on them if you resell them.

Please, soccer moms and posers... please keep buying them.

Q: Who buys these loaded Wranglers?

A:  

I'm not mad at them, but it does seem somewhat ironic that they kit their vehicles for off-road duties and then never take them there. So, they want to be seen as some rugged, outdoorsy person, but a lot of them live on the highways like others have said. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, but I think we can agree that a lot of them never see a fraction of what they were intended to (part of that is also FCA showing commercials of them plowing through rivers but then not covering warranty work when people try to recreate it).

It doesn't bother me too much, but I'd love to run into someone with a lifted, winched Wrangler and strike up a conversation with them about their sway bar disconnects or Dana locker, just to see how they would respond.