Topic: 2007 wrangler

[frosty]

I checked out the 2007 wrangler last night and i am glad I bought the 2006 unlimited.  It kind of looks like the bastard love child of a tj and a H3 not to mention all of the cheesy plastic on it and the minivan motor.  The front grill is plastic also.  I think we have reached the end of an era  The TJ is the last real jeep ( my opinion)  The widened body loses the character and style of what a jeep is suppose to be and they did not retain alot of the original lines that is synomonous with a jeep.  they should just call it the chrysler wrangler.  They claim that the chassis is stronger but there was nothing wrong with the tj chassis.  The new motor makes all of its power at a higher rpm so it does not have as much usable power that the 4.0 had, i would take my old 2.5 over the 3.8.  it is as much a jeep as the toyota fj 40, they both resemble a jeep, but they are not a jeep.  (toyota fj40 is a great truck)  The jeep brand is no longer what it use to be all i have to say is jeep compass.

I am glad I bought the last year of what I feel is going to be a classic  hold on to your cj,s yj;s and tj,s  Jeep is dead!

billy

[Mozman68]

The grill is plastic???  Not the one I saw at the auto show in January or on the lot last week....I didn't touch it though.

I still think it was the smart move as while the number of "true" Jeep enthusiasts out there is huge, they certainly cannot maintain an entire vehicle brand.

The new Wrangler is a great compromise...Jeepers will simply need to think differently about what they need to change to achieve the type of vehicle they want and what they want it to do.

I'll wait a couple of years before I get one so all of the bugs can be worked out and the after market can catch up.

I like it.

[Tall Boy]

The 3.8 L buick motor has been given the honors of the best motor built for the century between 1900 and 2000. That is the 3800 2 motor I believe. If they used that motor they could not go wrong as far as longevity,power and so forth. I can't miss the 4.0 cause I never dealt with it. But I hear it was good. As far as everything else is concerned, my Tj se is getting handed down through generations to come. I own it now.

[Enjoi]

The Buick 3.8 is not the same engine used in the JK. The engine used in the JK is the Crystler 3.8, basically a 3.3 thats been overbored.

 :) i made the same mistake when i heard that Jeep was using the 3.8 i thought the same thing.

[chrisfranklin]

The minivan engine doesn't bother me much. It's probably using a mass air flow senosr to control the air/fuel ratio, so it'll be a ton easier to modify accurately vs. the 2.5/4.0.  No BS with a need for a MAP adjuster, etc. Probably not much in the way of emissions problems, either, with mods  (course, most of you guys don't have to deal with CARB   Yeah torque at low RPM is going to be off, which is regrettable, but probably not fatal to the JK's use on the hardest trails (keep in mind the JK Rubicon's 4:1 ratio in the transfer case)

Wouldn't mind the Hemi or any V8 available in the SWB, though

But, the frigging JK is, what, 4100 lbs?  That's practically what my Dad's old 5 door Ford Explorer weighed.   JK seems like some kind of Supersized Wrangler.  If they are going to Supersize something, then supersize the engine  

[Jeffy]

From what I was told the engine was based on the 3.8L used in the Caravan but things were changed.

[chardrc]

manm a plastic grilll.... ouch that hurts..... we hae a 06 rubicon and we havent had the chance to take it on a real off road trail it is a nice jeep..... i remember i used to hate all the new jeeps (anything un cj) but that changed when the rubicon came out and then wehn i got my yj from a "freind" but i have a bad vibe about the jk...  

i say if crystler wants there to be alot of jeep vehiculs have

1a buig jeep (yk)
2small jeep  (like an ealy cj)
 3then 1 suv type jeep like a grand cherokee or liberty


they shouldnt just do all this exspanding and less trail worthy so that more peopel will buy...

[frosty]

I think you might as well call a h2 a jeep too, it has a resemblance four wheels, sheet metal 4x4, and a seven slot grill.  The new jeep really has nothing more to offer than the tj and its cheaper tomake that should tell you something.  Since when did jeeps had plastic fenders or comfy (more things to break) interiors (tj interior is still simple).  The caravan engine is a big downgrade from the 4.0.  They went with the caravan engine because it was cheaper the 4.0 tooling was broken they didnt want to fix it. and there was pressure from epa for its discontinuation due to emissions  The extra width I dont think would benefit you offroad.  The looks are not classic jeep.  The yj looked more like a jeep than the jk (I am not a big fan of the square headlights) because it still kept true to the nature of a jeep.  in 10 years we will be seeing a new model with a ifs unibody construction and a transversly mounted drivetrain.  hmm oh they are already making those.  I guess I am use to growing up with a fj 40 2 fj60s , a international scout 2 a IH traveler, a jeep cherokee and a tj and now a lj.  maybe I am spoiled.  The only vehicle that stacked up with the ones i listed is the jeep wrangler or cj.  and my uncle had a cj7 and i think the tj is a better vehicle although i wouldnt mind having a cj.  I guess after this whole big rant is why is chrysler messing with something that doesnt need to be fixed.  They should of gave us a diesal not a abomination of what was once an American icon. They ruined the jeep name!!!!!

[Mozman68]

Frosty...there are so many things wrong in your post I don't know where to begin....plastic fenders/flares have been there for 30+ years....as for the rest, you need to understand the government and vehicle safety laws before you comment on why they chose the engine and made the other changes.

[frosty]

a fender and a flare are two different things.  Yes there have been plastic flares for 30 years but not fenders.  How about the plastic grill I never saw a plastic grill on  a production jeep before.  It is sort of like when land rover redesigned the discovery the landrover people were up in arms.  This is just ther begining of DC offering inferior products.  It started with the liberty replacing the cherokee (they were selling more cherokees than libertys) and now this new wrangler. Again this is only one persons opinion mine and opinions are like a  holes everyone has one and they all stink.  I had my choice of what to buy and i chose the 2006 if I honestly thought the 07 was a better vehicle I would of bought it.  the 07 is not a bad vehicle but to me its not a jeep wrangler

billy

[Mozman68]

I was questioning the plastic grill...no one has confirmed yet, but I still don't think it's plastic.....does it look plastic to you??



http://www.jeep.com/en/wranglers/gallery.html

I may have to head over to the dealership today to de-bunk this one....

My argument on the flares is that it is now easier to pull them off and go ALL steel....I believe that will be one of the first aftermarket items since it will be so easy to do.

As much as I love the Poison Spyder tubular flares, I dread cutting up my existing ones to install them.

[frosty]

I actually felt one on the unlimited and it was definatley plastic.

[chardrc]

what almost descusts me more than them having plastic grills is thinking of how someone would think.. hmmm you know we should put a plastic grill on the new wrangelr.. i means seriously who would think of something so unamerican and jeep as that

[chrisfranklin]

Uh, I think the grill is plastic.  

[Jeffy]

Well, it would eventually happen.  Making it from steel would make it heavier then plastic.  They could have gone aluminum but that costs more the steel or plastic.  What they really need to do is shed weight to keep the power to weight ratio managable and the gas mileage respectable.  They aren't going to make it out of carbon fiber since that's just too expensive and difficult to mass produce without having a lot fo waste.  Honestly, I wouldn't care if the grill is plastic.  They could really cut down on weight by making the body out of aluminum but then they would be coping Land Rover who did it from the beginning...