2 door is slowly dying

[TsundereKaho]

tl;dr but does the OP realize how many people buy Wranglers and NEVER take them off road?

If you don't like the 4 door, just don't buy it.

Sponsored

 

[RonH]

So now you just polish.

Sorry, I gotta polish my cranium...

Nope...take a set of clippers with no guard on 'em once a week...5 min, done!

 

[kiwi]

The rest of the world still drives manual. I'd be really curious what Jeep's internal estimates are on how many they'd sell in the U.S. I bet it's dismally small.

I would never go back to manual. I was offered a new BMW 240i manual at a great price but 4 left hand corners later I had dropped it back at the dealer. I had booked the car for a 3 day test drive. If the JL 8 speed is anywhere as good as BMW's then Jeeps 6 speed manual is dead.

 

[word302]

I would never go back to manual. I was offered a new BMW 240i manual at a great price but 4 left hand corners later I had dropped it back at the dealer. I had booked the car for a 3 day test drive. If the JL 8 speed is anywhere as good as BMW's then Jeeps 6 speed manual is dead.

Plenty of people still love manuals.

 

[kiwi]

Plenty of people still love manuals.

I was a solid manual Jeep owner until I owned a Grand Cherokee 5 cylinder auto diesel.

 

[ThirtyOne]

the manual is dying faster than the 2 door I bet.

 

[Matt The Hammer]

Why does the rest of the world mostly use manual transmissions? They're no longer better on gas. Is it cost? I know stateside they mark up the automatic when it's still an option. But is the cost for Jeep to make an actual manual or automatic unit that much different in the end?

I recently went to Ireland and Aruba and while cool, still amazed that automatics were not to be seen.

I own Jeeps with both, so I don't care. Just seems like the rotary phone vs. push button these days.

 

[jeppesen.io]

Why does the rest of the world mostly use manual transmissions? They're no longer better on gas. Is it cost? I know stateside they mark up the automatic when it's still an option. But is the cost for Jeep to make an actual manual or automatic unit that much different in the end?

I recently went to Ireland and Aruba and while cool, still amazed that automatics were not to be seen.

I own Jeeps with both, so I don't care. Just seems like the rotary phone vs. push button these days.

SOME autos are better on MPG. There are still many news cars sold with old, 5-speed automatics. For example the Ford Ka or Fiat Panda. We're starting to see 8, 9 and 10 speeds come to more and more cars (JL is a perfect example) but that takes time

But even when everything is 8 speed or better, there's the culture of buying manuals. That takes time to change too.

Globally, manuals dropped by 4%; from ~49% to ~46%. So, it's changing.

 

[jeppesen.io]

Give me a manual with the same over drive ratio as an auto

Um, that's the whole point. 8,9 and 10 speeds give you a better overdrive ratio, and sometimes more more than one. Plus automatic transmission software/logic is much better in recent years.

 

[AZCrawl]

Then why are the manual and auto rated the same on the hyway but the auto is rated better in the city?

Higher overdrive gear?

 

[The Great Grape Ape]

Then why are the manual and auto rated the same on the highway but the auto is rated better in the city?

Highway mileage has a point of diminishing returns for gearing, where they can’t lower RPM more using additional gears, as that takes it out of the power range required to push the brick through the wind.

But that means you can also add better shorter gears in the city, increasing the spread, and thus addressing both ends simultaneously, and allowing more axle ratio flexibility too.

What the gears can still do with good programming maps is figure out when and how to skip gears to maximize efficiency or power delivery. The Ford 10spd does this fairly well and unintrusively , which is a good thing because their older autos hunted like crazy, especially when in cruise control and encountering even mild inclines often shifting around and over-reving near peak.

 

[Niteshooter]

Wow....

I confess to being a two door kind of Jeep owner though if we had a family the four door would be the more logical route to go. granted if someone was to give me either a two or four door I'd say thanks and drive off with a big grin.

A two door with a diesel, was certainly something on my radar but I won't loose any sleep over not being able to order it since the Pentastar isn't that bad an motor. It's being used across a number of Dodge/Ram platforms and seems to be reliable and decent power wise. (this coming from someone who only has about 125 hp in his CJ7 (headers and Borla exhaust)) So in reality what the JL has power wise is going to be a huge change for me.

Automatic of manual, well I've always owned manual transmission vehicles and so has the wife. Having said that the 8 spd in the Ram is a very nice transmission which shifts almost seamlessly and keeps the motor in a good power band. Again though depending on availability I can live with either.

The other wild card is really the aftermarket which is very strong when it comes to Jeep parts. I've had a Bestop Supertop on my CJ and it is so much better then the stock top. Only mistake I made was not spending the extra $50 to get the door strikes that work with the stock steel doors as I have to swap out the strikes if I want to run the two piece soft doors.

And on the topic of the aftermarket, what are the odds once the diesel ships that someone out there fabricates a diesel swap kit for the two door..... yeah it will cost more but given how much $$$ I've seen some Jeep owners spend maxing out their rides it doesn't seem so far fetched to expect some to just say screw it and swap out the motor and if the motor coming out is pretty fresh I would suspect it would recoup a fair chunk of the cost. Also as time goes by what are the odds motors start turning up in the junk yards or someone has a kit that allows you to swap the diesel out of a Ram as it sounds like they are similar.

In terms of the two door going away, I kind of doubt it since JL's aren't just sold here in North America. in France where I spend some time in the summer having a four door is a big vehicle and parking and even maneuvering in the small towns and villages in the south would be a nightmare. The Renault's that I typically drive are just right size wise and even a two door is starting to get a bit on the big size. Anyhow point is there may be markets outside of here that would be more receptive to the two door. Oh and also over there trying to find a automatic is still a bit of a challenge though not as much as when I first started to travel there in the 80's.

Only thing I am not so keen on are the Rubicon wheels though again that is a pretty simple thing to deal with. I've purchased a couple of pickups where I dropped off wheels and tires to the dealer before I took delivery of the trucks because I absolutely hated the stock ones. Actually now that I think about it there are very few cars/trucks I've purchased over the years where I haven't immediately replaced the stock wheels and tires.

 

[JL Fan]

I just like the 6-spd better. I have almost always owned/driven manuals. You can debate performance, cost, etc. But I wouldn’t have purchased a JL if I had to pick auto. As for 2 or 4 door...I wish I could have gotten 2 door. But I needed 4 b/c I have a family of 4 with 2 dogs. And that’s how we roll.

 

[blnewt]

 

[cosine]

CJ-5, 6, and 7 all had diesel engines as an option.

E="word302, post: 31275, member: 11007"]You can’t really gripe about them straying from their roots when your main complaint is no diesel, an option that has never been available.
Actually, a diesel option was offered in the 60s, Perkins Diesel in CJ5. Didn't last long as an Option. When they were available, no one wanted them. When they aren't available, "everyone" wants them. Hmmm

diesel jeep wranglers at that time was not all that popular because the i4, i6s gas motors were just as good as a work horse of a motor. also they were cheaper to work on and maintain. they also offered the v8 at one point which was more on the sporty side of the wranglers.

Sponsored