2022 Jeep JL Willys Extreme Recon Announced for $40,930; Orders Open in October

[displayname]

I love seeing this package come to the Willys. I think that might make more sense than offering the XR on every trim.
I’m still hoping that Jeep has a 2 Door XR up their sleeve. If they don’t, this package might actually say me to the Unlimited if I was shopping.

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[Bulldog4xFour]

I’m dying to see a build sheet, to know if it has the wide 44 axles, and bigger brakes. If that’s the case I might be looking to trade in my wife’s car for a snazzy berry if they still make that color.

 

[JeepViking13]

I’m dying to see a build sheet, to know if it has the wide 44 axles, and bigger brakes. If that’s the case I might be looking to trade in my wife’s car for a snazzy berry if they still make that color.

The Build sheet with exact specs are going to be interesting for sure. I can't wait.

 

[Poordad]

A rear locker would be nice, but not a deal breaker. A winch and a Pull Pal will get you out of a lot of jams. I also like the Willys hood better than the fake vent Rubi hood.

 

[omega145]

I like it. If I decide to get rid of my Rubicon and the new Bronco isn't an option than I might consider this.

 

[JeepViking13]

I like it. If I decide to get rid of my Rubicon and the new Bronco isn't an option than I might consider this.

Why would you get rid of your Rubicon?

 

[davers]

As someone that ordered a Ford Bronco, my opinion is a strong "no".

The Jeep Rubicon is the base model Wrangler, supplied with axles and lockers. I ordered a Rubicon with almost no options. It's not much different than a Sport, except it has all the off road goodies. Jeeps way of packaging those off road goodies makes it a lot more accessible to the buyer.

Ford allows you to add all the off road goodies to every trim, via a Sasquatch "package". What that's done is create part constraints, because each trim level uses some of those package parts, so you have every trim available using some of the "package" parts and then there are part constraints (unavailable parts) across all trims. Ford shot themselves in the foot not following the Jeep model. They constrained each trim, and therefor each buyer. They were unable to deliver very many vehicles because they couldn't come up with buildable units, something is missing from so many of the builds because they offered too many variables. Believe me, as someone that watched this stuff daily/weekly/monthly trying to get a very basic two-door Badlands, it became ridiculous what parts were available on any given week, and which parts became constrained just a couple weeks later. If the top fiasco hadn't happened, we (people that ordered Broncos) would be just as frustrated because the tow receiver wasn't available, or the front locker was available but not the rear, or the auto trans but not the manual, or the 33" tires but not the 35". No joke, we all got emails saying, if you want your vehicle faster, choose this model and trim, so MANY people are ordering a vehicle they never really wanted. We were told, buy a four door, buy the larger engine, buy the auto trans, skip the Sasquatch package, no tow hitch, no hard top. They have a huge bin of of parts with none of the right parts at any given time to build a truck.

If you want axles/lockers on any given trim, it's called a Rubicon, and they are available, haha.

Good point... Do you think this would have been different pre-Covid? I've never ordered a vehicle before my Willy's.. so I don't know if there were always part shortages?

 

[RedundanT]

Yawn, no diesel with the Extreme, FU Fiat.

 

[Jamrock]

Thanks Ford.

We owe you one.

 

[iwantajeepbro]

Why won’t they do the XR package on a 2 door? Ford does a 2 door Sasquatch across every single trim. Please!!!!

 

[west tex]

Cool!

BUT...

From the OP's linked article:

but unlike the Rubicons, the Willys cannot be optioned with a locking rear differential or electronically controlled sway bars, preserving the Rubicon's status as the true go-anyway Wrangler variant.

 

[AcesandEights]

Good point... Do you think this would have been different pre-Covid? I've never ordered a vehicle before my Willy's.. so I don't know if there were always part shortages?

My Jeep was built and delivered in eight weeks, during Covid. So, I think the lean manufacturing philosophy and marketing (one better than Jeep) is the real reason for Fords inability to produce the vehicle.

Ford knew in Oct 2020 how many reservations they had. They predicted, very accurately, how many reservations would convert to orders, but probably as much or more-so, the configurations available.

Lean manufacturing requires minimal inventory. Ford knew what they needed in Oct 2020, they converted MY2021 vehicles to orders in Jan 2021, and when manufacturing ramped up several months later, they shit the bed. They over-promised and under-delivered. Nothing to do with Covid, everything to do with lean manufacturing (inventory) which caused constraints, marketing (allowing too many build configurations), and maximizing profit in-the-moment.

Edited to add: builds were supposed to be based on reservation time stamp. First reserved were to be built first. Dealerships got a limited allocation which did not allow all reservations to be built, so that was a constraint. However, once the vehicles were "ordered" and in the system, what buyers were told were they would be built based on reservation timestamp as parts allowed. What happened was there were so many configurations that (limited inventory) parts would be put together to make a vehicle but it made the next vehicle in line unbuildable, so the system would have to go down the line, past many many other reservation timestamps before it could find a configuration that there were parts to build. What you saw was a four-door Outer Banks with soft top was the easiest to build.

Ford sent out several emails telling people if they changed their order they would get their vehicle faster. There are (no joke, literally) thousands of people that changed their order to get their vehicle faster, from two-door to four-door, from hard top to soft top, etc. Thousands of people are moving up in line, in front of earlier reservations, because of part constraints.

Ford didn't have the lockers/front axles to build all of the First Editions (7,000 known builds configured the same way) and also account for the Sasquatch package available on all other trims. They offer four different gear ratios available across seven trim levels, you can add front and rear lockers to any of those. For example a Big Bend could be configured with four different ratios, including lockers in the rear or front and rear, which depending on part constraints would "bump" a Badlands and make it unbuildable. They offer two transfer cases that have multiple software configurations, to provide for different GOAT-modes depending on the trim. If you took all of the hardware (mechanical configurations) and software and electronic packages and listed them be option/feature, you could enlist the help of world-renowned engineering firms with IBM super-computers to give you a sense of how many different Bronco configurations you can come up with. It's stupid complicated and creates bottle-neck after bottle-neck, and pushes reservation holders (buildable units) all over the MAP.

For people that want all the options ala carte, like a buffet...what you'll end up with is a lot of really great configurations, and many that are only one minor difference than the other, that have a much much greater wait time.

 

[Outrun]

I like it. If I decide to get rid of my Rubicon and the new Bronco isn't an option than I might consider this.

Why would you get rid of your Rubicon?

I second this. Seems like you would be downgrading for this or a Bronco.

 

[T Town]

Umm, anyone who buys a Bronco can thank Jeep for it existing.

Gen 1 Bronco: International Scout Rip Off.

Gen 2-5 Bronco: Chevy Blazer Rip Off.

Gen 6 Bronco: Jeep Wrangler JL Rip Off.

Ford has pretty much brought nothing to table…. Oh, except for their gimmicky GOAT modes, which aren’t even functional with manual transmissions.

That “aren’t even functional with manual transmissions” is flat out wrong. The only thing it would miss Is different shift strategies due to the manual. All other locker, traction control, camera, etc settings are still working. Check out the Badlands manual for instance.

 

[omega145]

Why would you get rid of your Rubicon?

I second this. Seems like you would be downgrading for this or a Bronco.

It's all perspective and opinion based. I know it's sacrilege because this is a Wrangler forum but I'm sure there are some Wrangler owners wondering these same things:

f it drives even better on road than the JL Wrangler because of the IFS then I'd consider it. If its a little more spacious then I'd consider it. If I like the tech a little more (12" screen, 360 degree cam) then I'll consider it.

If the Bronco is too wide and too large and not as nimble as the Wrangler then I won't consider it. If it feels too much like a typical SUV then I won't consider it. If there are more blind spots and I don't like the visibility (big one for me) then I won't consider it.

It all depends on the test drive whenever I can get a chance to see one and drive it. Another factor is pricing. If I can sell my used Rubicon for a higher amount and buy a brand new Bronco (or brand new Wrangler for that matter) then I might consider it.

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