Consumer Reports strikes again

[Terrymo]

Get a kit like this. Amazon.com: Block Tester BT-500 Head Gasket Combustion Leak Test Kit - Made in USA : Automotive

f it shows combustion products in the coolant, it's a big clue. Then you might want to do a more extensive test, a cylinder leakdown test. A used oil analysis will tell you if the coolant is in the oil and if it's affecting wear.

Thanks. Added to my Amazon cart and saved for later. Hopefully much later. Still trying to figure out why the Amazon details show its battery powered

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[Remorseless]

Must be an increasing number of CR readers given Wrangler sales declines and the fall off in resale….

Or inflation has priced the Wrangler into yuppie territory and yuppies don't actually like Jeeps the way they thought they did.

 

[Terrymo]

Or inflation has priced the Wrangler into yuppie territory and yuppies don't actually like Jeeps the way they thought they did.

 

[John VonJeep]

Or inflation has priced the Wrangler into yuppie territory and yuppies don't actually like Jeeps the way they thought they did.

I also think the “feel” of a Jeep has diverged even further from the feel of other SUVs. There was less distance between the way a TJ and a same-era Pathfinder felt than there is between a JL and, say, a Rogue.

And yes, a JL is obviously a lot more complicated than a TJ, but it is recognizably the descendent of one. The Rogue (or current Pathfinder) has literally nothing in common with Pathfinders of yore.

And so, while a 1997 buyer might have cross-shopped TJ and Pathfinder and found them vaguely similar in feel, the gulf today is much greater.

 

[Remorseless]

I also think the “feel” of a Jeep has diverged even further from the feel of other SUVs. There was less distance between the way a TJ and a same-era pathfinder felt than there is between a JL and, say, a Rogue.

And yes, a JL is obviously a lot more complicated than a TJ, but it is recognizably the descendent of one. The Rogue (or current Pathfinder) has literally nothing in common with Pathfinders of yore.

And so, while a 1997 buyer might have cross-shopped TJ and Pathfinder and found them vaguely similar in feel, the gulf today is much greater.

Yeah, gone are the days where your average "4x4" people hauler felt trucky. Hell, even modern trucks don't feel trucky (and, arguably, are worse for it IMO). Jeeps are definitely a unique thing anymore, and a lot of folks love the image, but can't handle the reality of driving something that can actually do proper wheeling. So you saturate your market and folks that get brought in along with it are fickle and abandon it.

 

[John VonJeep]

Yeah, gone are the days where your average "4x4" people hauler felt trucky. Hell, even modern trucks don't feel trucky (and, arguably, are worse for it IMO). Jeeps are definitely a unique thing anymore, and a lot of folks love the image, but can't handle the reality of driving something that can actually do proper wheeling. So you saturate your market and folks that get brought in along with it are fickle and abandon it.

Yes. All SUVs were basically what the 4Runner is today — BOF, IFS, SRA. And you could do a good bit of proper wheeling in them, just like the modern 4Runner. Modern crossovers have basically all become Subaru Outbacks, only not even that off-roady.

 

[Remorseless]

Yes. All SUVs were basically what the 4Runner is today — BOF, IFS, SRA. And you could do a good bit of proper wheeling in them, just like the modern 4Runner. Modern crossovers have basically all become Subaru Outbacks, only not even that off-roady.

And then you had XJ/ZJ/WJ too, which sold well, and still kept SFA around for SUV normies.

 

[John VonJeep]

Fuck, just listen to us

 

[dstevens]

https://caredge.com/ranks/depreciation
F!$K bias as hell CR’s. Top 5 in resale value says it all.

Scroll down more where it is broken down by model not brand.

The Jeep Wrangler has the highest resale value of any vehicle after 5 years.

 

[yokramer]

Fuck, just listen to us

This isnt new info

 

[John VonJeep]

This isnt new info

And I’m not quite ready for the Old Men at McDonald’s Club yet. Headed to my buddy’s shop this weekend so he and I can install the lift on the new Willys.

 

[yokramer]

And I’m not quite ready for the Old Men at McDonald’s Club yet. Headed to my buddy’s shop this weekend so he and I can install the lift on the new Willys.

The McEcoli waits for no man

 

[dstevens]

I compared consumer reports Wrangler vs Forerunner. (Nothing against the Forerunner, it was just the first in the comparison list). The Wrangler gets a score of 25/100 and the Forerunner 63/100. Yet in the test categories the Wrangler scores the same or better than the Forerunner in acceleration, handling, headlights, climate system, fuel economy, greenhouse gas, smog. It scores worse than the Forerunner in the subjective categories of driving position, seat comfort, seat access, usability, ride and noise. The bulk of the difference in rating is from 'predicted reliability' and 'predicted owner satisfaction', both of which are calculated from the data submitted from CR members with that associated bias.

 

[Terrymo]

And I’m not quite ready for the Old Men at McDonald’s Club yet. Headed to my buddy’s shop this weekend so he and I can install the lift on the new Willys.

Nothing wrong with old age and wisdom. Those are the guys that have been wheeling for 40 plus years and have done all the breaking shit and doing dumb stuff they need to do. When I go out with a Jeep club I queue up behind those guys to copy their line rather than the younger guys with a “send it” mentality. I’m old but I’m a late bloomer in the Jeep world.

 

[NWJeepr]

The McEcoli waits for no man

Wait, wasn't you-know-who working there when the Ecoli outbreak happened? Just sayin'...

But yes, take me back to the days of the 16mpg ranger-based Ford Explorer with the wheezing 4.0 V6 and an automatic that only Slushee Corp would be proud of. We thought we had it so good back then, when an SUV had real balls, you know what I mean?

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