Dedicated Jeep Showrooms Are Coming

[COBill]

Another thing Jeep needs to do is a major increase in the quality control of the build, paint and fit/finish. Loose fuses/relays, poor paint coverage and factory flaws, etc need to be addressed so they don’t have to be corrected after the fact, or not at all. Good enough isn’t going to cut it if this is the direction Jeep wants to go.

That would be nice, but Jeep has shown again and again over decades and multiple owners that as long as their vehicles keep selling, QC will be one of their lowest priorities.

Sponsored

 

[aldo98229]

JL is the most European Wrangler to date: the interior materials and exterior fit-and-finish are way better than they’ve ever been, but the electrical system is one giant mess.

 

[COBill]

JL is the most European Wrangler to date: the interior materials and exterior fit-and-finish are way better than they’ve ever been, but the electrical system is one giant mess.

I agree on the electrical systems but the paint bubbling issues kind of put the damper on exterior fit and finish.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Yep, the paint is a problem. In this day and age it can and should be so much better.

Although better QC slightly slows production and costs more in initial production, it costs less in the long run as those defects don’t need to be corrected after the build is complete.

A big cost will be reworking or replacing the factory paint robots in the Toledo plant. They really don’t do a very good job. It hasn’t affected sales, so I doubt it is a priority.

 

[Sand Flea]

Already have one that I know of TX. CDJR dealer built a stand alone Jeep Showroom next to existing dealership. Haven't been in though based on a previous bad experience with them.

We have one in Millsboro, Delaware as well.

I took my Wrangler to the shop last week for routine service and noticed they had bought the property next door and were renovating it. It is not labeled 'Preston CDJR', it is only labeled JEEP.

Hoping it's a good thing!

 

[Shibadog]

JL is the most European Wrangler to date: the interior materials and exterior fit-and-finish are way better than they’ve ever been, but the electrical system is one giant mess.

We’ll, Some European vehicles ARE know to have funky wiring. Think older British or Italian vehicles. Seriously though in today’s world there IS no excuse for this nonsense..

 

[Rustynail11]

We have one in Millsboro, Delaware as well.

I took my Wrangler to the shop last week for routine service and noticed they had bought the property next door and were renovating it. It is not labeled 'Preston CDJR', it is only labeled JEEP.

Hoping it's a good thing!

Millsboro, DE, received a few tickets from Millsboro's finest when I was younger and traveling from Annapolis to Ocean City MD

 

[mgroeger]

This has been going on for over 3 years now. We bought a JL in 3/18 and about a year later the Dodge/Ram/Jeep/Chrysler dealership was told by HQ you are going to build a dedicated Jeep showroom and service center and they did. It's across the road from the Dodge/Ram/Chrysler dealership. Been up and running for over 2 years now and was actually operating pretty smoothly last time I went.

 

[Osso]

Sources:
https://www.autonews.com/dealers/jeep-focused-showrooms-can-fuel-brand-growth-ceo-says
https://www.carscoops.com/2022/05/jeep-is-confident-dedicated-showrooms-will-help-to-boost-sales/

Jeep Is Confident Dedicated Showrooms Will Help It Boost Sales

May 4, 2022

Jeep’s dealerships across the United States will undergo quite a transformation over the coming two years as the automaker encourages dealers to establish dedicated showrooms to attract additional customers.

One dealership that has already established a Jeep-centered showroom is LaFontaine Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Fenton in Michigan. This dealer has put a vintage Jeep Wagoneer on display and has also established a small area with Jeep shirts, hats, and coffee mugs.

Speaking with Auto News, the store’s general manager Paul Jordan said the dealer wanted to make Jeep customers feel like they’re in a dedicated Jeep store, rather than one with other Stellantis brands. As such, they have a Gladiator on display that’s loaded with Mopar accessories and available for test drives. Plans are also in place to update the dealership floor to accommodate the Grand Wagoneer.

“Just because you build a showroom doesn’t mean it’s going to work,” Jordan commented. “You have to have the culture of your employees match the showroom. That’s what the difference is — not the showroom — the culture of your staff.”​

Jeep chief executive Christian Meunier believes the dedicated showrooms will help dealerships capture some of the growth potential of the Jeep brand while also supporting its range of new vehicles.

“Because of the product plan and the growth opportunity for Jeep in North America in the next five years, the dealers are going to be, I think, very much engaged,” Meunier told Auto News. “So we need to show the dealers our future a little bit more so that they can have that vision more well defined. We have some work to do to convince them a little bit more about that, but this is the future. Some don’t realize the potential that exists. I think very soon they will see their peers being very successful.”​

Chairman of the Stellantis National Dealer Council and owner of the Daytona Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram dealer, Randy Dye, says some dealers are already reaping the rewards of establishing dedicated showrooms.

“I’ve listened to some of the guys that have done it, that got ahead of it, and they’ve indicated while they were not real sure how successful it was going to be as they made the decision to do it, [it] has been successful once it got done,” he said. “The customers really appreciate their own space, and the volume increases.”​

 

[Osso]

With $90k+ cars, why not... WE ARE PAYING FOR IT!!! (it's easy to spend other people's money)

 

[missionale]

If anyone remembers Joe Kerley in San Jose - that was a great Jeep show room...many years ago - bought a few Jeeps from them.
But Land Rover tried this and now most of those showrooms are replaced and used cars are on display on the "hill" in the parking lot

 

[zw470]

We’ll, Some European vehicles ARE know to have funky wiring. Think older British or Italian vehicles. Seriously though in today’s world there IS no excuse for this nonsense..

 

[2nd 392]

Lucas elect was junk, constantly crashes. Thankfully my Triumph had a magneto so I could get home albeit without lights. BTY— E Type hood?

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Land/Range Rover did those showrooms that looked like a Cabella's, minus the taxidermy, but that was it. The sales staff were still in dress clothes and the place was a confliction of rugged vs luxury. Now they are on the douchey side of luxury, like may so called luxury brands these days, not just cars.

Nobody at a Harley dealer wears dress clothes. The sell expensive motorcycles, some ridiculously so. And nobody needs a motorcycle. The Harley dealers welcome people to stop by and just hang out. They understand that many people just want a T shirt and that they have customers who will never own a motorcycle, but want to project that image. But one day, they may take the plunge. Try to go hang out at the local BMW motorcycle dealer if you aren't going to buy one. Not saying anything bad about BMWs, I've owned both.

SO, if Jeep is going to do this, they need to solidly own the brand, every bit of it. No more Jeep stroller and kids bikes at Target. No more Jeep Tshirts in department stores, no more Jeep radios, Jeep coolers etc that were licensed for cheap years ago and never went through a renewal. I keep bringing the Harley thing up becuase they do it better than anyone. The company was in serious trouble in the 80s and they figured it out. The refined their dealers and brand marketing in the 90/00s and survived the turbulence of the last recession partly on selling clothes and decals when no one was buying a new bike.

Completely owning the brand is a big deal. Jeep seems to be getting more serious about it, going after Mahindra's Roxor. If I ran Jeep, I would have just bought their operation and worked the Roxor into the Jeep lineup as a farm/ranch, construction site, hunting vehicle. But Jeep has licensing agreements with Mahindra and Beijing Jeep in Asia. Technically Mahindra has been in the Jeep business as a single company longer than any other company. But Stellantis owns the legacy company and all of it's it contracts and agreements. That's why you still see names like Willys and Overland still in use by Jeep to this day, using those names keeps the trademarks refreshed. Jeep is a generic name in many parts of the world. When I was in Iceland, any modified 4x4 is called a Jeep and the glacier trucks are called Super Jeeps, even if they are Ford or Ram pickups. So Jeep needs to do a better job controlling the brand. Lets face it, brands mean something.

Even though Jeep is now selling expensive luxury full size SUVs, Wrangler is still the halo that the company is built on. Jeep should always remember that and always have a place for it. What Tata did to the Defender is a joke. It's akin to taking a frail man and dressing him in some rugged looking flannel and imitation hiking boots bought at a high end boutique then declaring him and outdoorsman. Let's hope that Jeep never tries to market a ruggedly styled, unibody crossover as a Wrangler or CJ.

 

[Heimkehr]

Nobody at a Harley dealer wears dress clothes. The sell expensive motorcycles, some ridiculously so. And nobody needs a motorcycle. The Harley dealers welcome people to stop by and just hang out. They understand that many people just want a T shirt and that they have customers who will never own a motorcycle, but want to project that image. But one day, they may take the plunge.

Try to go hang out at the local BMW motorcycle dealer if you aren't going to buy one. Not saying anything bad about BMWs, I've owned both.

The word Need can be overused or misunderstood, true enough, but...for those folks who live in temperate climates, a motorcycle can indeed serve as a household's sole vehicle. It will depend on individual circumstances, natch, but some things can be made to work, and there, "need" may indeed come into play.

As BMWs go: almost every time I've visited Hermy's to window shop and shoot the breeze, I've been offered the keys to test ride one of these magnificent beasts. It's not easy to say No when the big GS is the only bike with factory ergos that accommodates my 6'4" frame. Thank Heaven for willpower, lol. Data point: Hermy's mimics the H-D boutique vibe pretty well. Their Triumph showroom is actually a bit nicer than the German side of things. So too Jeep, one day?

I keep bringing the Harley thing up because they do it better than anyone.

The company was in serious trouble in the 80s and they figured it out.

Milwaukee has been figuring it out for decades now, but saying it that way demands full and proper disclosure:

The first government bailout came to pass in 1983, in the form of punishing tariffs levied against imported, so-called heavyweight motorcycles (700cc and above). In plain terms, it was a protection racket that perverted the proper functioning of the market, solely for the benefit of a single and non-critical American company.

Further, in 2008-09, the company was the recipient of a $2.3 billion dollar taxpayer bailout. That's separate from the $2 billion in private loans that they took on during the same period.

With respect, describing the foregoing as Harley-Davidson doing it better than their peers isn't a good Look.

Fingers crossed that Stellantis isn't taken in by a similar scheme.

Sponsored