I remember when the first shipments of those 2003 Rubicons arrived. The tires were tiny and were LT-E rated so they rode like ****. Many customers complained, which is one reason Jeep invented their own tire size for the JK a few years later. But, despite it's shortcomings, the TJ Rubicon was something neat that guys hadn't seen in stock form before. It sort of changed all the rules. They had a color called Khaki, and it seems like those outnumbered the other colors 4 to 1 around here.
I bought one of the new Rubicons in '03. It was an eye opener in the way it performed.
People in gas stations would generally say either, "Wow, a Rubicon!" or, "Nice Jeep, but what's a Rubicon?" Some of you may not know this, but back then a base Rubicon came with no tilt steering, no CC, no AC, and it had vinyl Seats. My how times have changed!