Jeep Head of Design Mark Allen retires. Replaced by Vince Gallante, Ryan Nagode, Leandro Pinto

[wanderer]

Wow. Well I hope they take the time to study Jeep history and don’t deviate from our tradition

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[Old Jeeper]

TBH, I could forgo the fold down windshield. Especially now that the roll cage goes all the way forward. In all my years of Jeep ownership I folded my windshield down twice. One to wheel without a windshield and learn why windshields exist, the other for easy access when installing something on the dash.

It's a feature that exists solely for nostalgia. It doesn't even serve its original purpose anymore, which was to allow the Jeep to be shipped in a smaller crate way back in the days before Jeeps had roll bars.

YES...but as you strip away the heritage so goes the bloodline.

FACT: Jeep contacted me direct and wanted to meet with me, they were going to Moab. They invited the first 25 Jeep Rubicon owners (ordered Rubicons). Great I was going to Moab anyhow.

So I go where they are and meet with the person who was head of Jeep Wrangler Marketing. We chatted for a few min and I get thanks and told I was first guy to order one. I said was doing IT consulting for Chrysler and I was Jeep guy and I got that put on my consulting contract that I order a Jeep at employee cost.

The wrangler mgr looks at me and asks, HOW long have you been driving and owning Jeeps?

Since 1965.

OMG, really!

They gather up the team that there, bout 7 of them, head of this, in charge of that. After nearly 2 hours of talk about why and how many Jeeps etc, Wrangler Mgr asked this question: 'What would cause you to never buy a Jeep again?' Without hesitation I said: "Fold Down Windshield and take off doors. Do that might as well be a Camry."

Mr BIG who had not talked much, he was from the very top VP level. He leaned over to the Wrangler Mgr and said: We are phasing out the fold down windshield in the next year or 2, its going away.

Wrangler Mgr looks at me and looks back at Mr Big and says: This guy has been Jeeps since 65 and he know what he is talking about. WE NEED to take this to the very top!

They thank me again and thank me for consulting with Chrysler...

That is how I feel today, I suspect you are young man compare to me as I am walking a short path to 80 and that fold windshield means it a REAL JEEP! Yes my druthers would be a TJ and I chased them for a year and drove a LOT of miles looking at Perfect Condition TJRs, held together with bailing wire (not kidding), Death Death wobble in the dealer parking lot, total junk. Finally found one, 2004 TJR 39XX miles. I could get there fast enough a guy flew in from Ohio and paid $43,000. I talked to the dealer, they were selling it for an estate and he there were so many people wanting it at $43k, the said first buyer with cash in hand gets on X day. I could not get there fast enough, so I lost it....bough a JKR, and then ordered a 2023 JLR and now have 24 JLR on order.

I hold nothing against you view.

 

[Powelligator]

These designers should take a long hard look at sliding seats in JL and at the fragile clutch in the manual transmission.

The above three guys will have nothing to do with the clutch and the manual transmission, that's a mechanical issue (nameless engineer who will never get a press release is working on that), these guys are more styling and design people. You might not want to hear this but if they do have any input to the transmission it'll end up as an automatic only with pushbuttons on the dash, with style.

 

[Powelligator]

Plan on holding on to your '23 for a long time. Gallante's designs do not feature folding windshields and with ever-tightening federal safety regulations and rollover standards, coupled with the soccer moms that complain about wind noise in consumer clinics, the folding windshield that we all know and love may not make it to the JL's replacement.

 

[LCW]

Yeah those guys look like hardcore wheelers...

 

[Thane]

... overwhelming majority of Wrangler buyers are not hardcore wheelers...

 

[Reinen]

YES...but as you strip away the heritage so goes the bloodline.

FACT: Jeep contacted me direct and wanted to meet with me, they were going to Moab. They invited the first 25 Jeep Rubicon owners (ordered Rubicons). Great I was going to Moab anyhow.

So I go where they are and meet with the person who was head of Jeep Wrangler Marketing. We chatted for a few min and I get thanks and told I was first guy to order one. I said was doing IT consulting for Chrysler and I was Jeep guy and I got that put on my consulting contract that I order a Jeep at employee cost.

The wrangler mgr looks at me and asks, HOW long have you been driving and owning Jeeps?

Since 1965.

OMG, really!

They gather up the team that there, bout 7 of them, head of this, in charge of that. After nearly 2 hours of talk about why and how many Jeeps etc, Wrangler Mgr asked this question: 'What would cause you to never buy a Jeep again?' Without hesitation I said: "Fold Down Windshield and take off doors. Do that might as well be a Camry."

Mr BIG who had not talked much, he was from the very top VP level. He leaned over to the Wrangler Mgr and said: We are phasing out the fold down windshield in the next year or 2, its going away.

Wrangler Mgr looks at me and looks back at Mr Big and says: This guy has been Jeeps since 65 and he know what he is talking about. WE NEED to take this to the very top!

They thank me again and thank me for consulting with Chrysler...

That is how I feel today, I suspect you are young man compare to me as I am walking a short path to 80 and that fold windshield means it a REAL JEEP! Yes my druthers would be a TJ and I chased them for a year and drove a LOT of miles looking at Perfect Condition TJRs, held together with bailing wire (not kidding), Death Death wobble in the dealer parking lot, total junk. Finally found one, 2004 TJR 39XX miles. I could get there fast enough a guy flew in from Ohio and paid $43,000. I talked to the dealer, they were selling it for an estate and he there were so many people wanting it at $43k, the said first buyer with cash in hand gets on X day. I could not get there fast enough, so I lost it....bough a JKR, and then ordered a 2023 JLR and now have 24 JLR on order.

I hold nothing against you view.

What I don't understand is why the hyper focus on the fold down windshield?

Of all the things that were taken away from the Jeep; leaf springs, drum brakes, carburetors, hand cranked windows, ashtrays, pizza cutter wheels, its bouncy ride and low top speed, etc... Plus the things that were added; roll bars, hard tops, carpeting, plastic trim, automatic transmissions, turbo chargers, towing capacity, cup holders, air conditioning, sound system w/ subwoofers, electronics galore, rear freakin doors for chrissake...

The JL is vastly different than the 1941 Jeep. Hardly any of it is retained. Even its basic shape is completely different. LFA and a transfer case is pretty much the only thing and even that is vastly different. There's also the iconic grille, but that's also changed quite a bit and a sizable number of Jeep owners replace it.

So how can the entire Jeep be changed/replaced/upgraded and that doesn't change the "essence" of the Jeep but the fold down windshield is SO important when 99+% of Jeep owners never fold it down and it no longer serves its original purpose?

Edit: Just had a thought. A roll-down windshield. That would be 1000x better than a fold down windshield.

 

[2nd 392]

A

YES...but as you strip away the heritage so goes the bloodline.

FACT: Jeep contacted me direct and wanted to meet with me, they were going to Moab. They invited the first 25 Jeep Rubicon owners (ordered Rubicons). Great I was going to Moab anyhow.

So I go where they are and meet with the person who was head of Jeep Wrangler Marketing. We chatted for a few min and I get thanks and told I was first guy to order one. I said was doing IT consulting for Chrysler and I was Jeep guy and I got that put on my consulting contract that I order a Jeep at employee cost.

The wrangler mgr looks at me and asks, HOW long have you been driving and owning Jeeps?

Since 1965.

OMG, really!

They gather up the team that there, bout 7 of them, head of this, in charge of that. After nearly 2 hours of talk about why and how many Jeeps etc, Wrangler Mgr asked this question: 'What would cause you to never buy a Jeep again?' Without hesitation I said: "Fold Down Windshield and take off doors. Do that might as well be a Camry."

Mr BIG who had not talked much, he was from the very top VP level. He leaned over to the Wrangler Mgr and said: We are phasing out the fold down windshield in the next year or 2, its going away.

Wrangler Mgr looks at me and looks back at Mr Big and says: This guy has been Jeeps since 65 and he know what he is talking about. WE NEED to take this to the very top!

They thank me again and thank me for consulting with Chrysler...

That is how I feel today, I suspect you are young man compare to me as I am walking a short path to 80 and that fold windshield means it a REAL JEEP! Yes my druthers would be a TJ and I chased them for a year and drove a LOT of miles looking at Perfect Condition TJRs, held together with bailing wire (not kidding), Death Death wobble in the dealer parking lot, total junk. Finally found one, 2004 TJR 39XX miles. I could get there fast enough a guy flew in from Ohio and paid $43,000. I talked to the dealer, they were selling it for an estate and he there were so many people wanting it at $43k, the said first buyer with cash in hand gets on X day. I could not get there fast enough, so I lost it....bough a JKR, and then ordered a 2023 JLR and now have 24 JLR on order.

I hold nothing against you view.

As evidenced by the Scrambler concept don’t have high expectations. A good idea handed to a hellywood style design team with a sloped back windshield, cartoonishly shaped cabin, too wide bed rails. Good mechanical function with ridiculous form. An indication of their future Style Vision ?

 

[Jeepmojave85]

Those are the faces of men who drink Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes with non fat milk. We’re screwed.

 

[Omen]

I have to ask, why are Europeans in charge of an American Icon? These Euro's don't know, nor care about anything Wrangler. Except, perhaps, the profits.
These three clowns are going to continue to fuck it up, leading the charge with 'EV's are cool, m'kay'.

Or maybe I'm blaming the wrong group...

Omen

 

[2nd 392]

What I don't understand is why the hyper focus on the fold down windshield?

Of all the things that were taken away from the Jeep; leaf springs, drum brakes, carburetors, hand cranked windows, ashtrays, pizza cutter wheels, its bouncy ride and low top speed, etc... Plus the things that were added; roll bars, hard tops, carpeting, plastic trim, automatic transmissions, turbo chargers, towing capacity, cup holders, air conditioning, sound system w/ subwoofers, electronics galore, rear freakin doors for chrissake...

The JL is vastly different than the 1941 Jeep. Hardly any of it is retained. Even its basic shape is completely different. LFA and a transfer case is pretty much the only thing and even that is vastly different. There's also the iconic grille, but that's also changed quite a bit and a sizable number of Jeep owners replace it.

So how can the entire Jeep be changed/replaced/upgraded and that doesn't change the "essence" of the Jeep but the fold down windshield is SO important when 99+% of Jeep owners never fold it down and it no longer serves its original purpose?

Edit: Just had a thought. A roll-down windshield. That would be 1000x better than a fold down windshield.

Much has changed yet the basic brick remains the same. I have gone from using the folding shield often with the 3A to cannot use with SOT. Yet, the ability to fold limits size, slope and shape so the first good aerodynamics step that will naturally lead to others until the end product is a GC with bigger tires isn’t taken. Valid Concerns ? But they are genuine.

 

[Jtclayton612]

Those are the faces of men who drink Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes with non fat milk. We’re screwed.

Okay but those things are pretty tasty honestly.

 

[AFD]

As long as we don't get someone like Chris Bangle, that took the classic, sexy BMW design of the '90s and made them all swooshy and dented-looking for decades to come.

It only takes one "artist" to completely ruin a timeless design and make it ugly af.

 

[NWJeepr]

Yep, Jeep's going to hell, has been for the last 78 model years. No, I don't actually believe that and I really enjoy my JL. ..Oooh, heated seats! (and I've enjoyed all the other "fake" Jeeps I've owned).

These new leaders have big shoes to fill, but they know that. I have to laugh at some of the nasty comments and grumbling.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

I have to ask, why are Europeans in charge of an American Icon? These Euro's don't know, nor care about anything Wrangler. Except, perhaps, the profits.
These three clowns are going to continue to fuck it up, leading the charge with 'EV's are cool, m'kay'.

Or maybe I'm blaming the wrong group...

Omen

Since 1979, Jeep has been controlled by a European company the majority of the time. In only 10 of the last 44 years has Jeep been under the full control of a US company, Chrysler. Euopean companies Renault, Daimler (Mercedes), Fiat, and Puegeot (Steallantis) have controlled Jeep for a total of 27 years and a Canadian company, Cerberus for 7 years.

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