Mall-crawler, poser, or enthusiast?

[txj2go]

Enthusiast here.

My wife owned a GC at one point. It was a pretty nice SUV and very capable. We did a lot of trails with it in Colorado and Utah. It fulfilled 2 uses.

Fast forward to now and I bought a JLU specifically to take on trails. I already had a car that was very good on pavement, and I still have it, so in a sense the JLU is not my DD.

I say I bought the JLU to take on trails. More specifically I want to go exploring and see the scenery, and to do that I need a vehicle that will take me over the trails to get there. I'm not going to tart-out my Jeep like a lot of people do, so in that sense I'm not an enthusiast. I'll do the minimum I need to do to make it capable.

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[MauiSteve]

I see guys my age (old) get a Corvette or something of equally narrow use. Don't get me wrong, a Corvette is quite an accomplishment of engineering, it's just that to me, with an old guy in it, it says "I'm looking for my third trophy wife that will embarrass my daughter", plus, it won't handle the slightest road problem. My first 4wd rig was a K-5 Blazer that I took all over the Sierras camping, lots of fun. Since then I've had a 67 Commando, 1996 Suburban, 1997 TJSE, two Trackers (4wd) and a Kia (4wd). It's always nice to know you've got some ground clearance, bad road capability and a tough body on frame system under you. My 21 JL Rubicon 2 door stick is on the way and I may take it off road here on Maui but I won't be doing any submerged driving, frame scraping or crazy stuff but I will really enjoy having a vehicle that is very tough and capable, good peace of mind.
To each his own, live and let live, but I won't be getting any 40" tires, angry bird grills etc. Just good, clean, useful and sound stuff that will come in handy if the tsunami or hurricane makes a mess of this island.
Aloha to all, no judging

 

[Punknhed]

I wanted a jeep because my brother has one, and so does my best friend. The ability to trail ride, and see sights not seen on the street and drive on the beach sounded like a lot of fun. I grew up around corvettes, and Harleys and muscle cars. (grew up in Michigan lol). I have a Harley, and while i love to ride, and used to ride a lot, i have an 11 year old son who loves to ride, but, has about a 3 hour attention span on the bike. I figured the jeep as a second toy, with its capabilities would be a lot of fun. I sold a 2005 GTO to buy the jeep. I definitely miss the power of the LS2. Once the jeep is paid off, and the things i want done to it are done, i plan on buying a Corvette. Not to follow the stereotype mentioned above, but, because i genuinely love the car. My Grandpa had a bunch of them, my parents a few, and a couple friends have them. Like i said i was raised around them, and it is my dream car. Jeep for inclement weather and the beach. Harley for scenic rides, and Corvette for scenic rides and traveling the twistiest back roads i can find. lol. One thing ive never understood about any niche vehicle is why people wind up judging other peoples stuff. If someone wants to mod it and build it cool, if not and leave it stock cool, who cares.

 

[Whaler27]

Thank you all for contributing to this thread. I’ve enjoyed the read.

Aldo, thanks for sharing the great trip down memory lane. I remember some of those ads. The one with the cowboy in the CJ-5 reminds me of how small the CJ-5 were... I had two of those, and loved them both, but they’d feel like a lifted golf cart Compared to a new JLU!

 

[Willys53]

Back in the day these were very bad ass machines, comfort was not great but wasn't expected either.

 

[blnewt]

Great thread Alex!
Loved my CJs, especially my 74 (was black, then did a frame-off and painted it gray), and sand paddles on my 80 CJ7 made it easy to get hang time
Thanks for such a thoughtful write!

 

[Mikeoso]

Very modern. My first jeep was a '49 Willys Wagon. Ran that puppy all over the desert around Tucson until I graduated in 74. Room enough to sleep, haul a load. Old cast iron flat head mill.

 

[aldo98229]

My grandfather, too, owned a 1948 Willys Wagon. He passed away when I was 5.

I wish I had a photo of it.

 

[Mikeoso]

Mine looked much like this one.

 

[CrazyCatMan]

I’ve never owned a Jeep, but I have a JLUR on order as my first. It took me forever to decide what I wanted and what I didn’t. I’ll likely never use its full potential, but given the fact that it’s nearly $50K, I’d be scared shitless to do some of the things I see other built rigs doing. But at the same time, I didn’t think I’d be happy with a sport or a Sahara.
I bought it because I love how it looks and I want to see not only what it is capable of, but what I’m capable as well. I’m a little afraid of the snide remarks I’ll inevitably get, but I’ll burn that bridge when I come to it. For now I’m just excited to leave the 4 door sedan world.

 

[aro]

My Jeep is my daily driver. I would never buy a Jeep if I didn't offroad. I also don't care if others buy Jeeps and don't offroad. Why in the world would I ever care what other people do with their money?

For me personally, there are vehicles that are much better suited for daily driving. When somebody asks me for my opinion about getting a Jeep and they have no intention to offroad, I tell them to test drive one real well and know what they are getting into. A Jeep might look like a cool SUV, and it is cool, but it ain't no SUV.

I know somebody who sold his JL six months after getting it because it wasn't what he imagined it would be as a daily driver. No kidding... Obviously, lots of other people don't offroad theirs and still like them, but it is a little bit of an acquired taste.

 

[Oldbear]

My Jeep is my daily driver. I would never buy a Jeep if I didn't offroad. I also don't care if others buy Jeeps and don't offroad. Why in the world would I ever care what other people do with their money?

For me personally, there are vehicles that are much better suited for daily driving. When somebody asks me for my opinion about getting a Jeep and they have no intention to offroad, I tell them to test drive one real well and know what they are getting into. A Jeep might look like a cool SUV, and it is cool, but it ain't no SUV.

I know somebody who sold his JL six months after getting it because it wasn't what he imagined it would be as a daily driver. No kidding... Obviously, lots of other people don't offroad theirs and still like them, but it is a little bit of an acquired taste.

I too have seen (recently) a lot of 6 month to 1 year old Used Jeeps with under 10k miles sitting on car lots for sale. As mentioned, back in the day Jeeps were crude, uncomfortable utility vehicles. Hunters, fishermen, utility workers etc bought them to use. A subculture began modifying them to increase capabilities, but nobody bought one just because they were “cool”. That core group is still buying Jeeps today, and still using them as intended, however al mentioned above there are a lot more Jeeps being made, in a lot more configurations. They are cool vehicles and people are attracted to them for a variety of reasons. My advice to anyone looking to buy a Jeep for the first time would be to rent one for a week or so and actually live with it for a while first. They are NOT the vehicle for everybody. Though a far cry from Jeeps of the past, they remain noisier than the typical new vehicle, they ride rougher, and handling is “different”. If You like them after having driven one a while, great, welcome to a wonderfully capable and fun vehicle. They are truly a blank canvas and you can do as much or as little as you wish to one. How you use it is your choice alone and that’s ok, just know what you’re getting into before dropping big $$ into a vehicle that may not suit you. I’ve got a dealer within an hour of home who sells a lot of Sports that are lifted, given big tires, wheels, grills, etc. before they are placed on the lot for sale. Folks see them, think “that’s cool” and buy them, only to find that they don’t quite ride and handle like a GC or other SUV. Know what you’re getting, and enjoy what you buy, whether you’re headed to Moab, mud or Mall. It’s all good.

 

[Granite Crystal Bandit]

The beautiful thing about America is that we can all do whatever the hell we want with our money - at least for the moment - and what anyone else thinks doesn’t mean a thing. We spend way too much time putting people in buckets or categories ... do what you want with your Jeep and enjoy it!

 

[aldo98229]

Mine looked much like this one.

Yes, my grandad’s looked exactly like that according to photos I’ve seen. His had those post-war period “pizza cutters,” and I’m told it was green, too.

He was born in Venice, Italy, in the early 1900s and immigrated to the Pacific coast of South America at the end of WWI. He left home when he was only 14 years old; crossed the ocean by ship on his own to start a new life. He married a local and they had five kids. My mom was the youngest. That Willys was their family wagon.

Those Willys wagons look bitching!

 

[timn1984]

There's something about driving a vehicle you love to get in to. We spend a lot of our lives inside our vehicles either vacationing, going to work, school, general driving, not many people can say that they really enjoy getting into their vehicle of choice. I truly believe most Jeep owners love getting up in the morning/afternoon and getting into their Jeep and just driving, whether they are going to work, play, or whatever. Here's to everyone who loves to drive in their 2nd home.....

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