Marketing/Curiosity Question

[RussJeep1]

First, apologies for starting a new thread on what's more a question than a discussion item. I can't seem to find the thread devoted to quick questions--much that I searched (maybe poorly/inefficiently).

I've never been off roading. So let me ask those that have been.

Give me a ball park figure, what percentage of Wrangler off roaders, during times where weather wouldn't otherwise make it unwise, fold down their windshields?

Follow up question. How many of the people that normally don't do this do you think were held back by the difficulty in doing this that the JL will now address, and will now be inclined to do such a fold down when off roading?

Finally, any idea what percentage of Wrangler owners take their vehicle off road?

I honestly don't know.

Yes--purists, I get (and respect) that FCA seeks to honor the tradition of the folding windshield, whose initial function served to facilitate boxing the Jeep in a crate for shipping (to the battle front), not to mentioned respect the wishes of the off roading segment. By all means this class of owner deserves a say, a big say, especially since, well, this is a Wrangler, not a Rolls. It's built for off roading. (Why do I get the idea this prior sentence or two is going to show up in someone's reply that tells me to stick my ideas up my bum.)

I'm not a marketer, though I do concede to having a bug up my bum, and should probably get off my soapbox...

Yes---significant design and safety improvement $ went into the improved pillar structure of the JL (thank you FCA), that THEN facilitated improving windshield lowering. But this windshield engineering had to cost $ that could have gone into the Wrangler entering "1997" and offering side rear air bags, at least as an option. I mean, come on, how difficult would it be to take what was learned about deploying these things in and from the front seats, and put it in the back seats....at least in the 4 door?

Yes, I hear it now, "go take your family for ice cream at the mall in your Cadillac Escalade." Heck, maybe that criticism is even warranted given it's the Wrangler were talking about.

But the last time I checked, to get off road, you usually need to first travel on road, to get to off road. And without question, in large, air bags save lives and reduce injuries on road. They're not perfect; nothing is.

Yes--I get it. FCA did their marketing homework and deciding the rear side air bags weren't a priority right now. And nobody holds a gun to my head to drive a Wrangler.

At least appreciate my frustration if not agree with it: envision a brand you so love: Wrangler, that is nearly perfect for you but one near deal braking feature that can't be easily "3rd partied," (air bags) like a light bar or snorkel. Those latter things FCA DID get a jump on for the JL. Who could blame them? Wrangler accessories is a huge market.


Thoughts?

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[word302]

First, apologies for starting a new thread on what's more a question than a discussion item. I can't seem to find the thread devoted to quick questions--much that I searched (maybe poorly/inefficiently).

I've never been off roading. So let me ask those that have been.

Give me a ball park figure, what percentage of Wrangler off roaders, during times where weather wouldn't otherwise make it unwise, fold down their windshields?

Follow up question. How many of the people that normally don't do this do you think were held back by the difficulty in doing this that the JL will now address, and will now be inclined to do such a fold down when off roading?

Finally, any idea what percentage of Wrangler owners take their vehicle off road?

I honestly don't know.

Yes--purists, I get (and respect) that FCA seeks to honor the tradition of the folding windshield, whose initial function served to facilitate boxing the Jeep in a crate for shipping (to the battle front), not to mentioned respect the wishes of the off roading segment. By all means this class of owner deserves a say, a big say, especially since, well, this is a Wrangler, not a Rolls. It's built for off roading. (Why do I get the idea this prior sentence or two is going to show up in someone's reply that tells me to stick my ideas up my bum.)

I'm not a marketer, though I do concede to having a bug up my bum, and should probably get off my soapbox...

Yes---significant design and safety improvement $ went into the improved pillar structure of the JL (thank you FCA), that THEN facilitated improving windshield lowering. But this windshield engineering had to cost $ that could have gone into the Wrangler entering "1997" and offering side rear air bags, at least as an option. I mean, come on, how difficult would it be to take what was learned about deploying these things in and from the front seats, and put it in the back seats....at least in the 4 door?

Yes, I hear it now, "go take your family for ice cream at the mall in your Cadillac Escalade." Heck, maybe that criticism is even warranted given it's the Wrangler were talking about.

But the last time I checked, to get off road, you usually need to first travel on road, to get to off road. And without question, in large, air bags save lives and reduce injuries on road. They're not perfect; nothing is.

Yes--I get it. FCA did their marketing homework and deciding the rear side air bags weren't a priority right now. And nobody holds a gun to my head to drive a Wrangler.

At least appreciate my frustration if not agree with it: envision a brand you so love: Wrangler, that is nearly perfect for you but one near deal braking feature that can't be easily "3rd partied," (air bags) like a light bar or snorkel. Those latter things FCA DID get a jump on for the JL. Who could blame them? Wrangler accessories is a huge market.


Thoughts?

This has been discussed repeatedly in many threads. Dead horse, meet stick. Yes there are many of us that fold our windshields down. Yes there are many of us that couldn’t care less about rear airbags that would be useless with the top off.

 

[Jeepsterfreak]

You are assuming Jeep would have added new technology like rear airbags if they had not invested in designing the folding windshield. They would have just made a larger profit per vehicle.

I have never owned a Wrangler and never gone off roading in one. I am a potential JLU customer and I would be upset if Jeep eliminated the folding windshield. Why? I don't know but it just seems like such a cool feature that's been made extremely easier to do. Plus it makes it easy to retrieve your lost items that fall behind the dash.

With that being said, I hope the thing doesn't leak like a sieve.

 

[jeppesen.io]

Your post assumes that people are accurate about how they think they'll use something. The reason a person buys a product, is often different for how they actually use it.

Many or most tell themselves that they'll buy a Jeep for off-roading or taking off-doors/windows. People, as a whole, are poor judge of their future actions. It does not matter to FCA if they ever use off-road ability - what matters if it helps sell the Jeep.

I simple analogy is when apartments that have gyms or roof top decks. EVERYONE thinks they will use them when they move in, but few do and they are often empty.

 

[PavementWarrior]

Oh, the fold down window is kinda more of a nod to the past.

I will have the top off and rear seat out most of the time, and never fold down the window. The back area is for Boxers not people, so for me a rear airbag is not wanted.

As an R&D Engineer for more than 30 years, I can tell ya while you can assign big dollars to R&D costs, the reality in this case is they tossed it to one of their mechanical engineers that makes less than 150K a year and he worked on it for a couple of design and test revisions.

Even if they did not do folding down window and wanted airbags it would have most likely been done by another guy, the guy who just got done working out all the issues on another product line.

 

[PavementWarrior]

plus rear airbags killing peoples children was probably considered bad press lol

 

[Billy]

Boxers are people too, man...

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