(non) off-road shaming - why?

[wolf]

Their ignorance is our bliss.

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[Jeepmarkjl]

Yeah thats all good... but if you insult my jeep, then i feel insulted.
But im technically an offroader.. cuz i offroad over medians all the time soooooo...

funny you bring up medians. A garbage truck was stuck and blocking the the entrance to our development. Cars backed up waiting and honking. Some poor soul tried to drive over the median on one side in a sedan and got stuck too. Folks were still waiting to get in an hour later after those of us in Jeeps just rolled right over the other median no big deal. The look on the car drivers' faces was kinda priceless as the Jeeps passed them.

 

[whiterubicon]

I am old enough to have seen society move in waves, from one fad to the next.

Decades ago were Personal Luxury Coupes; then everyone wanted to own a "luxury" Oldsmobile or Buick midsize sedan. Then came the minivans; no one could get enough of them; then midsize FWD sedans. Then the SUV craze started.

Over the past decade, the market has undergone a major shift away from cars and sedans towards CUVs, SUVs and pickup trucks.

Now everything has to show that we are adventurous: Subaru is slapping cladding and orange accents onto everything on its lineup to look butch; Ford just added red tow hooks to the new Explorer "Timberline." Heck even Honda jumped on the bandwagon with a new Passport with more cladding, black wheels and orange stitching.

No doubt Jeep is riding this wave. Jeep has always been known as the adventure brand. But like all fads, this one will die too, and many will move on from Jeeps --and from this forum-- onto the next bright shiny thing.

I remember when Fast and Furious came out - everyone wanted to put an exhaust on every car out there. You are right, trends come and go. The more that you ty to keep up with them, the smaller your bank account gets

 

[mferrara91]

The best part of owning a Jeep is making it your own and doing what you want with it. Whether that’s off-roading or mall-crawling, who gives a sh*t what anyone else thinks. I’ll never go rock crawling with my Jeep because I don’t want to break anything, but I have done light trails. Most of the miles on my Jeep are just driving wherever with my kids and the top down.

 

[Roky]

 

[John VonJeep]

Why would I shame somebody over that? If only off-roaders bought Jeeps, the Wrangler would either be (a) a lot more expensive because way fewer units produced or (b) gone. You are all my brothers and sisters.

(That said, I encourage you to take your Jeeps off the beaten path because it’s really fun!)

 

[omega145]

Typical human projection to make themselves feel better about what they do as humans. Life is too short to worry about what the next person does.
Enjoy your damn Jeep however you see fit!

 

[CTMopar]

523108[/ATTACH]

 

[rickinAZ]

OP here - never been offroad, but I started buying Jeeps because I lived in the Rockies (8,200') and needed to traverse 19' of snow per year. When I moved to AZ the snow was gone but I still appreciated my Wrangler.

Let me take a crack at the appeal to non-offroaders:

• This is one of the only vehicles that defies demographics. I see drivers that are young/old, male/female, rich/poor, all ethnicities. My wife drives a Mini Cooper JCW and I hesitate to drive it because it's thought of as a chick car. I know...that's silly thinking.
• The nice high vantage point to see over traffic - especially with lift/tires.
• The ACE rock rails make mine absolutely door ding proof in parking lots.
• I don't have to worry about scraping the nose on the parking spot wheel stop barriers.
• The Jeep laughs at roadway irregularities that would swallow up normal vehicles
• Surprisingly luxurious.
• Unprecedented resale value. And...my Jeeps tend to sell for more BECAUSE they weren't off-roaded. Every buyer has said that - including those who intend to off-road it.
• Made in America
• The image it projects - looks cool

 

[Erievon]

"...with my bear hands."

You have bear hands? There's probably a cream for that....

 

[Roky]

OP here - never been offroad, but I started buying Jeeps because I lived in the Rockies (8,200') and needed to traverse 19' of snow per year. When I moved to AZ the snow was gone but I still appreciated my Wrangler.

Let me take a crack at the appeal to non-offroaders:

• This is one of the only vehicles that defies demographics. I see drivers that are young/old, male/female, rich/poor, all ethnicities. My wife drives a Mini Cooper JCW and I hesitate to drive it because it's thought of as a chick car. I know...that's silly thinking.
• The nice high vantage point to see over traffic - especially with lift/tires.
• The ACE rock rails make mine absolutely door ding proof in parking lots.
• I don't have to worry about scraping the nose on the parking spot wheel stop barriers.
• The Jeep laughs at roadway irregularities that would swallow up normal vehicles
• Surprisingly luxurious.
• Unprecedented resale value. And...my Jeeps tend to sell for more BECAUSE they weren't off-roaded. Every buyer has said that - including those who intend to off-road it.
• Made in America
• The image it projects - looks cool

This helps me out a little actually……..Even though I honestly don’t care what people do to or with their Jeeps, it’s none of my business, and would never give anyone grief over it, well except for mad grills, but that’s whole nother conversation…..

That said, I often wondered why people bought Jeeps that never intend to use it off road. Even though the JL is more refined, it still a solid axle cinder block on wheels. Cows are more aerodynamic, and riding lawnmowers have better steering. There just seemed to be better SUV choices for creature comforts.

Your list gives me an insight on something I’ve often wondered about, but never asked, like I said , really doesn’t matter, rock it stock to borderline rock buggy either way, you’ll still get a wave from me, and will talk Jeeps with you till dawn………so thanks …..

 

[CTMopar]

OP here - never been offroad, but I started buying Jeeps because I lived in the Rockies (8,200') and needed to traverse 19' of snow per year. When I moved to AZ the snow was gone but I still appreciated my Wrangler.

Let me take a crack at the appeal to non-offroaders:

• This is one of the only vehicles that defies demographics. I see drivers that are young/old, male/female, rich/poor, all ethnicities. My wife drives a Mini Cooper JCW and I hesitate to drive it because it's thought of as a chick car. I know...that's silly thinking.
• The nice high vantage point to see over traffic - especially with lift/tires.
• The ACE rock rails make mine absolutely door ding proof in parking lots.
• I don't have to worry about scraping the nose on the parking spot wheel stop barriers.
• The Jeep laughs at roadway irregularities that would swallow up normal vehicles
• Surprisingly luxurious.
• Unprecedented resale value. And...my Jeeps tend to sell for more BECAUSE they weren't off-roaded. Every buyer has said that - including those who intend to off-road it.
• Made in America
• The image it projects - looks cool

What I find interesting about this is that of all the 4WD and AWD vehicles that I have had, and there have been many, my wranglers are by far the worst in the snow.

 

[John VonJeep]

What I find interesting about this is that of all the 4WD and AWD vehicles that I have had, and there have been many, my wranglers are by far the worst in the snow.

Yep. My wife’s CX-5 is brilliant in the snow in town — very smart computers controlling clutch packs. Now, deep snow more closely resembles mud, and for that I prefer a Wrangler. But on the compacted, urban stuff? Modern AWD systems are exceptional.

 

[entropy]

When I bought my Jeep I was really excited about having such a capable vehicle. Going to places and exploring fireroads and such knowing my vehicle was gonna perform was what I really wanted. It was also my dream vehicle since I was a kid. Wheeling was never a thing to me. Going over rocks and scraping everything under the belly? risking body damage? no thanks. My buddy eventually convinced me to give it a try and that was it for me. I got absolutely hooked. Any chance I get, I wanna go wheeling. Then the mods started, the wrenching, etc... modding your Jeep for a purpose is extremely fun.

I dont really get why people mod their Jeeps if they never offroad. If I didnt get into it, I wouldve never mod it. But I dont care really. If the Jeep is mod right with nice lift, tires, keeping that offroad image I compliment the owner, and I really dont care if they go offroad or not. Those that mod their Jeeps mad max style I just think it is really funny, but that's about it, just funny.

Yeah thats all good... but if you insult my jeep, then i feel insulted.
But im technically an offroader.. cuz i offroad over medians all the time soooooo...

Make sure you disconnect your swaybar before going over medians.

I think the mall crawling crowd needs to get more serious. Hear me out: Mall Overlanding!

I am sure this is already a thing. Dude in my neighborhood never goes offroading or camping. Has a Willys JL with 2 mods. Angry grill, and a RTT. He carries that tent with him 24/7.

 

[entropy]

Yep. My wife’s CX-5 is brilliant in the snow in town — very smart computers controlling clutch packs. Now, deep snow more closely resembles mud, and for that I prefer a Wrangler. But on the compacted, urban stuff? Modern AWD systems are exceptional.

Even for deep snow. As long as it is on the road I'd take something like a grand cherokee trailhawk over a wrangler any day. Since it should do just fine, and conditions can change from deep snow to packed snow and ice in a heartbeat.

Driving my wrangler in snow is a great sure way to get an adrenaline rush.

Lol. Although once you start getting the hang of it, they aren't that bad. But you have to drive soo slow.

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