Third JL production shift may be added because of record sales

[Solidaxle]

There goes your overtime if you work on the line, it’s much cheaper to run 3 , 8 hour shifts with no overtime. They’re going to get their production numbers up their salary down it’s a win-win. If production slows down you just get rid of the third shift.

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[old8tora]

That’s some pretty good money. I kinda agree with @Shooting or Jeeping. The more productuction could drive down the value of the Jeep in the long run. There is no competition at the moment but the Ford Bronco is set to be released in 2020 and there are a lot of talks about Hummer being purchased by FCA or GM and going back into production. I wouldn’t doubt if Toyota brings back the FJ pretty soon which was Jeeps primary rival and held a better value than Jeep.

(a) The down-in-value would be the 4 door ; there would still be no competition for the 2-door .

(b) The new Toyota upcoming replacement for the FJ is a little toy with 18" wheels ; "FT-4X" looks like a baby joke . See Toyota.com , upcoming vehicles .

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

Why did the article omit quality control ? Not important ?

Call David Barkholz.

 

[old8tora]

Call David Barkholz.

Don't know who that is , but if he is responsible for QC he ought to be underneath checking the welds .

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

Don't know who that is , but if he is responsible for QC he ought to be underneath checking the welds .

He wrote the article in the Toledo Blade that prompted your question. If he can't help you then perhaps you should call Kurt Franck, Editor.

 

[old8tora]

He wrote the article in the Toledo Blade that prompted your question. If he can't help you then perhaps you should call Kurt Franck, Editor.

Journalists ought to be like Jalopnik referencing JL Wrangler Forum about the welding issues . Now that was topical journalism !

 

[RubiZ]

Quality over quantity is key to a brand. If quality suffers, it will ruin the Jeep name and they will only have one 8hr shift cause of less demand. FOCUS ON QUALITY!!

 

[old8tora]

Quality over quantity is key to a brand. If quality suffers, it will ruin the Jeep name and they will only have one 8hr shift cause of less demand. FOCUS ON QUALITY!!

Executives focus on their mobile phones and their profit margins , unfortunately . Asking an executive to crawl under a vehicle to inspect the welds is the same as asking an executive to not play golf ; he will never agree .

 

[RubiZ]

Executives focus on their mobile phones and their profit margins , unfortunately . Asking an executive to crawl under a vehicle to inspect the welds is the same as asking an executive to not play golf ; he will never agree .

They have to be careful with that, otherwise Toyota will take all their business

 

[jaldeborgh]

The cynicism here on quality is palpable. Quality has 3 basic inputs, design, supplier and employee training. Moving to add a 3rd shift will stretch the employee training for sure, but the design is fixed and they are looking to next March as a cut in, which should give the supplier base time to prepare. Actually, 6 months to hire and train seems reasonable, plus the experience levels of the 1st and 2nd shifts is growing, which should be a source of talent for the 3rd shift. My guess is we won't see a hit in quality and in fact as the design matures (ECO's are cut in) and the supply chain matures, the quality could easily improve.

 

[old8tora]

The cynicism here on quality is palpable. Quality has 3 basic inputs, design, supplier and employee training. Moving to add a 3rd shift will stretch the employee training for sure, but the design is fixed and they are looking to next March as a cut in, which should give the supplier base time to prepare. Actually, 6 months to hire and train seems reasonable, plus the experience levels of the 1st and 2nd shifts is growing, which should be a source of talent for the 3rd shift. My guess is we won't see a hit in quality and in fact as the design matures (ECO's are cut in) and the supply chain matures, the quality could easily improve.

For the worst techs , go to Cali . You can do all the employee training you want , the trainees will not comprehend the training , and you will never end up with a skillful employee . In Cali everything is subservient to their "right" to be stupid . In Cali , training will not take the stupid out of stupid .

For the best mechanics , go to West Virginia or eastern Kentucky . You can hire anyone who worked on their vehicle under a shady tree , they will comprehend the training , and you will automatically have the most skillful mechanic imaginable . For vehicles and for our nation , you cannot beat common sense .

It has to do with practical intelligence and rational thinking . There are reasons why the best tank mechanics in the Army came from West Virginia and eastern Kentucky .

 

[RussJeep1]

I'd like to know what impact, if any, such high levels of production, whether 3rd shift worthy or not, will ultimately do to the resell value of used JLs 1 - 5 years from now.

On the one hand, more supply (all else equal) means that selling price will be impacted downward. On the other hand, all those JLs got produced because there was demand for them and more demand (all else equal) means that selling price will be impacted upward.

We'll just have to see how these forces and others affect what a used rig commands in the marketplace...….

 

[Carlton]

(a) The down-in-value would be the 4 door ; there would still be no competition for the 2-door .

(b) The new Toyota upcoming replacement for the FJ is a little toy with 18" wheels ; "FT-4X" looks like a baby joke . See Toyota.com , upcoming vehicles .

It is an uglier Renegade knockoff...

 

[Rockmaninoff]

https://www.toledoblade.com/busines...p-toledo-assembly-complex/stories/20180923047

Customer appetite for the hot-selling Jeep Wrangler has Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the United Auto Workers considering adding a third production shift at the automaker’s Toledo Assembly Complex.

blah

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Sales set an all-time record for the Wrangler model in April at 29,776 units. And those sales have stayed above 20,000 in each of the subsequent months, establishing monthly records in May and August as well.

“The new Wrangler has been performing extremely well,” said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst with the car-shopping site Autotrader. “It’s almost a brand within a brand.”

blah

blah

blah

“Is it cheaper for Fiat Chrysler to just tool up from scratch,” Mr. Swiecki said.

Quantity over quality. Where's the discussion of QC issues and how they plan to avoid them?

They're trying to mask the almost weekly recalls by saying customers want more. Neither is an answer to the real problem and it's a classic response of diversion used by sinking companies and political parties with backfired policies. I'm guessing Jeep's setting itself up for a buy over from another company. Nothing here sounds like long term strategy from a sensible group of people.

Thanks for ruining the Wrangler, Jeep... way to put 10+ years to good use.

 

[Rockmaninoff]

https://www.toledoblade.com/busines...p-toledo-assembly-complex/stories/20180923047

...

“It’s a strong new model really without a true competitor,” Ms. Krebs said.

...

Wait until Land Rover comes up with the new Defender and later add a SVR model with a supercharged V8. Everyone thinks that Defender's no match but you see a lot more of them than Wranglers in other parts of the world. Also not everyone lives next to the Rubicon and rock crawl every day to work either.

Even the new Suzuki Jimny hits it close to home to the 2dr Wrangler with its ladder frame, proper transfer case, small size, etc.

You don't want your competitive edge to be based on just a name and a red panel along the dash. There are others who've made better names for themselves than Jeep. There are others do interiors far far better. Capabilities wise the JL hasn't gone ahead from the 2007 model. During that time, other manufacturers have taken note of the JK's success and new releases show this... Unlike Jeep who managed to on its own success.

Overnight the JL could be wiped off... imagine Toyota releasing a retro themed J4x. If there's no Wrangler, no one would care to buy other Jeep SUVs. Just like that, Jeep's out of the game.

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