Does anyone wish the wrangler platform would shrink...

[jeep1]

With the exception of the ultra-compacts (especially in Europe) , people generally want more space. Its not just SUVs and trucks... Today's Civic looks twice the size of my '89 Civic SI. The new BMW Z4 is substantially larger than the Z3 of the early 2000s was. Hell... a new 911 is huge compared to the models from the 70s and 80s.

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[Orange01z28]

Blame the government

A lot of this size and weight is due to regulations, whether it be fuel economy or safety

 

[ShrimpHappens]

Blame the government

A lot of this size and weight is due to regulations, whether it be fuel economy or safety

I, for one, welcome the safety regulations, but yes, they are also a large contributor to the size bloat in all vehicles.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I first started off-roading in a suzuki samurai. I love that thing. It would go almost anywhere. Granted, i've gone way further and cooler places now with Jeeps. But still... that thing was a blast.

Plus, I never knew when it was going to die on me out in the mountains, so there was a good amount of fun in that, too. I see some every now and then, and I get really excited when I do.

My hometown has a lot of lifted samurai, geo trackers, and xj's. Heck even lifted kia and hyundai's. Pretty cool.

I'd love for Jeep to go back, but I know they never will. They aim to please the majority, not the minority. Plus the United States is largely obese (I think we are in the top 10)... so vehicles getting bigger makes sense.

Is that the one where you saw bumper stickers that you had to tip your head to read:
"If you can read this, please turn me over"
And companies were being sued and gone after by the attorney ambulance chasers, government, and what's his name from the 60s because they flipped so easily?
Or am I thinking the CJ5 and the like?
I know there was a non-USA vehicle, tiny SUV, back in the 1980s or 90s that had those bumper stickers and there were jokes all over the place about how easily they flipped.

Narrow and short = unstable in many cases.

But like you said - Jeeps are sold to the greater market. If soccer mom and company don't buy 'em, you won't be able to, either. They can't survive on the wishes of a few - they must market to a global majority.

OTOH, full-sized vehicles are rare in some countries. If you have a Grand Cherokee - you will struggle in places like Israel, Korea, etc. - oh, they exist, but not in many places - they can't get through!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Blame the government

A lot of this size and weight is due to regulations, whether it be fuel economy or safety

Only partially - Smart Car?
It's market demand. Families, executives, doctors, they stop buying, you can't buy it either.
Supply and demand.
Americans want BIG. Heck, look at pickups. My Silverado 1500 was BIGGER - wider and longer and taller, than my 1995 F250!! And the Ford was the heavy-duty version! Yet the smaller Chevy was bigger.
Hummers used as grocery getters. I see more Hummers in grocery store lots being driven by a young woman getting a single bag of groceries than I see them being used as designed.
Hummers of all things - you think WE have mall crawlers? LOL - that huge thing couldn't fit in my garage - yet single young people have them for shopping.
There's the reason things aren't shrinking. Cheaper gas - is another. It used to be they had to shrink as you couldn't afford the fuel - now fuel is plentiful and cheap and who cares about size? Even an SUV can hit 30 mpg without trying hard - so why bother shrinking it? The markets are told you need space for all of your stuff - watch the commercials - how much can you stuff in YOUR vehicle? You can get more in ours! You need bigger!
Blame madison avenue and the more more more Americans.

 

[Jeepasaurus_Rex]

Is that the one where you saw bumper stickers that you had to tip your head to read:
"If you can read this, please turn me over"
And companies were being sued and gone after by the attorney ambulance chasers, government, and what's his name from the 60s because they flipped so easily?
Or am I thinking the CJ5 and the like?
I know there was a non-USA vehicle, tiny SUV, back in the 1980s or 90s that had those bumper stickers and there were jokes all over the place about how easily they flipped.

Narrow and short = unstable in many cases.

But like you said - Jeeps are sold to the greater market. If soccer mom and company don't buy 'em, you won't be able to, either. They can't survive on the wishes of a few - they must market to a global majority.

OTOH, full-sized vehicles are rare in some countries. If you have a Grand Cherokee - you will struggle in places like Israel, Korea, etc. - oh, they exist, but not in many places - they can't get through!

I honestly don't know, but I would not be surprised if it was the Samurai lol. It had like an 80" wheelbase or something ridiculous.

Kinda funny story; I took my drivers test with that Sammy and after the parallel park section of the test I asked the instructor if I could try it again, but in a different way. They allowed me to do it again since the test was already completed. I went up to the parallel park spot, and stopped side-by-side with the car in the front of the space I was trying to park in. I cut it all the way passenger, threw it in reverse and did a complete 180 into the spot, facing rearward.

The instructor made sure to inform me that I would never be allowed to do that legally, lol. But I wanted to see if I could, and it was the only time I would be able to really test it out, so why not?

Anyway... yea that thing was cool. It was a typical old thing, from the rust belt states. I could Fred Flintstone through the floor pan if I wanted to, just had to move the floor mat out of the way first.

ahh, memories.

 

[Orange01z28]

Only partially - Smart Car?
It's market demand. Families, executives, doctors, they stop buying, you can't buy it either.
Supply and demand.
Americans want BIG. Heck, look at pickups. My Silverado 1500 was BIGGER - wider and longer and taller, than my 1995 F250!! And the Ford was the heavy-duty version! Yet the smaller Chevy was bigger.
Hummers used as grocery getters. I see more Hummers in grocery store lots being driven by a young woman getting a single bag of groceries than I see them being used as designed.
Hummers of all things - you think WE have mall crawlers? LOL - that huge thing couldn't fit in my garage - yet single young people have them for shopping.
There's the reason things aren't shrinking. Cheaper gas - is another. It used to be they had to shrink as you couldn't afford the fuel - now fuel is plentiful and cheap and who cares about size? Even an SUV can hit 30 mpg without trying hard - so why bother shrinking it? The markets are told you need space for all of your stuff - watch the commercials - how much can you stuff in YOUR vehicle? You can get more in ours! You need bigger!
Blame madison avenue and the more more more Americans.

Bigger isn't a bad thing when you want a bigger car

Sure, I was able to fit two young kids, a wife a stroller, and all of our junk into a Subaru Forester but it would have been better in something larger

 

[staying_tuned]

The Mahinda Roxor is pretty fantastic. Little turbo 3 diesel on it, no emissions and plenty of street legal kits out. I checked one out at a local farm implement & machinery shop and they are beautifully simple.

 

[DCPHOENIX]

Vehicles now all look the same. As many have pointed out thats due to fuel economy and safety.

Growing up my Dad had a Defender 110. You could hurt yourself just by sitting still in there. It was awesome.

Now the Defender is just a fat blob that looks like every other Landrover offering.

I like that my Gladiator has personality and looks different. That comes at the expense of fuel economy of course. And I'd much rather be run over as a pedestrian by a new BMW than a steel bumper gladiator with a winch bolted on haha

 

[Hootbro]

I doubt they would ever go back to a smaller size. With the launch of the 4 door JK Unlimited, that is what propelled and paid the bills to keep the 2 door JK around. Same could be said with the JL's.

The vast majority of the 4 door Unlimited JK's were sold to the SUV buying crowd that want the look and the room. Going smaller would kill it.

 

[sharpsicle]

Let's be honest, you're asking a forum of Gladiator owners if they want a smaller platform.

The Gladiator is really just an overgrown JL at the end of the day.

If you really wanted a smaller JL, you probably would not have looked at the JT. We wanted more than the JL as it is!

 

[Yossarian]

I know this would never happen. I would like to see Jeep offer a longer wheelbase Wrangler 2 door that splits the length difference between the regular 2 door and 4 door. Kinda like they did with the TJ to make the LJ.

 

[robinja]

Back down to TJ size besides me?…

You aren’t alone. I would absolutely be one of those interested in buying a new CJ5 size Jeep or even a Suzuki Samurai size Jeep. I would have bought a two door Gladiator if Jeep had one. I keep a TJ as it’s a blast to drive and still has the older Jeep look and feel. There were rumors a few years ago Jeep was exploring the introduction of a ‘baby Wrangler’ to compete with the Suzuki Jimny (aka Samurai) overseas. Sure would be cool if that rumor came true.

 

[BearFootSam]

I loved my TJ too! Would love to get another one some day…

But I have a family of 5 now and the extra space of my Gladiator makes it a realistic family vehicle for me.

I definitely don’t like that vehicles continue to get bigger and heavier, yet here I am with a Gladiator…

My aspiration is to drive a compact two door like the TJ or even the JL but in reality when I need to put a car seat in and carry a family’s worth of stuff cross country the gladiator is right size. I looked at the Tacoma but the rear seat is too small to comfortably fit a toddler in a car seat. I know that going to the lumber yard and the dump I will either be pulling a trailer or need at least a 5’ bed.

We used to make a Forester do things at the limits of its design when we realized the homestead was going to require a pickup. The whole reason I bought it was because it was the closest thing to an XJ in 2018.

Full size and up trucks are covetable but just too big. I would feel like a pencil dick driving one to the grocery store. The gladiator was just big enough, with just enough towing and payload to serve the purpose.

I’d love to drive a compact 4x4 and I hope they get made but realistically for a one vehicle family it’s not tenable. I hope Jeep makes one so those that can buy them, but I also know it’s not me. I’m just glad the JT fits the bill without being obese.

 

[chorky]

I love the Gladiator because it is significantly smaller than my OBS 350. But, compared to my TJ, the Gladiator is huge. Because of that I will never get rid of the TJ. Shadow is right though - it's business, and to continue producing they have to have enough of a market to make money. Which is why trucks are so darn huge today. But back to the size, there's places my TJ can go, easily, that even the gladiator would struggle. Not necessarily hard core off road, but just small tight grown in roads and dense trees. Plus, it can turn on a dime. But, I don't dare drive to town at 80 on icy roads.....like how folks want to do these days

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