We need to talk about the “Jeep Wave”

[ShadowsPapa]

I think the wave is cool, but there are waaaay too many wranglers on the road for me to do it all the time. I'd be waving to every other car I see.

That's our area - I can't drive the 10 miles to the edge of town without passing at least a half dozen, then I get to town and it's like in the 1980s and 90s, Grand Cherokee was the official vehicle of central Iowa......... now Wrangler (of one flavor or another) is the official vehicle of Central Iowa.
Grand Cherokees still abound by the dozens - you can't drive across town without passing dozens of 'em, but it's more with Wrangler - soccer moms, Jeeps of yesteryear with no fenders, some muddy, some rusty, some lifted to the max, some bone stock, some with roof on, some with roof off..........

When I had the roof off I wanted to go to some store going out of business and buy a mannequin arm and mount it up top as if waving...... my hand was getting tired.

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[ADK Tiro]

... traded in a Ram Bighorn in on my Gladiator...

Me too!

I fell in love with Jeeps at the age of 7 when visiting my uncle in the UP, Michigan. He took us out for a ride in a CJ5 and joked around and waved at everybody. He rolled through a STOP sign and my brothers and I yelled at him, "You didn’t stop!" He promptly stopped and said, "There ya go!". Then he stopped in the middle of the road several times then to earn credit for the next few stop signs he planned on missing. To my 7 year old self, Jeeping was equated with silliness and fun!

Fast forward 40+ years to my first Jeep - don’t ask why it took so long for me to fulfill my childhood dreams - I found the FrankenJeep (it’s in the background of my account pic to the left). I learned about the Jeep wave when researching the CJ7. Based on discussions on the threads then, I decided to give a a wave to any Jeeper that waved, but if their Jeep was a newer model than my CJ7, they received a #2 wave - kind of like the motorcycle wave. If they were a CJ7 or older, they received an enthusiastic wave.

Now with The Retirus (not a typo) and where I live - outdoors life full of tourist wannabes - I wave at anybody with the same front grill, or an obviously modded Jeep or old-time Jeep. Some wave back, most don’t. Maybe they’ll learn...

Anyway, I became confused today riding motorcycle for the first time since buying the Gladiator- and ended up giving the Jeep wave to a JT. Needless to state that they did not return the wave.

And finally, I have a friend who’s been owning/working on Jeeps for, oh I’d guess about 50 years, and he told me he’d never heard of the Jeep wave until a couple of years ago when he bought his JL. He thought people were just being friendly before someone told him about the wave.

Just my $.02 - plus interest.

 

[DreamedofaJeepSomeday]

Just my $.02 - plus interest.

I did indeed find interest!

 

[JPHains9724]

I wave at wranglers, some XJ, other gladiators. I accidently waved at a hummer once....

 

[Murgatroid]

I wave at wranglers, some XJ, other gladiators. I accidently waved at a hummer once....

I did the same thing and felt the same way

 

[P.Lo]

I did the same thing and felt the same way

A hummer is understandable due to grill characteristics from a distance....
how you going to feel when you wave at a new Bronco!?!?!?

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

A hummer is understandable due to grill characteristics from a distance....
how you going to feel when you wave at a new Bronco!?!?!?

Like I did when I passed OJ back in 1994...Then saw the caravan behind him.

 

[BAT]

Had so many jeeps wave to me this weekend down in Galveston and of course a lot of looks from others and one major asshole in a Ford Raptor who deliberately cut me off with no other cars anywhere around us on the beltway going down there this weekend. Saw him coming up fast in the mirror and figured he was just going to go by in the lane on the side but all of a sudden he cut sharply into my lane (No need to as there were no cars in front of either of us lanes). I had to hit the breaks and my wife shrieked and was like what the hell did he do that for. He nailed his gas and took off hauling ass down the beltway.

 

[MyGeekDaddy]

Yes, Wranglers and Gladiators wave. Same front end. A Jeep with a bed. Except I noticed the few Gladiators I've waved at haven't waved back. I think it has brought out new Jeep owners who don't know about the wave...

This was me for the first 2 weeks I had my Gladiator...

 

[Clendennan]

I would guess that I get a 75% or better wave-back rate overall. However, I have discussed with my wife that if you split it along gender lines, the response rates are wildly different (in my experience so far).

This. 75% of men wave. About 3% of women.

 

[BAT]

This. 75% of men wave. About 3% of women.

From what I noticed this weekend it appeared most of the women jeep drivers were on their phones so likely they never even paid attention to a wave

 

[Okie362]

Heck, I'm from a small town in Arkansas. My Dad raised me to be polite and neighbourly. I wave at just about everyone.

I'm your neighbor to the west (OK) and it's the same here. Everyone pretty much waves to everyone.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This. 75% of men wave. About 3% of women.

Rasmussen, Pew, or 538?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Heck, I'm from a small town in Arkansas. My Dad raised me to be polite and neighbourly. I wave at just about everyone.

Based on this - I like your dad.....

 

[DreamedofaJeepSomeday]

This. 75% of men wave. About 3% of women.

It's different for women. Have you noticed how few of them make eye contact with you in stores, etc? They have to be constantly careful to keep men from thinking they are inviting you in.

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