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mr_bots

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"The last decent Jeep ever made" gets said every few years.

"Jeep will never be the same!"

"It's the end of the line!"

OMG SKY FALLING!!!
Lol, I think that gets said every time a new Wrangler generation comes out. Though I think it'll be hard to ever top the biggest "the world is ending" when the JK was unveiled with the only good for running to the mall 4 door unlimited model and no 4.0.
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SwampNut

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Yeah, I saw that retroactively. Meaning that I would never have considered a Jeep before the JK, so I didn't know about the big deal until after I bought one. A lot of other people were never going to buy any Jeep until the four door either. And now, the JL...more Jeep than any other Jeep made before it.
 

RatZer0

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From what I am able to gather, this is all about widening markets that Chrysler/Jeep and Peugot does not have viable access to on both sides of the pond. It's similar to why Fiat wanted Chrysler, to get back into the North American market. They also get shared I.P. and manufacturing processes. When Fiat took over, the process was brought in called World Class Manufacturing that completely changed the way we built and released vehicles.
 

DaveL

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From what I am able to gather, this is all about widening markets that Chrysler/Jeep and Peugot does not have viable access to on both sides of the pond. It's similar to why Fiat wanted Chrysler, to get back into the North American market. They also get shared I.P. and manufacturing processes. When Fiat took over, the process was brought in called World Class Manufacturing that completely changed the way we built and released vehicles.
I believe the engineering on our JLU is really good. It's a wonderful vehicle, except it has steering and wandering issues. I think those are poor supplied parts or poor installation. I really want our next JEEP to have solved these issues.
I appreciate your post.
I'd love to see the Brampton Jeep plant! (My impression of Ford changed remarkably when I toured the Talbotville Plant withASHRAE. They build quality equipment.) I work in Peel Region.

Be safe...
 

DreamedofaJeepSomeday

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When Fiat took over, the process was brought in called World Class Manufacturing that completely changed the way we built and released vehicles.
Hard to believe it took Fiat to bring this about, and that not until 2014? The Japanese originated the principle, and Detroit has been aware of Japanese manufacturing methods since the 1970s.
 

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RatZer0

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Hard to believe it took Fiat to bring this about, and that not until 2014? The Japanese originated the principle, and Detroit has been aware of Japanese manufacturing methods since the 1970s.
We've had three+ owners in the last while, each brought in their manufacturing process of choice. After a while they all meld together as the basis is similiar, just the paperwork changes.
 

Black1Star7

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I can remember in my high school years, some of our well to do, professional people in town bought Citroen, or Peugeot and thought they had the cats ass until they needed it repaired.
 

Bobzdar

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When American-made cars were crap, is exactly the same time frame that Toyota, Honda, and Nissan got their foothold in the U.S. market.

Does anyone on here still think American cars are crap? I don't, so for me the "encourages production of crap" argument is out of date.
American cars are not really very good and are a dying breed because they rarely measure up to the competition. Ford is down to just the mustang, Dodge makes the charger and challenger. GM makes mostly rental fleet cars. We can't compete with any foreign compact, mid sized, or luxury cars. All we do well now are muscle cars and large pickups/suvs. Mostly because the rest of the world doesn't buy them so the global car companies don't bother. I'd also argue the Germans make much better muscle cars than us but they price them accordingly, leaving a budget muscle car market for us to still cling on to.

So yeah, american cars are almost dead, they're either decent for the price muscle cars, crap rental fodder (GM) or just no longer made at all. It's sad. Caddy waited 20 years too long to catch up to the luxury market and make some sporty rwd cars, and they only did that because the people that bought on name alone died off. Maybe they've learned with the vette but the boomers that bought those en mass are dying off or too frail to enjoy them so they finally are moving into the modern era. Harley is another that traded on name alone and is paying the consequences now. If you love american, buy the good American stuff, not the trash or you're just propping up a dead industry weekend at Bernie's style and reinforcing piss poor management. I have no idea how anyone could ride a yamaha vmax and a Harley back to back and pick the Harley. They did for a while but those days are ending and I blame the people that bought american for the sake of it (along with complacent management) for the death of what were once american institutions. Of course they then lament the loss of manufacturing jobs, but the reality is we shouldn't be manufacturing turds and expecting anyone to buy them just because they say "made in the usa."
 

RatZer0

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Keep in mind that car sales are down tremendously across the board. Young people are not buying cars anymore. Every car company has had to cut a majority of their selection, down to the bare minimum of what will sell not might sell. Taking a risk on a new model is even more difficult today as the market demand is down to Trucks and Crossover SUVs.
 

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AggieJeep

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I'm invested in FCA indirectly via a foreign fund. I'm so confused. Do I want tea, or coffee? Should I have a baguette or bacon for breakfast tomorrow?
For Pete”s sake, man! The answer is Bacon. What’s wrong with you?
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DreamedofaJeepSomeday

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American cars are not really very good and are a dying breed because they rarely measure up to the competition. Ford is down to just the mustang, Dodge makes the charger and challenger. GM makes mostly rental fleet cars. We can't compete with any foreign compact, mid sized, or luxury cars. All we do well now are muscle cars and large pickups/suvs.
Well, your argument is somewhat self-defeating. Since the market is somewhere around 70% SUVs and pickups, one could say the American car manufacturers have indeed responded to the market, because that (SUVs and pickups) is what they do best.
 

Bobzdar

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Well, your argument is somewhat self-defeating. Since the market is somewhere around 70% SUVs and pickups, one could say the American car manufacturers have indeed responded to the market, because that (SUVs and pickups) is what they do best.
In the US maybe, but not worldwide, which is where most of the big auto companies play. That also ignores that american car companies don't lead small suv sales, either. So we basically only lead 1/3 the domestic market, mostly because other car companies don't bother with big suvs and trucks, because nobody but Americans buy them. The other 2/3 we're either behind (small suvs and small trucks - tacoma outsells domestic by itself) or have all but abandoned the market (cars). And why? Because the American public bought on nameplate/america made for 20+ years and the auto makers stopped competing on product and instead ratcheted up profit until people woke up or died off and abandoned them in droves.
 

DreamedofaJeepSomeday

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Because the American public bought on nameplate/America made for 20+ years and the auto makers stopped competing on product and instead ratcheted up profit until people woke up or died off and abandoned them in droves.
This is true.

I am only saying, that was then, this is now.

They were destined to lose a lot of market share to Japan, Korea, Europe, anyway, just due to the realities of the changing world economy. They would not have lost nearly so much of it if they had paid attention to what was really happening in the 70s and '80s.

In any case, the U.S. automakers have come around to making quality vehicles for the market that exists today. I mean the market in the U.S.
 

5JeepsAz

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