Head of Jeep Brand NA is bullish on Gladiator future

[JTGuy]

I want more power. The 3.6 has run the course. If you can't give it 340+ HP then just scrap it.
I want 340 Hp with 4.88s and a 37 tire option.
I want the cab to be quiet.
I want it to ride nice from the factory without it being mushy.
This is why I buy a Jeep.

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[crmarczak]

A better powertrain... v8 or i6 with stickshift.

 

[Janster]

Unfortunately…. Jeep is losing it ‘roots’ …. they might gain some new consumers, but they’re going to lose others. I get it….they need to make it more consumer friendly for everyone.

Here’s a thought……. Keep the current Gladiator…but give it some more options (V8 in particular, more towing & hauling capability, Keep solid axles, Keep doors off, top off capability etc ). I mean C’mon….

They should design a ‘mini’ Gladiator…. To compete with all those mini trucks like the Honda Ridgeline types. They can have their IFS…. their 4cylinders & such. BONUS if they can let it be ‘doors off’ & ’top off’ ….. but I doubt it. All that adds weight and would kill gas mileage & overall price. And hey….with a MINI truck, they could have an ALL electric option.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

I see them bringing back a full size Gladiator version.
However, I wanted a Gladiator because they were wranglers with a bed. I wanted a Jeep but needed a truck. Gladiator gives me the perfect balance.
I think he said it correctly when he said they "do best when we build Jeeps"
IFS Jeep truck or wrangler would be DOA. Leave that to the Wagoneers, Cherokees and the toasters on wheels. (Renegades)

I don't understand the desire for a two door. No storage, no room for the girl, and the dog in the cab.
Extended cabs mean cramped rear seats (Think 80's S-10 side seats)
Being 6'1", I hated my two door '94 Ranger's cab but I loved it's 6 foot bed.
Personally, I'd love a 6 foot bed with my 4 door.

I do like the stripped offering idea though. Some people want a flat bed or the ability to put some sort of work platform without having to deal with a bed laying beside the garage.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Just my 2 cents....

That kind of talk makes me smell independent front suspension in the next gen. I'd hate to see that because the solid axles on both ends are really what makes this truck unique in the marketplace. Slap IFS under the front and it becomes another Frontier/Colorado/Ranger/Tacoma.

Tacoma's outsell Gladiators by 6;1, Colorado's by 3:1.

Companies are in business to move units, not please niche's. They want it less unique.

 

[Minty JL]

Tacoma's outsell Gladiators by 6;1, Colorado's by 3:1.

Companies are in business to move units, not please niche's. They want it less unique.

Which is funny, because the Wrangler and Gladiator are very much niche vehicles

 

[amoyer_01]

Let's see what they do. Maybe they will try and benchmark the Scout truck. I am fine with they do if they keep the removable doors and top, oh and provide a stickshift. All else I am open to seeing the new ideas.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Which is funny, because the Wrangler and Gladiator are very much niche vehicles

The niche for a halo vehicle is filled by the Wrangler.

Doubling up with a Gladiator in the mid sized market is costing them sales, to their eyes.

GM has been getting roasted for not selling capable vehicles for years, and happily sticking Z71 stickers on a few hundred thousand units a year, then swapping grilles and calling it a GMC and shipping a hundred thousand more, for decades.

Car people don't run these companies, corporate people do. Every move they make, is to increase sales and literally nothing else.

 

[Minty JL]

The niche for a halo vehicle is filled by the Wrangler.

Doubling up with a Gladiator in the mid sized market is costing them sales, to their eyes.

GM has been getting roasted for not selling capable vehicles for years, and happily sticking Z71 stickers on a few hundred thousand units a year, then swapping grilles and calling it a GMC and shipping a hundred thousand more, for decades.

Car people don't run these companies, corporate people do. Every move they make, is to increase sales and literally nothing else.

The Colorado and Silverado ZR2s and the ZR2s with the Bison packages are nice

 

[LouisvEarlleJT]

…
I want the cab to be quiet.
…
This is why I buy a Jeep.

Gonna need to see some examples of jeeps (assuming wranglers/CJs here) that have ever had quiet interiors

 

[Flyboy2109]

Good news, there are not many "mid size" pickups out there. I just don't want a Detroit monster in my driveway, or try to park near my favorite restaurant. I do a lot of tossing over the bedrail...but not if it is as high as my nose!

To get a Colorado or 'Yota in 4 x 4 it has to be too tall.

 

[ChrisNLA]

I see them bringing back a full size Gladiator version.
However, I wanted a Gladiator because they were wranglers with a bed. I wanted a Jeep but needed a truck. Gladiator gives me the perfect balance.
I think he said it correctly when he said they "do best when we build Jeeps"
IFS Jeep truck or wrangler would be DOA. Leave that to the Wagoneers, Cherokees and the toasters on wheels. (Renegades)

I don't understand the desire for a two door. No storage, no room for the girl, and the dog in the cab.
Extended cabs mean cramped rear seats (Think 80's S-10 side seats)
Being 6'1", I hated my two door '94 Ranger's cab but I loved it's 6 foot bed.
Personally, I'd love a 6 foot bed with my 4 door.

I do like the stripped offering idea though. Some people want a flat bed or the ability to put some sort of work platform without having to deal with a bed laying beside the garage.

Oh yes, give me that too. 'Long' bed four door. The Tacoma and Colorado were both offered like that for a while

 

[biodiesel]

My wife and I have no desire to own a car or a crossover, so we will always be in the market for a midsized truck. Vehicle owners oftentimes worry about what they will replace their current vehicle with, and will it be better or less superior than what they currently drive. I'm not in that boat. I love my 2023 Gladiator and plan to keep it for 20+ years. So, this isn't an AND/OR issue.

I'm open to whatever jeep decides to do. I would guess that Jeep will keep the Gladiator as a utilitarian vehicle whereas Ram's midsized truck will be more refined with luxuries.

I would be okay if the Gladiator was offered with an Independent Front Suspension. Actually, I would prefer an IFS to a SFA in a midsized truck. I would love to see a regular cab long bed, but maybe I'm asking for too much.

 

[DanW]

Tacoma's outsell Gladiators by 6;1, Colorado's by 3:1.

Companies are in business to move units, not please niche's. They want it less unique.

And you think the Gladiator is going to gain market share against them by losing it's identity and becoming just like them? I don't believe, at all, that it would work.

One of the advantages of Gladiator is its high percentage of parts shared with Wrangler. So they can make more with less volume.

And one of the reasons Gladiator sales have faltered has nothing to do with niche. It has to do with pricing. Compare the pricing of Gladiators to Tacoma, Colorado, Ranger, and Frontier. That's hurt them.

And I don't think niche is the right word. They had a level of volume that went beyond niche. It is more about the identity of the brand, which is tied directly to off-road capability and the history of Jeep.

I believe if they abandon their identity, it will ultimately fade and be discontinued. If they want to go head to head with Colorado/Ranger/Tacoma, then they need to do it with Ram. Not with Jeep.

One temptation they might have to go IFS is to make a version of the same truck as a Ram (bring back the Dakota name, maybe?). But the problem there is that they would share the same dealer lots and wind up competing with each other.

I'm not a marketing expert, but I've witnessed it. Jeep has been through this before with Wrangler. I hope they learned from past experience. The original LIberty was a fishing expedition. It was a vehicle that was pitched originally as platform that would be a Wrangler replacement. They found out that it would have flown like a lead balloon. Then they made the JK 4 door, which took Wrangler to a new level of sales, because it was still a Jeep....solid axles, traditional body/styling. Then the issue came up again with the JL and fortunately they went all-in. Sales hit new records and it enabled the Gladiator with minimal R&D investment. We can 100% thank Wrangler for the Gladiator. It would not exist without it. In fact, Gladiator sales are low enough that without the Wrangler DNA and shared parts, the business case for keeping it would have probably failed a year or two ago.

Again, it's all just my opinion. I don't see how caving into IFS and becoming more like the competition is a winner. If they do that, my prediction is that the next generation of Gladiator will be its end within a few years.

BTW, I think the sales would be a whole different ballgame if they had the 4xe on the market starting in 2023. I'm sure they wanted to, but I'm not sure they had the supply chain to make it worthwhile then. And I think it is what is slowing it down now.

 

[Mightytalldude]

Lord help us if they go the Bronco route and have a Gladiator 2, that's a unibody truck with zero off road capability (think bronco sport). There's a reason why there's still solid axles on 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, and that's because they are much more stout with that setup, less broken tie rods, and more articulation with it. The Gladiator is a niche purpose built vehicle. What sells is equipping it with the right features including full float axles, multiple stronger engine choices, and maybe a different cab configuration. People are trying to use a mid-size truck as a full size too often, and get themselves into trouble with it with what they're pulling.

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