Head of Jeep Brand NA is bullish on Gladiator future

[biodiesel]

I think you and I have been calling for the Rampage to come here ever since it debuted. It would be a Maverick killer. Having Ram aesthetics in a smaller, efficient package is a slam dunk- the Rams are among the best looking trucks on the road and would beat the Maverick hands down on that alone. The Maverick looks like a truck and a jelly bean had a kid, but the mother squeezed when the doctor said not to.

I agree, but Ram has to get their starting price down to the Maverick level to compete. If they can do that, then I think the Rampage would be very successful.

True. But I still think there's room for the Overland as the luxury trim on the JT as well as a modern, luxurious Dakota.

For sure. Luxury will always be at the forefront for many buyers, but no matter how luxurious the Gladiator is, it's still going to have poor on-road performance, have a noisy cab, and look/feel utilitarian.

Ultimately Ram having a mid-size may take a few customers from the JT but likely not as many as we may speculate. And If Ram can manage to do a basic, stripped model for fleets/trades they'll beat all of the competition.

I agree 100%. There's no way I'm getting rid of my diesel Gladiator, but there's room in the stable for either a Ram Dakota (midsized truck) or the Ram Rampage (compact truck).

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[BourbonRunner]

I agree, but Ram has to get their starting price down to the Maverick level to compete. If they can do that, then I think the Rampage would be very successful.

Yep. It has to be at or below Maverick pricing to make a big splash in the market, at least for fleet purposes. For the general marketplace, the Rampage would probably be able to rely on its Ram-like looks when compared to the other uni pickups. The Maverick is fugly and the Santa Cruz isn't exactly a looker, either.

For sure. Luxury will always be at the forefront for many buyers, but no matter how luxurious the Gladiator is, it's still going to have poor on-road performance, have a noisy cab, and look/feel utilitarian.

Right, that's why in an earlier post I said an IFS Overland could be an interesting option. If the upcoming Dakota is going to be body on frame and really will share underpinnings with the next JT, that might be easier than not.

I agree 100%. There's no way I'm getting rid of my diesel Gladiator, but there's room in the stable for either a Ram Dakota (midsized truck) or the Ram Rampage (compact truck).

Different trucks for different use cases. If they execute it properly, they could hit every point of the truck market. They've got full size and HD sorted. They need mid and compact to compete directly with the only company that does that currently: Ford.

 

[Wageslave]

Same reason the Commanche & the Dakota could not coexist. Dividing an already small market.

They would have co-existed fine as a set of badge engineered twins. Chrysler at the time was just not that profitable and had to make come cuts to survive.

 

[BearFootSam]

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

A niche product can still be a money maker especially when you are the only option in that niche. Too little volume for direct competition, so they lock that market.

The gladiator can be regarded as one of many off road oriented pickups that are in vogue. Or, it can be viewed as one of one in the solid axle utility pickup segment.

By nature such products tend to be comparatively expensive, compromised for “normal” use in favor of their niche traits, and have limited buyers who actually fit the design use case. They might be 15-30% of buyers while the majority buy based on the image and lifestyle associated with the use case.

Which is a long way to say, very few gladiator buyers can make a rational case for their purchase based on use. I might be one of the few for whom the gladiator is an optimal solution.

I own a small farm in a very rugged and densely forested corner of the country. The compact size of the gladiator lets me access trails and corners of my farm a larger truck could not. We do an inordinate amount of off pavement driving as forest roads are routine routes of travel for us. In the wet season landslides, mud and snow put the 4WD to frequent use. And, we do enough hauling we constantly make use of the bed space, but not so much that a bigger bed offers a benefit over towing trailer when needed.

Glad works so well I’m a committed fan. This pays off for Jeep because apparently our truck gets noticed around town and people have commented about seeing us on the trails everywhere. The mud covered gladiator that’s perpetually actually doing work in a remote tourist town is a rolling advertisement.

 

[Jeepdoggydog]

Why would you not think they might be siblings?

Profit is King in the Auto Industry and the Gladiator's sales numbers keep falling.

 

[Jeepdoggydog]

Yes, the Gladiator is a midsized truck. It competes with the Colorado, Canyon, Ranger, Ranger Raptor, Quartermaster, Tacoma, and Frontier. If Ram also released a midsized truck, let's call it the Dakota, then I don't see it competing with the Gladiator.

Yes, some of us diehard Mopar guys/girls might be in turmoil over which brand to purchase (Gladiator or Dakota), but the two auto manufacturers wouldn't directly compete against each other since one is utilitarian and the other would be refined.

I love my Diesel Gladiator, and have advocated for something like it for 26 years, and I hope you are right. What I know is that the Gladiator isn't selling as is, so something will need tp change to increase sales numbers.

 

[BearFootSam]

I used to be in this camp. But then seeing how IFS now dominates King of the Hammers, and the solid axle teams are nearly extinct, I stopped caring as much. The Bronco has shown that IFS is workable. Granted these are all custom rigs, IFS can be extremely competent in the rocks. I pretty much only wheel rocks where I live, and my next rig will not be a Jeep, as I wouldn't buy a cup of coffee from Stellantis. I'd probably already have a ZR2 if they fixed the gearing (too numerically low)

Yeah, sure, you can throw enough money at any problem and get a superior solution, but let’s talk real world.

To get an IFS to outperform SFA adds substantial cost and complexity. One of the merits of SFA is a simple, rugged and economical design. Maintenance is another, clearances and accessibility are cake, costs are reasonable, durability is good.

Some of us, I dare say, also actually like the SFA driving feel. Going over uneven ground like bumpy meadows or heavy debris in uncleared forests SFA is more controlled. Having a static minimum ground clearance at the pumpkin eliminates the risk of slamming hard parts due to suspension compressing coming off a rock or log.

SFA also opens up the world of axle swaps. Say you really bone head the front, crack an axle, you can swap the whole unit. A similar accident might total an IFS. Either would be a bad day, but less so SFA.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Profit is King in the Auto Industry and the Gladiator's sales numbers keep falling.

This is correct on both counts. 40K, 77L, 88K, 79K, 27K, 20k is the tale of the tape for annual JT sales since 2019. Going into 2023, there was still a decent surplus of MY22's around. Going into MY24 and a refresh there were roughly 20K MY23's around. Selling them side by side against the MY24 was bad enough but worse when you consider that those 20k accounted for 73% of MY23 sales- and were sold in 2024.

Jeep might have been able to see the inflation as it was building and the requisite interest rate increases to fix it. Once it was building and here they could have made moves to pull back on production to maintain profit margins.

Instead they jacked prices (dumb and tone deaf) and built too many (even dumber). The economy was slowing. They should have seen that. Ultimately when they had to sell all those MY23's at a steep discount they destroyed their profit margins.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Profit is King in the Auto Industry and the Gladiator's sales numbers keep falling.

Your base assumption is wrong.

Profit is king.

Gladiator as is, doesn't sell.

Ram has nothing for the mid sized market.

Jeep, essentially, has nothing for the mid sized market.

Ram wants sub 50k sales.

Stellantis has a midsized name plate, and an appropriate STLA architecture.

There's no rules that say Gladiators have to be based on Wranglers.

I'm not going to get myself fired over trying to lead people on a message board to water

 

[biodiesel]

Different trucks for different use cases. If they execute it properly, they could hit every point of the truck market. They've got full size and HD sorted. They need mid and compact to compete directly with the only company that does that currently: Ford.

I'm not sure why Ram drug their feet. My guess is that it boils down to poor leadership from Carlos Tavares. Sergio wouldn't have let Ram, Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler fall through the cracks.

 

[Jeepdoggydog]

Your base assumption is wrong.

Profit is king.

Gladiator as is, doesn't sell.

Ram has nothing for the mid sized market.

Jeep, essentially, has nothing for the mid sized market.

Ram wants sub 50k sales.

Stellantis has a midsized name plate, and an appropriate STLA architecture.

There's no rules that say Gladiators have to be based on Wranglers.

I'm not going to get myself fired over trying to lead people on a message board to water

I agree somewhat, as I stated "Gladiator as is", so Mr. Wizard what is this Gladiator vision you have not based on the Wrangler? Don't worry about getting fired, if you are part of Stelantis, you already are as good as fired.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Don't worry about getting fired, if you are part of Stelantis, you already are as good as fired.

So sad to learn about the death of my career on a internet forum.

 

[biodiesel]

I might be one of the few for whom the gladiator is an optimal solution.

I own a small farm in a very rugged and densely forested corner of the country. The compact size of the gladiator lets me access trails and corners of my farm a larger truck could not.

That's awesome. I'd like to learn more about your farm.

We are in a similar situation. We have approximately 10 miles of recreational roads to get to our mountain property which is located next to a National Forest. The Gladiator gets us to and from the property in inclement weather, but it was also purchased to replace the Jeep Cherokee.

 

[biodiesel]

There's no rules that say Gladiators have to be based on Wranglers.

I like the sound of this.

 

[biodiesel]

So sad to learn about the death of my career on a internet forum.

Didn't Willie sing a song about that?

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