Is the Gladiator at risk for cancellation?

[Stan H]

I traded a Maverick for the Mojave, had it for 6 months...I hated it.

Ha , I think thou jest !! ??

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[Billkowski]

Ha , I think thou jest !! ??

No jest, had no issues with it but it was like driving a Ford Focus with a bed

 

[LostWoods]

No jest, had no issues with it but it was like driving a Ford Focus with a bed

I mean, it's literally the same platform as the Focus (also Escape and Transit Connect) so that makes sense.

I dig it for what it is but it's a pickup for people who don't tow, off-road, or haul more than half a ton... so basically it's perfect for about 70% of truck buyers.

 

[IPRoutes]

The trend is for smaller pick ups.
Ford Maverick, Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota is coming up with one which would be the lowest costing pick up, and I read somewhere that RAM has a small pick up being tested out in South America as we speak.

 

[Kirk*Mojave]

If it's not selling they'll probably get rid of it

 

[Xrayphoton1]

I sure hope it's not gonna be cancelled. I love the gladiator. I like jeeps and being able to go open air but I need a truck. It's the perfect combination. If they killed the gladiator I'd get an f150, Not a wrangler or ram

 

[aldo98229]

The trend is for smaller pick ups.
Ford Maverick, Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota is coming up with one which would be the lowest costing pick up, and I read somewhere that RAM has a small pick up being tested out in South America as we speak.

There is no good reason for Gladiators, Tacomas, Rangers and Colorados to cost as much as they do today; that is provided one keeps the options under control.

In fact, unibody construction is more expensive to develop and make than body-on-frame. The problem automakers run into with body-on-frame construction is not affordability but fuel economy. It is extremely difficult to make a midsize, gasoline-engined, body-on-frame truck get more than 25 MPG.

Having said that, body-on-frame construction IS the reason most of us own a truck in the first place...

 

[Jeep~N~Jay]

Without reading anything or watching anything, my personal opinion is the Gladiator will be discontinued sooner rather than later. There are LOADS of leftover 23's still around here. The pricing is crazy low. I saw a 23 slightly used Rubicon just this week for 38k. I couldn't believe it. I paid more than that for my sport S. This truck is for a very special niche. Other mid-sizes have a better reputation and following if you are just looking for a truck.

 

[salvino]

Jeep is DOOMED and we'll see them out of business before you know it?

The thing podcasts do to get clicks is take things they really don't know the inner workings about and spin them to sound like they do. Joe Rogan does the same thing, to the point where he argues with his own fact-checker. In this case, it's just a regurgitated Google search spun to sound interesting.

That's why these video podcasts are really, at the end of the day, just interesting background noise and shouldn't be seen as anything more than that.

.…and when one of these podcasts ends up being correct, like a broken clock twice a day, they’ll brag about how they predicted it.

I’m in the financial business and we have the same group who make the same predictions constantly and eventually they are always right. But if you followed their advise the whole time you’d be broke and they’d have your money.

 

[BourbonRunner]

There is no good reason for Gladiators, Tacomas, Rangers and Colorados to cost as much as they do today; that is provided one keeps the options under control.

Well, there is a reason-- profit margins. Truck sales are big profit centers for the manufacturers, more so than any other vehicle generally speaking. And-- that funds the development of future vehicles across the board. And since mid-size trucks have gotten bigger, they have more crossover appeal to many full size buyers. Think of it like this: A Taco or JT will fit into a lot more tight spaces than an FSeries or Ram but still retain the utility to do most truck things. The demand for mid-size trucks is at an all time high... but that doesn't explain why the JT languishes on lots across the country. (I think Jeep missed the buck on demand and over priced what it had, a colossal blunder by all accounts).

In fact, unibody construction is more expensive to develop and make than body-on-frame. The problem automakers run into with body-on-frame construction is not affordability but fuel economy. It is extremely difficult to make a midsize, gasoline-engined, body-on-frame truck get more than 25 MPG.

Agreed 100%. We're also dealing with a vehicle barreling down the highway with all the aerodynamic qualities of a brick wall. Plus, the desire to do truck stuff usually comes at a trade off- IE the more power for towing, hauling, etc the lower the MPG.

Having said that, body-on-frame construction IS the reason most of us own a truck in the first place...

I can't think of a unibody vehicle in the general market that can compare to the towing and hauling ability of even mid-sizes, let alone the big guys except the Grand Cherokee and Defender 110- they can go over 7000lbs if equipped properly.

 

[PsyRN]

In this case, it's just a regurgitated Google search spun to sound interesting.

Exactly. I feel like this topic comes up every year, sometimes several times a year since these started showing up in 2019.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

In fact, unibody construction is more expensive to develop and make than body-on-frame.

That must be why AMC made only unibody cars for 30 years and took Jeep that direction with Cherokee and Grand Cherokee - because it's so much more expensive.
It's why VAM easily and cheaply modified some AMC vehicles into other unique Mexican versions like the 4 door Spirit and so on.
Even their 4x4 cars were unibody - with the Eagle costing them a whopping something like $40,000 to develop. (and it involved changes to the unibody structure including floors, sills and rockers)

Odd that a company always operating on a shoe string took the more expensive approach to auto manufacturing.

 

[aldo98229]

Well, there is a reason-- profit margins. Truck sales are big profit centers for the manufacturers, more so than any other vehicle generally speaking. And-- that funds the development of future vehicles across the board. And since mid-size trucks have gotten bigger, they have more crossover appeal to many full size buyers. Think of it like this: A Taco or JT will fit into a lot more tight spaces than an FSeries or Ram but still retain the utility to do most truck things. The demand for mid-size trucks is at an all time high... but that doesn't explain why the JT languishes on lots across the country. (I think Jeep missed the buck on demand and over priced what it had, a colossal blunder by all accounts).

No doubt.

Plus there has been a general migration towards body-on-frame trucks in recent years. A decade ago, Fullsize Pickup was the fifth largest segment in N.A.; Midsize Pickup was the 8th largest. In recent years, Fullsize Pickup was 2nd largest; Midsize Pickup was 4th or 5th largest. So automakers have taken advantage of this and jacked up pickup prices through the roof across the board.

Historically, pickups offered the most bang for your buck on the market. Sure, they weren't the most efficient, most advanced or safest vehicles on the market, but pickups gave you a lot of steel and capability for your money. This value proposition has changed, though; today pickup prices are up there with luxury vehicles.

My hunch is that automakers have a lot of profit cushion if they decided to lower pickup prices.

But Gladiator's future lies outside this discussion. "Lifestyle" pickups, which is what Gladiator mostly is, have historically not done well on the market. Things have changed in recent years with Raptor, Gladiator, TRX, TRD Pro, ZR2 but, judging by recent pickup sales trends, it appears the "lifestyle" niche of the pickup category has run its course.

In which case the discussion inside Stellantis becomes: should we invest in a new lifestyle-oriented Gladiator, or should we invest in a more traditional work truck, a la Dodge Dakota...?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Let's start a pool, or maybe two:
In the next 10 months, how many more "the Gladiator is doomed" threads will there be
and
how long or how many pages before this one gets boring and people jump to another to continue the arm-chair speculation and economic predictions, and explain how they'd take FCA forward to massive sales increases.

I never knew there were so many market and financial experts in the world! Impressive!
To look here, I wonder why FCA hasn't contacted a few and offered the position of CEO.


Said mostly in jest - or was it?

 

[legend007]

Gladiator is fine just need a decent engine. I have the diesel and love it. Just not sure how long it will last

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