Who got you into Jeeps and why did it stick??

[adrnln.JT]

Lifelong buddy who's wife is on her second Jeep, drive her JK and fell in love (with the Jeep). I've been a BMW fan my whole adult life and this is my first Jeep. Needless to say, my supercharged, track prepped BMW is collecting dust in the garage and all my spare time is spent in/on the Gladiator !

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[Chanwmr]

Living in the hilly sticks part of the snow country always exposed to high wind, I've always appreciated the ability and the advantage of a 4X4. We've had at least one since the days of our Suzuki Samarai (about 30 years ago).

As for Jeeps, my appreciation for Jeeps didn't start with a Wrangler variant, unlike most here.

Instead the Jeep "obsession" began when we first got the most underrespected Jeep product in recent history. Yup, a KJ aka the Liberty. It was affordable. it was simple. And it was a still a true 4X4 (a work horse trapped in a gentle and pretty body). Once we got to know the Libby and realized it was the best bang for the buck, we got another and an another -- two of them the kids when they started to drive.

Yeah, the Libbies weren't perfect but we learned to live and deal with the shortcomings (which car doesn't have them). The constant trips to the pull yard to swap out body part, etc. became a hobby. The kids love them and what I did to them.

Most recently, I thought about having a 4X4 pickup -- one that can fit into the garage (one that is smaller than the Avalanche we used to have). So, when the JT came out, once I test drove the Rubicon, the rest was history.

 

[Ozzysjeep]

My best friends dad owned a GMC and International Dealership, Diprizios in Middleton NH in the 70s.
We got to ride in Scouts and a 1950s Era Willys. Another friend had an 84 CJ which I drove many a mile. I guess it's been a 46 year on/off again Jeep relationship. My 2021 Gladiator is my 7th Jeep

 

[Shire Reeve 1760]

My dad bought a 2001 Wrangler when I was 8. I told him the day he bought it and we first drove it "This is my 'truck' (forgive me, I was a boy)". When I turned 16 I learned how to drive stick in it and he gifted it to me for my 18th birthday. My biggest regret was selling her when she started to have constant issues and repairs. She was 17 years old and had 230,000 miles on her.

I'm waiting for my next Jeep now. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY she lives up to the expectations. Although my dad likes to remind me that JT's "aren't real Jeeps". We'll see what he says when I show up with the top down, doors off, and take him for a drive. I'm not telling him I got it until I can show him in person.

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