Wrangler Has Priority Over Gladiator

[foo.c]

I don't see the Gladiator as a halo vehicle. Just my opinion.

Viper and Ford GT are two domestics that stick out. I've always heard they lost money on each one of these.

If Jeep starts losing money on the Gladiator, I'm sure they will kill it quick.

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[BAT]

Way I understand it that when the pandemic hit last year, vehicle makers stopped orders not knowing where the pandemic would take them. The chip makers then switch over to consumer electronic chip making and now that the pendulum has swung back for new demand for vehicles, they do not have the capacity to catch up.

Contrary to what many think, silicon wafers have to be "grown" as part of the manufacturing process and that take a bit of a lead time. There is also a bottleneck in what facilities can make the chips for vehicle use.

Even the consumer market is hit hard by it now. Apple just recently and somewhat quietly said they were having issues with chips as are a number of other markets.

 

[VolatileA]

Money matters. Rubicon JT and wrangler. Full option. Max profit. Drop sports and willys for rest of this year

You forgot Mojave.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Money matters. Rubicon JT and wrangler. Full option. Max profit. Drop sports and willys for rest of this year

LOL - and stop selling in Iowa for sure. Bad plan if all you offer is your high profit stuff - which happens to be stuff that isn't a hot seller and people walk or wait.
Looking around me here - very few Wrangler or Gladiator are Rubicon - most are actually Sport and as far as the Wrangler, the Sahara level.

 

[ColoradoGlad]

Some of you might have noticed there are several You Tuber's/PODCASTERS making claims that Jeep might be discontinuing the Gladiator.
They reference the latest Stellantis Press releases and Company updates talking about all the EV stuff coming out, including automatous driving Wranglers, and they don't even mention the Gladiator. (Which is 100% true if you watch the release videos)
They talk about all the other models and what's coming out, but completely leave out the Gladiator.
The one You Tuber was going over the second quarter sales numbers and the Gladiator had the largest increase in sales. (53% YOY).
I think they left out the JT because they are not ready to release any upcoming info, like Hemi, EV, 35's, etc. *I think there have been some sightings of the EV Gladiator.
The Gladiator continues to gain popularity, especially with people whom have never owned a Jeep.
Considering the sales trend and how much the JT shares with the JL, it doesn't make sense to cut the cord on the Gladiator.
The Wrangler is still double unit sales of the JT and is the #2 unit seller behind the Ram Truck.

 

[RobbertCole]

Interesting. I found this little gem at the bottom of the article from Motor1.com, written by Chris Okula on August 1, 2021 :

"Flagship products like the Jeep Wrangler are given priority of the scarce supply while more niche products like the Gladiator suffer. This doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find a new Gladiator on a dealer lot. Jeep will resume production when they need to build more Gladiators for customers once the current stock is depleted. Until then, Jeep will build what it can with the limited microchip supply."
Source: The Detroit News

Why would this surprise you? Just look at the number of Wranglers purchased compared to the number of Gladiators.

 

[steveorama]

I don't see the Gladiator as a halo vehicle. Just my opinion.

Viper and Ford GT are two domestics that stick out. I've always heard they lost money on each one of these.

If Jeep starts losing money on the Gladiator, I'm sure they will kill it quick.

A halo car doesn't have to be a super car only, this is a common misconception. I would argue the Corvette is a halo car for Chevy (all trims, but of course the ZR-1), the Hellcats or the TRX for Dodge, even the Raptor for Ford. By definition, a halo car is supposed to project a positive light, or brand image about its maker. Or, for more practical reasons, bring new vehicle buyers into dealerships filled with less exciting cars and trucks.

A halo car is designed and sold with the purpose of driving market excitement and showcasing the best of the brand. Sometimes that manifests in over the top design or decadence. Sometimes they're stupid fast or are extremely expensive. The idea is that they may make a car that they never had any intention of cornering market share, but they would rather have printed on a poster hanging in some kid's room where he dreams about owning one one day. They make a lifelong fan that way. They buy the merch, go to events, buy other cars in the brand so they can say they're loyal to the brand. Additionally I would say any vehicle featured in a Fast and Furious movie by default is elevated to halo status.

Here's a pretty good wiki of cars considered "halo cars" that are no where near super car status, but were built to reflect the best of the brand and drive sales and brand loyalty.
https://wikicars.org/en/Halo_vehicle

 

[portalgun]

A halo car doesn't have to be a super car only, this is a common misconception. I would argue the Corvette is a halo car for Chevy (all trims, but of course the ZR-1), the Hellcats or the TRX for Dodge, even the Raptor for Ford. By definition, a halo car is supposed to project a positive light, or brand image about its maker. Or, for more practical reasons, bring new vehicle buyers into dealerships filled with less exciting cars and trucks.

A halo car is designed and sold with the purpose of driving market excitement and showcasing the best of the brand. Sometimes that manifests in over the top design or decadence. Sometimes they're stupid fast or are extremely expensive. The idea is that they may make a car that they never had any intention of cornering market share, but they would rather have printed on a poster hanging in some kid's room where he dreams about owning one one day. They make a lifelong fan that way. They buy the merch, go to events, buy other cars in the brand so they can say they're loyal to the brand. Additionally I would say any vehicle featured in a Fast and Furious movie by default is elevated to halo status.

Here's a pretty good wiki of cars considered "halo cars" that are no where near super car status, but were built to reflect the best of the brand and drive sales and brand loyalty.
https://wikicars.org/en/Halo_vehicle

Totally spot on, when Hyundai debuted the Veloster back 8-10 years ago or whatever it was, that was actually their halo car at the time used to show their latest design language and technologies.

 

[foo.c]

A halo car doesn't have to be a super car only, this is a common misconception. I would argue the Corvette is a halo car for Chevy (all trims, but of course the ZR-1), the Hellcats or the TRX for Dodge, even the Raptor for Ford. By definition, a halo car is supposed to project a positive light, or brand image about its maker. Or, for more practical reasons, bring new vehicle buyers into dealerships filled with less exciting cars and trucks.

A halo car is designed and sold with the purpose of driving market excitement and showcasing the best of the brand. Sometimes that manifests in over the top design or decadence. Sometimes they're stupid fast or are extremely expensive. The idea is that they may make a car that they never had any intention of cornering market share, but they would rather have printed on a poster hanging in some kid's room where he dreams about owning one one day. They make a lifelong fan that way. They buy the merch, go to events, buy other cars in the brand so they can say they're loyal to the brand. Additionally I would say any vehicle featured in a Fast and Furious movie by default is elevated to halo status.

Here's a pretty good wiki of cars considered "halo cars" that are no where near super car status, but were built to reflect the best of the brand and drive sales and brand loyalty.
https://wikicars.org/en/Halo_vehicle

Fair enough, but how many Halo cars get production halted in favor of something else? Chevy prioritized the Corvette when it came to allocation of chips for example.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

A halo car doesn't have to be a super car only, this is a common misconception. I would argue the Corvette is a halo car for Chevy (all trims, but of course the ZR-1), the Hellcats or the TRX for Dodge, even the Raptor for Ford. By definition, a halo car is supposed to project a positive light, or brand image about its maker. Or, for more practical reasons, bring new vehicle buyers into dealerships filled with less exciting cars and trucks.

A halo car is designed and sold with the purpose of driving market excitement and showcasing the best of the brand. Sometimes that manifests in over the top design or decadence. Sometimes they're stupid fast or are extremely expensive. The idea is that they may make a car that they never had any intention of cornering market share, but they would rather have printed on a poster hanging in some kid's room where he dreams about owning one one day. They make a lifelong fan that way. They buy the merch, go to events, buy other cars in the brand so they can say they're loyal to the brand. Additionally I would say any vehicle featured in a Fast and Furious movie by default is elevated to halo status.

Here's a pretty good wiki of cars considered "halo cars" that are no where near super car status, but were built to reflect the best of the brand and drive sales and brand loyalty.
https://wikicars.org/en/Halo_vehicle

Whoever wrote that article didn't take to the designers or people who worked at AMC - or read the internal papers. The Javelin? HAHAHA, right. The AMX3, yes, definitely! But they ran short of money before it happened.
The Javelin was created as a direct response to Mustang and Camaro and to get the company into trans-am racing and other events. (and they won.......)
Javelin was marketed directly to younger people who otherwise saw the company as building budget cars for older, family people. They needed something fresh and new to attract new buyers, younger buyers. Rambler wasn't cutting it. Rebel helped - the Machine was definitely a halo vehicle. But the Javelin helped save their butts and young people were buying it - and it was winning races. Otherwise they had nothing for the pony car market. Rambler? Right.

>> A halo vehicle (or halo model) in automobile marketing is one designed and marketed to showcase the talents and resources of the manufacturers and to promote sales of other vehicles within a marque. <<
In the case of the Javelin - it wasn't at all to promote sales of other vehicles - it was to fill a hole. They had no pony car, young people weren't buying.
I've seen and read some of the documents talking of the idea and the development.
The AMX3 had no other purpose than to show off what they could do (with some Italian help) and was a "just because" vehicle to show off their abilities - come in to see it, buy a car. Too bad it never became a reality.

 

[ScottBeach]

LOL - and stop selling in Iowa for sure. Bad plan if all you offer is your high profit stuff - which happens to be stuff that isn't a hot seller and people walk or wait.
Looking around me here - very few Wrangler or Gladiator are Rubicon - most are actually Sport and as far as the Wrangler, the Sahara level.

Here in Fl i see mostly rubi and JT overlands

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Here in Fl i see mostly rubi and JT overlands

With any luck, there'll be one more hydro blue Overland in FL for a few days this fall.........

 

[River2016]

In Charlotte Nc there are more JLs than I can count. They are everywhere. I see a JT here and there but I see as many wranglers as I do Honda Civics.

On highway today I saw three wranglers in a row followed by a civic… I’m telling ya they are everywhere here

 

[yoda13]

I live in "pickup crazy Iowa" - but it's all about work trucks, full-size trucks. Few smaller trucks here. They are expected to haul tractors, huge racks of hay bales, combine heads - and through the fields. They are expected to haul 2,000 pounds and tow 7,000 pounds with great ease and get the crap beat out of them in the fields and at work sites. You don't see mid-sized trucks used by any businesses here. It's all about the 1500 or larger.
The JT will never be common here - it's farm and construction territory. Try pulling the job trailers around that these guys use here with a JT.......
Even the young women in this state love the full-size pickup because that's likely what daddy had. Go to a grocery store and see a woman getting in with a gallon of milk and a bag of groceries. That F250 4x4 over there, a 20-something woman drove it to town for shopping.

Most of the trucks around here never see a dirt driveway, much less haul anything. My gladiator works fine for my needs. It pulls my RV(about 5500 pounds loaded and wet) and my car hauler with the XJ or my GTI on it just fine. My neighbor has 3 different pickups, lol. Sadly, that’s not in my budget.

 

[flyil]

People buy what they know, and are familiar with, and it's hard to make them consider something new. Jeep is trying to get truck buyers to try a few new things -- switch brands, go midsize over fullsize, have a convertible, etc. It's also trying to get Jeep and Wrangler buyers to try what they love about those vehicles, but as a pickup. Both groups are known for heavy brand and model loyalty and are tough to switch.

It's why they aren't making many new movie franchises anymore, and mostly just make prequels/sequels/remakes/gender swaps of the old ones. It's why I get death threats for redesigning a website, even though all the numbers improve. It's why I don't believe in a lot of these new EV companies and think we'll all just end up driving Fords and Chevys and Toyotas with electric powertrains. People say they want to try new things but often don't behave in that way.

To me, the trend line looks good for Gladiator after 2 years. It also looks good if you add the JLs and JTs together, consistently upwards. There is some clear cannibalization starting in 2019. There's also as many Gladiators being bought today as there were Wranglers 10 years ago which is impressive for a new model challenging a legend.

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