Just got back from the dealer

[HitokiriXJ]

Good News: My friend just bought a 00 GC for 10k on 30k on the engine. He dosn't like to drive so I will get to drive it. icon_smile_big.gif

Better News: My friend just became a finance manager and salesman at the Jeep dealer. And I found out that the Service/Parts Manager is a guy that I went to high school with and said he would hook me up with parts when I got another Jeep.

Bad News: One of the salesmen had just got back from some Jeep seminar/training and he said that they were redesigning the GC grill and lights. He said they were going to give them round headlights. I don't even want to imagine a GC with the Libbys front end graemlins/crazy.gif graemlins/icon_puke.gif

[XJNASH]

Why cant they leave anything alone!! :mad:

How about putting on of those concept idea's on the production line.. graemlins/grinyes.gif

[tidal9]

Hey, if everything stayed the same, we would all be winding are cars up before we head out into the dark, with candles for headlights.

[JHASH]

Real Jeeps HAVE round headlights!!! LOL!

[kyle92xj47cj]

well i agree that real jeeps have round headlights.. but i have a xj so i dont really care about that...

also they do need to leave things alone and stop changing the way cars and trucks are changing for the bad (as far as the shape and daymn ugliness they are coming to be)...

when i get older cars and trucks will look like space machines... classics and street rods and all the cjs look great) newer aint always better...

my '92 cherokee has 156k miles and still going strong... and having the old cj i have will be great later on as i continue to somewhat restore it ... but not a full resto..

[ December 31, 2002, 09:11 PM: Message edited by: kyle92xj47cj ]

[tidal9]

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, I like classic cars and am a big fan of the muscle era. Only problem is, vehicles for the purpose of offroad use (not including ATVs) are not making money. Consumer sales are what drive the markets, and that is always changing. We have an aging population who buys newer cars and the majority of off-roaders are relatively "younger" thus they cannot afford to influence the auto-makers. Fewer people are living such a rural lifestyle that they no longer need the power wagon to get to town to buy/sell goods anymore. You also have the well-intentioned greens doing what they can for the environment, so that also changes what the auto makers can do. I miss my dads old Duster and my moms Barracuda in the driveway as child, but times change and so did they, they had more kids.

[XJNASH]

Ok, I take that back Change is good to some limit.

CJ to wrangelr: Good

Cherokee to Liberty: not so good

Grand Cherokee body Change: Good

MJ Well I think they should have keep.
(Small trucks ar hot right now)

I understand that Jeep has a new Mass to look at but what we do with our jeeps keeps people going back. I see teens and older people breaking their necks to see what we decide to do on our rigs.

Another thing to look at is Chevy 350.. Ahh good motor which you dont see GMC pulling they just make it better along with the Silverado. They aproach the mass with new lines like the Avalanche, Trailblazer and so on.

Landrover just came out with a new line to compete with the liberty after having the same concept forever but with a few changes.

This is my 2nd Cherokee also owned a Wrangler I like the feeling all the bugs have been worked out and that it is classic and new.

I think Jeep might be loosing its focus on where it came form. We are now looking at a new line for inner surburban use and light offroad SUV's yes your right their is a new market but their is still alot of the States that don't not have paived roads and if it is still has obsticals.

[Static-XJ]

Originally posted by XJNASH:

Another thing to look at is Chevy 350.. Ahh good motor which you dont see GMC pulling they just make it better along with the Silverado. They aproach the mass with new lines like the Avalanche, Trailblazer and so on.
GM has all but killed new production of the 350 (excluding crate motors). Did it a few years back. The current 5.7L Vortech is a comletly different engine than the 350 is. I think I read this in Hot Rod a few years ago. The fullsized GM vans and some Isuzu delivery trucks were the only vehicles still getting the 350.

[Ryan, aka: CheapXJ.com]

jeep's also going to phase out the 4.0L and make the grand have IFS in 2004 or 2005.

The current WJ will be replaced by a similar looking model called the WK, which along with the round headlights should also tote the KJs IFS.

As far as i'm concerned. the WJ will be the last REAL Jeep (the rubicon, is still a TJ, and came before the WJ, which is why i didn't mention it. and it really needs softer springs)

[fuzzy]

yeah gm got way stupid and killed the 350.... they offer what is it the 5.3 now??? something like that.... i have a feeling that they will eventually bring it back... there's entirely too many for them not to... either that or they are going to piss a bunch of old guy's like me off and kill any parts that we'll need down the road for the 350's still running, and lord knows that they'll be running forever, or untill ppl run out of parts.... graemlins/icon_banghead.gif

graemlins/icon_beerchug.gif

[PurpleXJMonster]

yeah the 5.3 is the new engine. it puts out the same HP or torque if i remember right cause of the redesign and the vortec and all. but its still better to get the power from more displacement if you ask me!

[Static-XJ]

It'll be decades before 350 parts become scarce. The aftermarket for this engine is huge. And I'm pretty sure the general is still turning the 350 out as a crate motor.