dwvninety
New member
Land Rover has been doing this for years. I guess Jeep will just have to figure out how its done.
2017 Jeep JL Wrangler Aluminum Body on Frame or Unibody?
- Thread starter wayoflife
- Start date
Land Rover has been doing this for years. I guess Jeep will just have to figure out how its done.
This is true. What's sad is that Chrysler had figured it out too when they developed the Plymouth Prowler. Unfortunately, Daimler didn't have the foresight and let all those guys go. They all went to Ford and are the ones responsible for the new aluminum F150 :rolleyes2:
Interesting factoid about the F150 body metal... It has a shelf life. There is a limited window in which the metal must be formed after leaving the mill. If it is even one minute too old, it can't be stamped and is scrap. The scrap can't be reclaimed for body panels. As a result, the panels are not repairable. The will need to be replaced. :yup:
Linebacker
Caught the Bug
Just picked this tidbit up from an article quoting Automotive News. The 2017JK wil have an aluminum body on steel frame and it's staying in Ohio.:thumb:
"Insiders now tell Automotive News that won’t be the case, and when the new Wrangler arrives in 2017 it wills still be a body-on-frame SUV, which means that it can remain at its traditional Ohio home.
That’s not to say it won’t feature aluminum bodywork, but it would be supported by a steel frame, similar to how the new Ford F-150 is built."
"Insiders now tell Automotive News that won’t be the case, and when the new Wrangler arrives in 2017 it wills still be a body-on-frame SUV, which means that it can remain at its traditional Ohio home.
That’s not to say it won’t feature aluminum bodywork, but it would be supported by a steel frame, similar to how the new Ford F-150 is built."
My guess is Toledo pulled their pants down on tax breaks and land to build an Aluminum stamping facility there (which it currently doesn't have).
I'm thinking the leaving and unibody scoop may have been a poker move.
I'm thinking the leaving and unibody scoop may have been a poker move.
piginajeep
The Original Smartass
Ohio is already fucked from the decline of the mills and other automotive issues. They lose jeep it's a big hit.
Supposedly even if the Wrangler was lost, Fiat was going to backfill the facility with other products (I'm not sure how that would happen since almost every other model is unibody and that was the whole reason the Wrangler was leaving) but none the less it's tough to say what the impact could be.
I work in automation and I will tell you things are not as bad in OH as the news wants everyone to believe. My company is an automation component distributor and I am a technical specialist for both pre sale and post sale support. Can they be better, sure! But it's not doom and gloom either. My company has continued to grow and has broken it's previous record for 4 years running.
The single biggest hold up to manufacturing returning to the US in general is the lack of skilled people to operate a technical factory. You should see the guys companies send me to train... I had to explain what the "minus" button in the upper right corner did! Why did they send them? Because they were the best they could find.
Sadly, our education system has made working an honest job in a factory a degrading thing, so no one wants to work there. I love my Job! Everyday is an episode of "How it's made"!
piginajeep
The Original Smartass
I lived in northeast Ohio near Youngstown for 30 years. There's a reason I moved ...
NE Ohio is pretty screwed, and your right... China steel is to blame. My territory is Ohio (minus the NE corner), Eastern KY, and currently Middle TN.
Edit to add... If we have another winter like last year I will be bailing too! I'm thinking Northern AZ
cozdude
Guy with a Red 2-Door
start looking then cause they are saying its suppose to be worse this year compared to last :icon_crazy:
I know... I'm hoping the weather goonies are wrong! If I didn't like the company I work for so much and my work I would've bailed already!
Sharkey
Word Ninja
I'm sure that is a huge problem, but unions aren't helping the situation either.
JKWrang
New member
Has anyone else seen this..
Interesting read ...
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/...mpaign=Feed:+motorauthority2+(MotorAuthority)
Interesting read ...
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/...mpaign=Feed:+motorauthority2+(MotorAuthority)
There's already a thread about this. http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=20808