2017 Aluminum Jeep JL Wrangler - Pick-Up Being Shelved

Aluminum Wrangler, Jeep Pickup?
Automotive News’ Larry Vellequette quoted Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne answering two different questions in a way that points to extensive use on the 2018 Jeep Wrangler (to be produced starting in calendar-year 2017, according to the latest Five Year Plan). In one question, about whether he could think of a better use for aluminum than Wrangler, Mr. Marchionne answered, “No,” indicating that Wrangler was the best use for aluminum. He said at another time yesterday that FCA would be ready to produce aluminum vehicles in 2017, the same year Wrangler (but also probably at least one Alfa Romeo) enters production.



Adding weight, so to speak, to the argument were two slides, used by two different presenters, discussing the importance of weight in meeting carbon dioxide requirements and increasing city gas mileage. Weight is the primary contributor to differences in city-cycle gas mileage, which is currently where Chrysler (and many other manufacturers) are having their greatest economy challenges. Highway mileage, which is influenced by gearing and aerodynamics more than weight, according to the slides, has been addressed by Chrysler and others, but weight has continued to grow as customers get used to top safety ratings, huge wheels, powerful stereos, and silent interiors.

As for the Gladiator — the Jeep Wrangler-based pickup, that is — it did not appear in the Five Year Plan at all, but Mr. Marchionne indicated that if demand for it continued to be strong, it could be made. Many observers have noted that it is unlikely to appear at all until the plant is re-built for the 2018 Wranglers.

Article found on AllPar:
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2014/05/aluminum-wrangler-jeep-pickup

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Aluminum Unibody For The 2017 Jeep Wrangler?


FCA head shed Sergio Marchionne said "my gut it tells me we'll still be building a steel truck in 2018," at yesterday's all-day investor meeting, but he acquiesced that he wants aluminum "in the portfolio," and didn't deny the Wrangler was the best place to put it.

Road & Track is speculating that could mean FCA is planning aluminum construction for the next Wrangler, slated to show up in 2017. Nobody's claiming it's a lock, but apparently when Larry Vellequette of Automotive News asked Marchionne "Is there a better use for aluminum in your lineup than Wrangler?" the Fiat-Chrysler boss simply said "No."

With the Ram making a run for second-place in the American pickup race, FCA is obviously going to be watching the 2015 Ford F-150 launch with intense scrutiny. While the new F-150 has heaps of brand momentum to power sales, early performance should provide some insight as to just how much confidence truck buyers have in aluminum.

It's pretty clear Jeep has no intention of departing the Wrangler from it's iconic style, and Jeep CEO Mike Manley is well-aware of how important the vehicle's off-road capability is to sales even while acknowledging many drivers won't utilize it much.

But dropping weight would be huge for every aspect of the Wrangler's performance, which has been getting portlier with each redesign. Aluminum off-roaders worked for Land Rover so many years ago, and as Road & Track pointed out Jeep's own "Stitch Concept" (pictured above) proved aluminum construction could cut more than 1,000 pounds off the JK Wrangler.

With FCA on a consolidation bender, the Wrangler could even depart from a body-on-frame setup and turn into one big stamped-and-rivited monocoque. We won't know for sure until the new Wrangler's 2017 release date gets closer, but I'm pretty sure any significant change to the classic convertible 4x4 will be met with plenty of bitching and moaning from one Jeep fan community or another.

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/aluminum-unibody-for-the-2017-jeep-wrangler-1573005379/+matthardigree

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noroad said:

No Pick up any more this is a sad day:grayno:

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wayoflife said:

Just read the following article on AllPar and I have to say that it looks real likely that we will be getting an aluminum Wrangler in 2018. Unfortunately, I was wondering why the new Pick-Up was nowhere to be found on the 5 year plan that Mr. Marchionne put out the other day and, it's looks like it might be getting shelved. Or, at least for now. Check it out....

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piginajeep said:

I would guess this is why they built porkchop and stitched.

Not really thrilled about a unibody design, I would guess it makes sense with IFS??

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wayoflife said:

That's what I was thinking. They would sure save a lot of weight with an IFS/IRS running under a unibody.

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piginajeep said:

The new jeeps going to be fast in the desert with big travel from IFS. Dynatrac better ramp up production on the IFS 60's... Lol

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piginajeep said:

The new jeeps going to be fast in the desert with big travel from IFS. Dynatrac better ramp up production on the IFS 60's... Lol

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JAGS said:

Can just imagine Eddie's big grin after reading this.

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piginajeep said:

I'm not an expert, I only pretend to be. I would guess they need to do both for the ride quality to improve.

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GCM 2 said:

I know the use of aluminum throughout the entire vehicle is Ford's route for mpg improvement on the 2015 F150, so I think this is going to be seen across the industry. I wonder what type of price increase per vehicle we will see, aluminum is pricey :icon_crazy:

As for IFS, it will definitely make the ride on and off road much, much better. However, as a rock crawler it will take a slight hit in performance :sigh: which will mean it could take substantial money and fabrication to try to recover some of the crawling performance with long travel a-arms and half shafts. Its definitely doable, but for most of us the beam axle we currently know is still the peak performer.

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wayoflife said:

Actually, you can still improve the ride with just an IFS and a solid rear axle. A lot of vehicles are made like this including the FJ Cruiser. But, if you REALLY want to improve the ride and save on weight, the addition of IRS would make big difference.

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wayoflife said:

...... What will really suck is how much more it will cost to build up for the average joe.

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gtony12 said:

One of the bad things going this direction IFS system yes a better ride, but like the FJ (I had this before buying a truck then the JEEP) this thing had no flexing capabilities. I had a 2" spacer kit with 33"'s and every time I went out I always had 1 or 2 tires off the ground over really small rocks. :twocents:

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GCM 2 said:

Heck, I am completely worn down now from whoring myself out for my current EVO gear. I don't even know how to "whore" at the levels needed for aluminum bodies and IFS/IRS mods :thinking: Eddie this could hurt.......

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GCM 2 said:

I don't even know how to "whore" at the levels needed for aluminum bodies and IFS/IRS mods :thinking: Eddie this could hurt.......

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