Could the Jeepster formula sell today? I've always liked the 2n'd generation Jeepster ever since it was introduced, and that's the first issue with this concept. Those of us who remember the Jeepster are old. We are the target audience for funeral parlors, not automakers.
The next two issues are utility and refinement. The Jeepster competed against the Ford Bronco and International Scout. All three were two-door open vehicles with optional tops allowing them to be wagons or pickups, and they all started out as very basic machines with very few creature comforts. This trio of vehicles each offered rear seat options. The Jeepster broke the mold by offering a V6 with automatic transmission, power steering and brakes. The competition soon followed. The 2nd gen Jeepster was built on the CJ6 wheelbase of 101/104 inch wheelbase (Kaiser/AMC) and which, by the way, the CJ8 also used. The CJ8 Scrambler is a Jeepster pickup with a CJ body. It isn't the last jeep built on that wheelbase either, the TJ Wrangler Unlimited also used the Jeepster formula, but with the hard top and rear seat option both used.
Customer expectations are very different today. Two-door vehicles are rare. The Jeepster was renamed the Commando by AMC, but was soon replaced by a much larger Cherokee. The larger Chaerokee offered four doors, but when it was downsized in 1984 the four-door option really took off. Today two-door utility vehicles are rare in our market. The Wrangler still offers a two-door model, but the four-door easily outsells it.
The final issue what the position a Jeepster would have in the lineup. The two-door Wrangler holds only a sliver of Jeeps sales. The cheap Jeeps are front drive based crossovers and can be optioned into high levels of comfort. Is there room for a BOF utility between the two present day Wrangler's wheelbases? Such a vehicle could not reach the level of comfort and refinement of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and would match that of the Wranglers. But would such a model cannibalize Wrangler and Gladiator sales? A two-door Jeepster might be more tempting than a two-door Wrangler, while conjuring up a 4-door Jeepster comes close to being a restyled 4-door Wrangler. The formula of an open utility with optional tops and seats allows for a different type of Jeep pickup than that of the Gladiator. It also might cut into Gladiator sales.
Of course this might be a replay of the 1960s when the Jeepster and Bronco first competed in the market. Ford wants some of the Wrangler's turf. Is a new Jeepster needed to counter that threat? Perhaps only the Jeepster Beach concept's 340hp GME turbo four cylinder is needed.
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