Anyone else unreasonably excited by the idea of a Jeep pick-up truck? Or is it just me?
The Gladiator idea is not new for Jeep, although I’ll admit I’d largely forgotten this part of Jeep’s history. From the early 1960s, Jeep had a truck in its line-up, which lived on with various names until AMC, Jeep’s parent company, was bought by Chrysler, which already offered a strong line of Dodge pick-ups. So it canned Jeep’s competitor versions.
Not an uncommon business practice: buy rival, shut it down. But it’s also a weird move in the car business. There is never the guarantee that if a product becomes unavailable, people will choose yours instead. At least, not in an area like pick-ups, where there are a hell of a lot to choose from.
And if Volkswagen and PSA and plenty of car makers in the US have taught us anything, it’s that competing with yourself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You can own several brands and give them subtle differences in economies of scale to commonise parts, reduce cost and thus give your rivals a harder time. And which of your models eventually sells? Doesn’t matter: you still get the money.
So the Jeep pick-up truck is back. Or will be, if the photos of this Jeep Wrangler-based truck with a five-foot-long load bed are anything to go by. The pics were leaked ahead of the car’s official unveiling at the LA motor show, and I think it’s a very cool thing.
