Last TJ Rolls Off the Line (photos)
http://www.rockcrawler.com/features/newsshorts/06july/jeep_toledo.asp

mike,

time for a new start with the jk! i feel like my 04 rubicon is already a relic. i have been on this site for some time looking at all the articles but just recently found you were editor. so what do i have to do to be a cool guy like yourself? editor of a cool jeep site, owner of a cool jeep supply site! when are you starting the "how to be a cool guy classes"? if only we all had a job that was our passion, the world would be a really happy place. keep up the good work.

Hi Josh.

Thanks for visiting the sites, first of all.

As for your question, my best advise is to stay in school, work hard, dream big and stay out of the back seats of police cars.

Just a history lesson here. From an offroaders point of view, DC has been a mixed bag. And as far as Jeep goes, all changes haven't been improvements.

While I have and drive a 2006, its just a shadow of the performance that same 4.0 engine was putting out in the past. DC's trick -- Increase the horsepower rating, and then lower the real power by about twice that.

So when AMC took over Willys in 1972, everyone thought it would be a great improvement moving up to a torque laden V8, even if it was a nash rambler 304. And things didn't get bad with the centered 44 rear and the D30 front. But gloom and doom was predicted when they moved to the CJ7 and the lousy rear axle. Of course all true jeepers cried when they dumped the CJ5 and Scrambler. But by 1986, the engine was so awful about the only good points were the D44 rears coming back, and the galvanized body. Gawd were the tranny's bad. And then things got worse with DCC. The YJs had suspensions that didn't work, at first they even got worse with a Peuegot (pronounced "fug - it") transmission. And they dumped the gear drive Tcase for a chain gizmo. To their credit, by the end of the YJs they were almost OK. Suspension was still terrible, but the 4.0 was making real power, and the then AIX15 was pretty much up to the task. And those of us with time discovered that the Commanche rear ends (44s again) would fit. Life was good.

Then along comes the TJ. What a joke. Who ever heard of coils on an off roader? My first introduction was at the jeep safari the first year (I think 1997) when I had to lead the Rim early in the week. Our line up was at the Hogi-Yogi, and up shows a shiney new red one. And worse, it was a rental! Everyone in the lineup was coming to me and trying to get me to throw him out. Like I had that kind of power.

Finally he came over to me and said he was sorry, but he really wanted to come along. That he'd rented for 2 weeks, and was impressed with what it could do. So he came along and just drove thru all the crap that gave the others so much trouble. And that was my introduction. And in some ways the TJs are the best ones yet...except the terrible little engines that can't.

So what should we expect of the new ones? I guarantee that the extra width will earn them some big bucks in body parts. But its not so wide as to really hamper someone. This year I ahd a crew cab dually on Hells Revenge. And we had them in the past, back in the mid 1980s.

My guess is that it will make those of us with the last couple of years productions happy. History was very kind to buyers of the last CJ5s, CJ7s, Scramblers, etc. For the first couple of years into a new model, two big things happen. First, there aren't any trusted parts for the new ones, so a lot of the modifications do as much harm as good. And better still, Lift and traction parts start selling pretty cheap for the discontinued ones.

And history also shows that the last of the older ones are pretty good when compared to the new ones that aren't yet modified. But new always has the shine and the cute young girls that prefer it. And for those with foresight, the last of the production run can usually be picked up at overstocked dealers pretty cheap. You get a good jeep for thousands less than the new models. And usually the new ones have bugs and problems.

dick,

i agree that new is not always better. like a v6 with bigger horse power and torque @ higher rpms. or big flappy looking front fender flares. i was a die hard cj kid myself a 5 and 7, and grew up in flat fenders. i talked loads of smack about the girl jeep (aka tj) with a plastic car like dash board. then chrysler just had to come out with the rubicon... after about a year of watching and reading about this new "most capable off the lot jeep" i was hooked. i have diligently worked on my 04 rubicon for the past 2 years doing my best to alter the low points and improving it where i have found fit. it is amazing how the after market boomed for the tj. i think the after market is going to jump on wrangler III quick. some nice tube fenders, real bumpers, well engineered lift, and not to forget the hemi conversions and it will leave the girl jeep luster behind faster then the tj. i am excited to see them on the trail and see how they work. one thing most of us jeep owners have in common is we dont like change. the yj came along most did not like the square head lights. the xj came along it wasnt a jeep. the tj came into the picture it had coil springs, jeeps dont have coil springs. then there was the kj, i laughed at them too. but there are guys out there wheeling them. i think that is most important part. it kills me to see some guy cruising the beach with a lifted jeep all shiney and pretty with no scares showing that it has never seen the dirt let alone 4wd. any real jeeper will certainly replace the week links with the hard core parts that will help their vehicle hold up to the abuse we put them through regardless of the "j's" model.

they brought the last tj to camp jeep in wisconsin a couple weeks ago.