Jeep Wagoneer
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| Jeep Wagoneer (SJ)<tr><td colspan=2>Image:1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer.JPG</tr> | |
| Manufacturer: | Kaiser-Jeep American Motors Corporation Chrysler<tr><th>Production:<td>1963–1991</tr><tr><th>Successor:<td>Jeep Grand Cherokee</tr><tr><th>Class:<td>Full-size SUV Compact SUV</tr><tr><th>Body style:<td>2-door wagon 2-door panel 4-door wagon</tr><tr><th>Engine:<td>Kaiser 230 in³ Tornado OHC I6 AMC 327 in³ Vigilante V8 Buick 350 in³ Dauntless V8 AMC I6 AMC V8</tr><tr><th>Wheelbase:<td>108.7 in (2761 mm)</tr><tr><th>Length:<td>186.4 in (4735 mm)</tr><tr><th>Width:<td>74.8 in (1900 mm)</tr><tr><th>Height:<td>66.4 in (1687 mm)</tr><tr><th>Curb weight:<td>4514 lb (2048 kg)</tr><tr><th>Related:<td>Jeep Cherokee</tr><tr><th>Similar:<td>Ford Bronco Chevrolet Blazer Toyota Land Cruiser Land Rover Range Rover International Harvester Scout</tr> |
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The Jeep Wagoneer was an early SUV, produced under varying marques from 1963 to 1991. It was noteworthy for being in production for more than 28 years with only minor mechanical changes. An overhead cam engine, along with independent front suspension (both later discontinued), supplemented with features unheard of in any other 4WD vehicle (including automatic transmission), made it revolutionary at the time. A solid front axle was available as well. Compared with offerings from International Harvester and Land Rover - which were producing utilitarian work-oriented vehicles that were quite spartan and truck-like on the inside - the Wagoneer was the first true luxury 4x4. The Wagoneer is based on the Jeep SJ platform. It debuted seven years (24 years in the United States) before the Land Rover Range Rover.
Wagoneer was also the name of a more luxurious version of the Jeep Cherokee, introduced in 1984, based on the Jeep XJ platform, after which the original Wagoneer remained in production as the Grand Wagoneer.
Contents |
[edit] Beginnings
Conceived in the early 1960s while Jeep was owned by Kaiser Industries (better known as Kaiser Jeep), the vehicle remained in production through subsequent ownership by American Motors Corporation (AMC) and Chrysler Corporation (now part of DaimlerChrysler). The vehicle was designed by industrial designer Brooks Stevens. The cost of development was around $20 million. The name of the vehicle is sometimes confused with that of the Studebaker Wagonaire, which was a retractable-roof station wagon also designed by Stevens and introduced in the 1963 model year.
The original Wagoneer was a full-size, body-on-frame vehicle which shared its architecture with the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck. It was originally available in two- and four-door body styles, with the two-door also available as a panel truck with windowless sides behind the doors and double "barn doors" in the rear instead of the usual tailgate and roll-down rear window. The two-door models were discontinued in 1968.
Early Wagoneers were powered by Willys' new "Tornado" overhead-cam 230-cubic-inch six-cylinder engine. This engine was replaced in 1966 by American Motors' 232-cubic-inch OHV six.
A special Super Wagoneer appeared from 1966 to 1969 with 327-cubic-inch Rambler or 350-cubic-inch Buick V8 engines. The Super Wagoneer is considered the grandfather of today's luxury SUVs, equipped as it was with many power and convenience features not found on other vehicles of its type at the time. Its success paved the way for AMC's later introduction of the Wagoneer Limited in 1978. Below is a partial list of features:
- 250horsepower Vigilante 327 V8 engine
- Power steering and brakes
- Seven position tilt steering wheel
- Air conditioning
- Automatic transmission (General Motors TH400)
- Power tailgate window
- Tinted safety glass
- Push-button radio
[edit] The AMC Years
When AMC purchased Kaiser Jeep in 1970, the decision was made to refine and upgrade the Jeep lineup, and from 1971 on, only AMC engines would be offered in the Wagoneer. The 2-door version was reintroduced in 1974 as the Cherokee. These models employed American Motors Corporation engines with General Motors and, later, Chrysler transmissions.
In 1978, the fully-loaded Wagoneer Limited debuted to critical acclaim and high demand. Not even the 1966-69 Super Wagoneer had been so well equipped. The Limited, which debuted with a then eye-popping price of $10,500 (then considered Cadillac territory), offered buyers air conditioning, power-adjustable seats, power door locks and windows, tilt steering wheel, cruise control, leather upholstery, plush carpeting and -- most distinctively -- exterior woodgrain trim. The Limited was instantly popular with those who desired "a little more", and sales were strong from the beginning.
The early 1980s saw Jeep demand (except for the Wagoneer Limited) dimmed by rising fuel prices, so AMC engineers made the company's 258-cubic-inch six-cylinder standard, although the well-heeled continued to buy the bigger, more powerful AMC 360 V-8 almost exclusively, despite its greater thirst for fuel.
[edit] The Grand Wagoneer
The Wagoneer and Cherokee names were reapplied to the new, much-smaller unibody XJ platform in 1984. However, the SJ Wagoneer Limited was renamed Jeep Grand Wagoneer and marketed as a more luxurious SUV, though mechanically unchanged. Despite the vehicle's advancing age, the Grand Wagoneer remained popular. AMC executives, sensing the need to update the old ark, if only slightly, ordered up a redesign of the instrument panel, grille and taillamps in 1986, with the woodgrained sides coming in for a minor redo in 1987, the year that ownership of the company passed to Chrysler Corporation.
Chrysler, for its part, left well enough alone -- even continuing to build the Grand Wagoneer with the AMC V-8 instead of its own more-modern fuel-injected V-8s -- adding only a few new features (namely, an overhead console and rear-window wiper) in the last years of production.
The final SJ Grand Wagoneers were produced in the 1991 model year, though it appears that four individual vehicles were produced as 1992 models to fulfill existing orders. After 28 years of production, the reign of the Grand Wagoneer came to an end. Enthusiasts argue as to whether or not the Jeep Commander has taken its place.
[edit] The 1993 Grand Wagoneer
With the passing of the Grand Wagoneer, Chrysler executives pinned their hopes on the new 1993 ZJ Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was originally meant to replace both the smaller XJ Cherokee and the larger SJ Grand Wagoneer.
While preparing the new ZJ, Chrysler executives learned that both the XJ and SJ were still quite popular, but the cost of updating the SJ was too great, while the XJ seemed to be viable with minor updates. The XJ would continue (through 2001), but after killing the SJ, the company decided to add a surprising new model to the ZJ line after the start of the '93 model year.
In their effort to retain the true Grand Wagoneer faithful, Chrysler made what could be called, at best, a halfhearted attempt to introduce a Grand Wagoneer based on the new-for-'93 ZJ. With the Chrysler LA 318-cubic-inch V-8, special faux woodgrain trim, special plush leather seating, and extra sound deadening all standard, the "new" Grand Wagoneer unfortunately looked like what it was -- an overdecorated Grand Cherokee. This Grand Wagoneer was smaller, had less interior space, and lacked the imposing road presence of the original. The faithful were not fooled and the '93 did not sell as Chrysler executives had hoped. Thus, the end came once more for the Grand Wagoneer.
[edit] Trivia
- The Wagoneer was occasionally used in rallying, mainly in the United States. Wagoneers placed first and second in the first ever running of the Sno*Drift rally in 1973.
- The Grand Wagoneer was one of the last few vehicles sold in the United States that still offered a carburetor, well after most other vehicles had switched to fuel injection. Only Isuzu with its base-model pickup truck would hold out longer, selling its last carbureted vehicle in 1993.
- The Wagoneer and Gladiator were modeled by Tonka toys in the early 1960s.
- By the time production ended, the Grand Wagoneer contained parts from all of the Big Three automakers and those "adopted" by Chrysler from AMC:
- Chrysler transmissions (the A-727 TorqueFlite)
- GM steering columns, light switches, and transmissions (Turbo Hydramatic 400 during the 1970s)
- Ford carburetors and electronic engine controls
- AMC engine (the 360-cubic-inch V-8)
- Today's Grand Wagoneer aficionados, namely those with the money to afford the gasoline to drive them (at 11 to 15 miles per gallon, driving the GW gets expensive), are catered to by a number of companies that provide parts, service and accessories for their SUVs. In fact, one man, a retired Texas cattle rancher named Leon Miller, started a Grand Wagoneer dealership, Wagonmaster, to sell nearly pristine renewed low-mileage editions of the famed wagon. Miller's Grand Wagoneers range in price from the very high teens to, for exceptional examples, the mid-$30,000 range.
- The discontinued Grand Wagoneer was still used in movies througout the 1990s and even as props for models.
[edit] See also
Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Jeep Cherokee (SJ)
[edit] External links
- RUBICONTRAIL.NET
- Vintage Jeeps
- wagoneers.com
- Wagonmaster
- Jeep Dually Registry
- International Full Size Jeep Association
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