As the title says what happens to all of us JK owners. Are we going to have too much invested in our JK's to just move on to the next Gen, or will we ditch our rigs and start over? What will people that have $25K over the initial cost of the Jeep do?
Unless there's some kind of significant change or addition made like there was for the JK and the introduction of a 4-door, I think most people will simply keep what they have and keep on wheeling. Hell, even with the addition of 4-doors, most of the old TJ guys still turned up their noses to it and are still driving what they have. Cindy and I are Jeep fanatics and will definitely get a new Wrangler when it comes out if for no other reason than the fact that it'll be new but, we'll be keeping at least our big white Jeep for some time to come. We did this with our old TJ and CJ too.
Will the next gen combine with JK's?
For the most part, probably not, at least, that hasn't been the case in the past. However, Cindy and I hope to change that this time around and it is a very big part of why we sold JK-Forum and decided to focus our efforts in developing WAYALIFE.
For those who were around for the transition from TJ to JK what happened then? Was there as large of a community with TJ's? i remember seeing TJ's around but it was rare to see them all beefed up the way you see JK's.
For a vast majority of the TJ guys, they are still TJ guys and yes, there was a HUGE community of them. Out here in Southern California, you see built up ones all the time. We tried keeping our built up TJ for a few years but ended up loving our JK and specifically the 4-door so much that we finally decided to sell it and get a 2nd 4-door JK. We still love TJ's but with a family and a dog who loves to go camping, a 4-door JK just made so much more sense.
I just got a 2013 JKUR three weeks ago and will probably start Jeep'n it up next year, will the JK community still be as strong as it is right now when the next gen comes around?
I'm sure it will - I have no doubts about it. However, it is our hope that with WAYALIFE, we can create of community of "Jeepers" who enjoy the lifestyle more than just fans of a specific model of Jeep.
As for the next gen, aside from the power plan, what is there to improve on? For the most part everything that makes a Jeep a Jeep gets replaced with aftermarket parts.
Hard to say for sure but you have no idea the kind of smack that was being said about the TJ back when word got out that it was going to come with coils!! When the JK came out, the idea of it coming with 4-doors was blasphemous!! What I can tell you is that there are guys at Chrysler who are passionate about Jeeps and have worked hard to make things like skid plates come standard, offer 31" tires on the old TJ Rubicon and then 32" tires on the JK's, provide a 4:1 transfer case on Rubicons, lockers and even an electronic sway bar disconnects. Who knows what we can expect on a new Wrangler - maybe they'll start coming with optional coil overs. :yup: