Jeep CEO remains 'big fan' of a Jeep pickup - The Detroit News
The idea of a Jeep pickup has tantalized fans of the off-road brand since the Comanche pickup was discontinued more than two decades ago. Jeep in recent years has played with the idea of a Jeep pickup through concept models. The most well-known are the Jeep J-12 produced for the annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari off-roading event in 2012, and the Jeep Gladiator based on the Jeep Wrangler platform that debuted at the 2005 Detroit auto show. "I remain a big fan of a Jeep pickup," Jeep CEO and President Mike Manley told The Detroit News earlier this year. But just because a Jeep pickup seems like a great idea on paper, Manley stresses it doesn't mean it will come to fruition anytime soon. A Jeep pickup is not part of Fiat Chrysler Automobile's plan through 2018, but now seems as good a time as ever to resurrect the idea for the next five-year plan: Jeep SUVs and Ram pickups are selling at record rates, and development of the... Jeep pickups date to the 1940s with Willys-Overland Motors, the original American auto company that designed and built the first World War II military Jeeps. only about 197,000 were sold from 1986-92. Creating a successful Jeep pickup is not as easy as throwing a Wrangler body onto a Ram pickup frame or re-badging a Ram 1500 as a Jeep. Source: www.detroitnews.com
