Some proposed are killed on the idea stage, and a few go deep into growth earlier than in the end being scrapped. That’s what occurred at Jeep within the Nineteen Nineties when the model was growing an entry degree mannequin that will have introduced a primary, low cost off-roader to the plenty.
Discovered by the use of an outdated Allpar article (and a tweet on X.com. H/T to @Mike_M_Koltz) by former Jeep engineer Bob Sheaves, Jeep was apparently growing an entry degree mannequin as a direct response to the Suzuki Samurai. Internally, it was known as “JJ” which stood for “Junior Jeep”.
Jeep noticed the success that Suzuki was having with the Samurai and wished in. It designed a car with superior efficiency that might be offered around the globe for affordable. The plan, as Sheaves described, was to construct the Jeep utilizing off the shelf elements and a simplified manufacturing course of to maintain prices down.
The preliminary design work was achieved by a staff led by Jeep’s design chief on the time, Bob Nixon. The outcome was precisely what you’d count on a Samurai combating Jeep to appear like. The staff got here up with a two door convertible. Up entrance, there was Jeep’s signature seven-slot grille flanked by squared headlights and amber flip alerts that wouldn’t look misplaced on a JL Wrangler. Round again had been taillights that just about regarded as in the event that they had been the other way up set low into the rear bumper. And in a singular design transfer, the decrease fenders, entrance bumper and roll bar had been all linked. The outcome was a car with an 87-inch wheelbase that was 63-inches large and 131-inches lengthy.
Engineers had been tasked with making the JJ an actual Jeep, one thing that would make it over the Rubicon path. Engines and parts had been off the shelf to maintain prices low. Hemmings says initially, two Renault four-cylinder engines had been thought-about to energy the JJ. After Chrysler’s buy of AMC in 1987, Sheaves says the two.5-liter I4 and five-speed handbook from the Plymouth Horizon/Dodge Omni had been used. To additional maintain prices down and issues easy, Eaves says the engine was turned 90 levels so a single velocity switch case might be used.
Chrysler was to date into JJ growth that they even had an concept of what they wished it to value. Sheaves says the automaker wished the JJ to value “on the order of 1 quarter to at least one third lower than the Grand Cherokee.” This was going to be helped by its manufacturing course of as Sheaves described. “It was designed to be 13 separate modules, assembled by suppliers, and virtually snapped collectively on the meeting line — while not having electrical energy to snap items collectively.” The JJ was additionally going to have a simplified lineup consisting of only one physique fashion, one engine and one transmission.
Even with value saving measures just like the manufacturing course of and off the shelf elements, the JJ wasn’t meant to be and the undertaking was canceled. There have been a couple of causes, one among which was the JJ’s off-road efficiency. In line with Hemmings, quite a lot of engineers felt it wasn’t an precise Jeep as a result of it couldn’t deal with itself off-road throughout testing on the Rubicon path, one thing Sheaves spoke on.
“In the end, it was killed because it couldn’t make it over the Rubicon unassisted and wasn’t thought-about a real Jeep by the bulk. The JJ couldn’t traverse the Rubicon Path utterly with no towrope on one steep part. It lacked the tire static loaded radius to get throughout one specific technical problem. That was the one failure to finish the check. Evan Boberg and I disagree on this level, as I really feel it was a real Jeep, similar as the unique MBs had been. A inventory MB a buddy of mine had was unable to cross the Rubicon path with out help.”
Sheaves appears to state that he thinks a much bigger tire would have helped as an alternative of the 29-inch used on the JJ. He mentions that engineers tried going for a 31-inch tire, however they wouldn’t match “with out hitting and tearing up the entrance fenders and wheelhouse.” One other challenge was this system’s value. Because the JJ received additional alongside in growth, further physique types began being proposed, the primary of which was a four-door model. In line with Hemmings, this caught the eye of executives, who in the end killed its growth and redistributed its price range to different applications.
It prompted Chrysler Vice President Bob Lutz to consider that this system had grown too massive. This system additionally turned too costly for the restricted quantity of revenue it might generate, versus the extra worthwhile Grand Cherokee. So, Jeep received the brand new Grand Cherokee, Dodge acquired sharp new pickup vans, and JJ was dropped.
Sixty pre-production prototypes had been constructed. It’s not recognized what occurred to them. Whereas Sheaves says he believes that the JJ might have offered properly, we by no means received something near a correct Samurai fighter from Jeep. The band finally got here out with entry degree fashions years later with the Compass and Patriot, however early variations of these fashions had been even much less Jeep-like than the JJ.
