RANTS & RAVES: 2019 Jeep Wrangler Pickup Is NOT an F-150 Fighter
Jeep truck has zero chance of challenging F-150’s market dominance.
Undoubtedly, you’ve heard by now that there’s a new Jeep Wrangler pickup on the way in 2019. A lot of people are excited by this fact, apparently. After all, it gives fans of the brand a chance to add some utility to their off road toys. The Jeep Wrangler pickup is basically a nice little niche vehicle that will probably brings some buyers into showrooms.
What it is not, however, is a direct competitor or a threat to the Ford F-150. We think that goes without saying, but apparently some people don’t agree. And after reading this piece by NSEA Voice, that fact clearly needs to be addressed. Because they’ve derived from recent spy shots that the Wrangler truck “will be competing in the large pickup truck segment,” and say it will “will jump straight to challenging the Ford F-150 when released.”
As far as we know, no Wrangler pickup will be fitted with Baja mode or a 450 hp engine. It’s an easy assumption, because no regular Wrangler ever has had these features.
Other folks have speculated that the Wrangler pickup will takes sales away from mid-size trucks like the Chevy Colorado. But we’re even a little skeptical of that, because the Wrangler has always been, well, different. It’s a lifestyle vehicle, built for a specific customer and a specific purpose. The Wrangler has a tremendous cult following, but it’s just that – a cult.
The F-150, on the other hand, is none of those things. It’s America’s best-selling vehicle by a country mile, not just the best-selling truck. It’s a multi-talented vehicle built to do anything you need it to. Whether that be tackling off-road trails, hauling heavy trailers, or swaddling you in absolute comfort. No Wrangler, pickup or otherwise, is ever going to come anywhere near the F-150’s sales numbers. Ever.
You could compare the Raptor to the Wrangler pickup, but even that isn’t fair to the Jeep. Because as far as we know, no Wrangler pickup will be fitted with Baja mode or a 450 hp engine. It’s an easy assumption, because no regular Wrangler ever has had these enviable features.
The Wrangler has a tremendous cult following, but it’s just that – a cult.
Finally, consider the obvious: dimensions. We don’t know exactly how big the Wrangler pickup is going to be, but we doubt it will be much, if any bigger than the regular Wrangler. Sure, it looks a little longer in the spy pics, but it’s still not going to come close to the F-150 in any measurement. Maybe mid-size dimensions, or slightly larger. But this is no full-size truck.
So, we’re not really sure why anyone would ever think of comparing the two, or thinking that the Jeep Wrangler pickup will ever eat into the F-150’s market share in any sort of significant way. But it happened, and we can quickly put an end to those silly ideas.
