Jeep Wagoneer (SJ)

The Jeep Wagoneer was an earlier SUV that was produced by changing the company owners from 1963 to 1991. He was known that he was built for 28 years without any major mechanical changes. His OHC engine and its independent front suspension (both later discontinued ), as well as various equipment details that had never been done before it in a four-wheel drive vehicle (such as power steering and automatic transmission ), made ​​it revolutionary at the time. There was also a reinforced front axle. Compared with offerings from International Harvester and Land Rover, which produced both small commercial vehicles with Spartan, truck -like features, the Wagoneer was the first luxury 4 × 4 The first Wagoneer was built on the SJ platform. He was introduced seven years before the Range Rover.

A Wagoneer was also available as a luxurious version of the 1984 Jeep Cherokee presented, which is on the XJ platform. As a result, the SJ Wagoneer was renamed the Grand Wagoneer.

The beginnings

The car was designed in the early 1960s, as Jeep still belonged to Kaiser- Jeep, and stayed with different companies owners in manufacturing, whether it AMC or Chrysler was now. The vehicle was designed by Brooks Stevens. Its development costs amounted to approximately U.S. $ 20 million Sometimes the name is confused with that of the Studebaker Wagonaire, a station wagon with sliding roof, which was introduced in 1963 and also designed by Brooks Stevens.

The original Wagoneer was a great car with a separate frame, which was designed according to the principle of the Jeep Gladiator. It gave him originally with two or four doors, the two-door model as vans without windows behind the front doors and a split rear door instead of the usual one-piece rear door with crank windows. In 1968, the two-door model have been set.

The first Wagoneer were powered by the new Willys- OHC six-cylinder tornado with 3769 cc capacity. 1966 this engine was replaced by the AMC OHC six-cylinder engine with 3801 cc. From 1964 to 1966 was also the one of AMC V8 with 5359 & nbspcm ³.

The Super Wagoneer

1966-1969 appeared a special Super Wagoneer with a special AMC engine with 5369 cm ³ and ³ later with a Buick engine with 5735 cm. The Super Wagoneer can be regarded as the grandfather of today's luxury SUVs, as he was with many performance and comfort details such as push-button radio, seven times to be set in the tilt steering column, interior lighting on the headlining, air conditioning, electrically operated rear door, brake booster, power steering and a user-friendly on the dashboard TH400 automatic transmission. In Iran, they built the model with the Jeep Company from 1967 to 1974 under the name Jeep Aho.

The AMC years

When AMC bought Kaiser- Jeep in 1970, it was decided to refine the model range of Jeep and improve, and as of 1971 there were only AMC engines for the Wagoneer. In 1974 there was again a two-door version as Jeep Cherokee. In these models, the AMC engines with automatic transmissions of General Motors and Chrysler were later combined.

1978, the best-equipped Wagoneer Limited was presented and attracted great buyer interest. Not even the Super Wagoneer 1966-1969 was so well equipped. The Limited, which was sold to the then astonishingly high price of U.S. $ 10,500, offered its buyers air conditioning, electrically adjustable seats, electrically operated windows and door locks, an adjustable steering column, cruise control, leather upholstery, plush carpets and - very exclusive - root wood ornaments outside. The Limited was among those who "something more" wanted immediately popular and it sold great from the start.

In Egypt, the Wagoneer from 1978 to 1982 was mounted in a newly created joint venture between the Arab American Vehicles, and there was also popular. A developed for the local market version there was the Jeep J20, which appeal was primarily tour operators, and often as a desert vehicle was used.

Beginning of the 1980s, demand for Jeep vehicles ( with the exception of the Wagoneer Limited) due to rising fuel prices back, and so was the six-cylinder 4228 cc standard equipment, although the better -heeled customers still almost exclusively the larger, more powerful V8 with 5899 cc ordered, although this consumed more gasoline.

The Grand Wagoneer

The Wagoneer and Cherokee names appeared in 1984 with the new, much smaller self-supporting XJ models again. The SJ Wagoneer but was called Grand Wagoneer and marketed as a luxury SUV, even though he was technically unchanged. Despite the high age of the Grand Wagoneer remained popular. The management of AMC thought, however, that but a refresher would be required if it were even slightly. For 1986, the dashboard, the front grille and the taillights have been revised and 1987, when Chrysler took over the business, we also corrected the sides of the vehicle with imitation wood root easily.

However, Chrysler took almost no modifications to the Grand Wagoneer and built it up even further with the old AMC V8 instead of its own, modern V8 with fuel injection. Chrysler has led in recent years in production, only some new equipment details below (such as a shelf in the car roof and a rear wiper ).

The last 1560 SJ Grand Wagoneer was manufactured in model year 1991; 1992 only four individual units were built because they were already ordered. Each of these vehicles was equipped with a "Final Edition " sign that was prominently mounted on the dashboard. After 30 years of production finally ended the era of the Grand Wagoneer.

Grand Wagoneer 1993

After the Grand Wagoneer was gone, the Chrysler management tied their hopes to the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was to replace both the smaller and the larger Cherokee Grand Wagoneer.

During the preparation phase, they had to recognize that both the Cherokee and the Grand Wagoneer were still very popular; but the cost of a major overhaul of the Grand Wagoneer would have been too high, whereas the Cherokee appeared viable with some minor improvements. The Cherokee was further built until 2001, but after you left the Grand Wagoneer die, the company introduced a surprising new model after the beginning of the model year prior to 1993.

Chrysler tried the real Grand Wagoneer to remain faithful and offered a Grand Wagoneer based on the new Grand Cherokee to. Saw With its 5.2-liter Chrysler V8, its sides of the vehicle with imitation wood, its special plush seats and special insulation as standard equipment of the "new" Grand Wagoneer exactly for that out of what he was: an overly stuffed Grand Cherokee. This Grand Wagoneer was smaller, had less space in the interior and lacked the imposing presence of the original. Still tended the wood imitations of these vehicles on Grand Cherokee - based exfoliation, and - unlike the older Wagoneers rare find a 1993's Wagoneer with intact wood decor. The fans were not fooled and the 1993 Grand Wagoneer remained in sales behind expectations of management. So the Grand Wagoneer died permanently.

Trivia

• The Wagoneer was occasionally used for rallies, mostly in the United States. Wagoneers placed first and second in the first Sno * Drift Rally 1973.
• The Grand Wagoneer was one of the last vehicles sold in the U.S. with carburetor engine, long after all the other vehicles had switched to fuel injection. Only Isuzu with its simple pickup model still selling 1993 carburetor version.
• As the production of the first Grand Wagoneer generation has been set, the model contained parts of all three major U.S. car companies and also those that Chrysler had taken over from AMC: Chrysler A727 automatic transmission
• GM steering columns, switch and automatic Turbo Hydramatic 400 ( during the 1970s )
• Ford carburetor and engine management
• AMC Motors ( the V8 with 5,899 cc displacement )