What happened to the Jeep wave?

[jayeljeep]

New member here,
Also a repeat wrangler owner after a hiatus of over 25 yrs. Had a 95 YJ. And I remember the camaraderie of the “jeep wave”. Fast forward to March 2025, I pick up a bone stock, light khaki, straight 6 with 97k on it. Im in heaven and Im waving at other wranglers like I’m Forrest Gump and nada. zilch. Just them shooting looks at me like I’m crazy. What happened while I was gone?

 

[lBasket]

JKUs/JLUs and the duck crowd happened

 

[ItchyDong]

I see waves all the time where I’m at. However, I have a rule: I only wave back to TJ’s or older.

 

[steelhd]

Drivers of Jeep's "trail rated" minivans. Tj, YJ, and CJ drivers still seem to recognize each other.

 

[inkedrose]

Have a non jeep owning buddy that I roll around with. He noticed Jeeps with winches always wave back

 

[cmk1970]

Here it is hit or miss, and I could do without the ducks.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Between the dash full of ducks obstructing their view and texting while driving, newer Jeep owners just can't see you. I don't wave at Jeeps with ducks anyways.

 

[CharlesHS]

For every 10 Jeep Waves I give; I may get back 2.
There are too many Jeep drivers that have their faces buried in their cell phone, don't know about the wave or don't care.
Too many new Jeep owners drive the Jeep as a status symbol.

 

[Rut Row]

I generally don't wave. Around me they are almost all posers ... Pavement Princess Mall Crawlers loaded with ducks.

If a TJ covered in mud and setup to crawl waves, I'll wave.

 

[JMT]

I’ve noticed a large reduction of Jeeps waving back and a proportionate number of Ducks lining the dash.

I just wave and don’t look anymore. Works good.

 

[joniki]

I lost my index finger to a table saw. I now have somewhat of a modified wave...

 

[RangerTJ]

The greater the number of ducks on the dash, the lower the odds of a wave.

Duckers will only wave to other duckers.

I will only initiate a wave to another TJ or YJ/CJ.

I will return the wave if it is initiated by a JK/JL/JT, though it is rare.

It's a different group of people driving Wranglers now.

Spoiler: Side Story Hidden So As To Not Clutter The Thread

A few years ago, my friend's wife got herself a JK Rubicon.

I asked her what she thought of the lockers, swaybar disconnects, and other Rubicon specific hardware.

Response: Blank stare.

I explained what made a Rubicon different from other Wranglers, and if she didn't need them why get a Rubicon.

Response: Because it's a Rubicon.

It turned out to be a POS so they got rid of it. Lots of little issues and a couple of big ones.

The TIPM failed in the driveway when she got home from work one day. The Jeep wouldn't shut off. They called me to come over after it had been idling in the driveway for 30 minutes and I unplugged the TIPM and it shut off.

They got a replacement estimate for the TIPM and the Jeep was traded very shortly after.

 

[Gilaguy23]

For every 10 Jeep Waves I give; I may get back 2.
There are too many Jeep drivers that have their faces buried in their cell phone, don't know about the wave or don't care.
Too many new Jeep owners drive the Jeep as a status symbol.

Status symbol? Maybe in a Bentley or Ferrari. You want waves, buy a HD and dress up like a village peep,throw it on a trailer and head to Sturgis.

 

[Chris]

JKUs/JLUs and the duck crowd happened

Bingo!

 

[L J]

Most of the Jeeps around these parts are JKUs/JLUs and are running with hardtop and dark tinting so I don't even bother looking.

 

[BlueC]

Around here, 90% of TJ and older will wave, and most newer 2-door drivers will wave, but the 4-door crowd is about a 50/50. It seems like the newer the Jeep, the less likely they are to wave.

 

[lBasket]

Around here, 90% of TJ and older will wave, and most newer 2-door drivers will wave, but the 4-door crowd is about a 50/50. It seems like the newer the Jeep, the less likely they are to wave.

It's like the opposite out here. All them soccer moms trying to wave at me like we have anything in common

 

[speeding_infraction]

If the jeep is as old or as muddy as mine, we usually exchange waves. The more ducks they have, the more only my middle finger goes up lol

 

[RangerTJ]

Now that some view Wranglers as status symbols more than than actual off road vehicles, we may be viewed as "Po Folk" in our old Jeeps.

Obviously, all of us are driving old Jeeps because we can't afford a new one

I haven't personally encountered this attitude in Wranglers but have with Gladiators.

I went to get some parts I bought off the marketplace and the guy selling had a Gladiator.

I arrived in my then about 1 year old Ranger.

He wanted to talk about how big his house was, how his wife was getting a new Jeep as soon as her current one was paid off, and then he made the comment that, "You know, my Gladiator payment is probably not that much higher than your Ranger payment is."

I responded that since mine didn't have a payment, his was probably quite a bit more.

 

[Zorba]

For every 10 Jeep Waves I give; I may get back 2.
There are too many Jeep drivers that have their faces buried in their cell phone, don't know about the wave or don't care.
Too many new Jeep owners drive the Jeep as a status symbol.

As we all know, its all about the PHOOOOOONNE - the "real" status symbol in their minds.