What are your thoughts on the 2021 Rubicon 392?

[reservoir dog]

If you want to talk about overpriced and high payments go shopping for new boats. I am amazed how many new 150k boats are on the lake every weekend here. They will finance them for 20 yrs now. I cant fathom a 700 dollar payment for 20 yrs , no pun intended. That's close to my house payment.

 

[Fouledplugs]

If you want to talk about overpriced and high payments go shopping for new boats. I am amazed how many new 150k boats are on the lake every weekend here. They will finance them for 20 yrs now. I cant fathom a 700 dollar payment for 20 yrs , no pun intended. That's close to my house payment.

To be fair, no one should finance a boat for that many years. People need to be more responsible with what they purchase. That’s the problem, people are dumb when it comes to finances.

The boat prices are not the problem, people are. Wealthy have the money to spend, and the middle class fall victim to keeping up with the Jones’s.

 

[Starrs]

To be fair, no one should finance a boat for that many years. People need to be more responsible with what they purchase. That’s the problem, people are dumb when it comes to finances.

The boat prices are not the problem, people are. Wealthy have the money to spend, and the middle class fall victim to keeping up with the Jones’s.

Exactly right

 

[cliffish]

Exactly right

You and I have had the payment conversation many times on the forum...I hate payments of every kind. I almost never buy new cars, wait the first year then buy. My wife's Benz was 11 months old, had a $53K msrp and I paid $34K out the door on a 3 year note. I have a neighbor that has $1600/mo lease payments on his 5 series and wife's SUV? All my payments for 7 of my cars don't equal that...granted most are paid off.

 

[jeepguy03]

I know why they did it but it's not practical and it won't be a mainstream power plant.... It will be a specialty.

This.

I fail to see how the 392 V8 trim does anything to pull competition away from the Bronco, even though so many are claiming that's why they did it. It's two totally different buyers. The 392 Wrangler is the Dodge Demon of Wranglers, just like the Trackhawk of Grand Cherokees. It will be a low production specialty vehicle with an enormous price tag. I certainly think it's cool they did it, but I doubt it will be obtainable. Dealer markup will also be a huge issue I bet.

The V8 thing has to do more with CAFE in my opinion than any crash ratings. Even getting a V8 in a new Grand Cherokee seems to be difficult. My father bought his 2013 WK2 Trailhawk brand new, and it was like pulling teeth to find one on a dealer lot with the V8. Meanwhile when he bought his 1999 WJ Limited, almost every Limited had the 4.7L.

 

[Starrs]

You and I have had the payment conversation many times on the forum...I hate payments of every kind. I almost never buy new cars, wait the first year then buy. My wife's Benz was 11 months old, had a $53K msrp and I paid $34K out the door on a 3 year note. I have a neighbor that has $1600/mo lease payments on his 5 series and wife's SUV? All my payments for 7 of my cars don't equal that...granted most are paid off.

1600 each? Are they brain dead?

 

[jeepguy03]

If you want to talk about overpriced and high payments go shopping for new boats. I am amazed how many new 150k boats are on the lake every weekend here. They will finance them for 20 yrs now. I cant fathom a 700 dollar payment for 20 yrs , no pun intended. That's close to my house payment.

Boats are big holes in the water you throw money into.

 

[AndyG]

This.

I fail to see how the 392 V8 trim does anything to pull competition away from the Bronco, even though so many are claiming that's why they did it. It's two totally different buyers. The 392 Wrangler is the Dodge Demon of Wranglers, just like the Trackhawk of Grand Cherokees. It will be a low production specialty vehicle with an enormous price tag. I certainly think it's cool they did it, but I doubt it will be obtainable. Dealer markup will also be a huge issue I bet.

The V8 thing has to do more with CAFE in my opinion than any crash ratings. Even getting a V8 in a new Grand Cherokee seems to be difficult. My father bought his 2013 WK2 Trailhawk brand new, and it was like pulling teeth to find one on a dealer lot with the V8. Meanwhile when he bought his 1999 WJ Limited, almost every Limited had the 4.7L.

Well said. It was the best thing they had available.. and has all the Wow factor you could want...is it the right answer. No. Not to jeeps current engine being too small and it's not the right answer to the Bronco. It's like bringing a gun to knife fight. It has garnered attention...but the answer is not a SuperWrangler.

 

[jeepguy03]

Well said. It was the best thing they had available.. and has all the Wow factor you could want...is it the right answer. No. Not to jeeps current engine being too small and it's not the right answer to the Bronco. It's like bringing a gun to knife fight. It has garnered attention...but the answer is not a SuperWrangler.

If they wanted to actually impact competition, they would've added a 5.7L option on all trim levels for both the JL and JT. The Ecodiesel option is a joke, and now the most expensive version of the Gladiator. They wont sell many of those, and the engine's bad track record in the Ram/WK2 won't help. A 392 Gladiator would again be a specialty vehicle.

 

[AndyG]

If they wanted to actually impact competition, they would've added a 5.7L option on all trim levels for both the JL and JT. The Ecodiesel option is a joke, and now the most expensive version of the Gladiator. They wont sell many of those, and the engine's bad track record in the Ram/WK2 won't help. A 392 Gladiator would again be a specialty vehicle.

All day long. It's a super cool deal...it's a rocket. In a large sense, now is a time for FCA to go back to the drawing board. The Bronco is the first competition it's had...head on . while I don't think the Bronco poses the threat to the Wrangler that Ford would like to think it does, FCA has been able to have a great run with a less than stellar engine because it was in one of the funnest chassis ever created..a four wheel drive Jeep... People don't buy those for the 3.6 engine... they buy them because they can have the fun of a Jeep and the room of an SUV ...but the days of being able to dominate the market with a less than stellar engine may be coming to an end... At the same time it won't take a lot for Jeep to stay ahead... Most of what they need going for them they already have.

As far as engines being desirable..people actually seek out the 4.0.

 

[Fouledplugs]

I think it’s more important to understand why everyone thinks the factory 3.6 is not enough.

Breaking it down, sales are the leading factor behind how the Wrangler was/is engineered.

How many people buy Jeep Wranglers and drive them as is up and down the regular roads daily? Likely more than 90%.

So it should come at no surprise that the 3.6 meets the needs of said 90%.


The Jeep owners who are complaining about a lack in power are the same ones who lift their Jeep and start adding much bigger tires, bigger axles, and heavier armor. Doing so, inherently robs power by adding overall weight, compromising aero, and adding more rotational mass between the transmission and wheels. But how many Jeep Wrangler sales make up this demographic? I won’t pretend to know the exact number, but Im not wrong to speculate that it’s not many and it’s not even close to the majority of buyers/owners.

What’s even more interesting is the fact that a lot of JL/JLU owners will add 35’s and 37’s and neglect the axle gearing. Then they go on to complain about the drivability. Claiming the 8 speed causes for no need in gearing change. I disagree with this train of thought. The Jeep engineers do as well.

Yet some JL/JL owners seem to understand that if upgrading the tires and they also need to address the added stress to the axles and will upgrade the shafts or even the housings. Yet no one wants to upgrade the engine to restore the loss in power...they want the factory to do that for them....

 

[AndyG]

Yet no one wants to upgrade the engine to restore the loss in power...they want the factory to do that for them....

They've made it so hard to on modern engines...

 

[cliffish]

1600 each? Are they brain dead?

No both but the SUV is only a Nissan...He makes 400K/year and thinks nothing of spending a grand a week drinking in the bars.

 

[L J]

If you want to tear a post apart you're welcome to...

It's called making a conversation easier to follow.

A 392 is too much engine for a four-door...

Apparently, it's not because it is available early 2021.

I know why they did it but it's not practical and it won't be a mainstream power plant.... It will be a specialty.

Is the Hellcat practical or mainstream?

And yes they lied

Unless you have insider engineering information, you just can't legitimately make that statement just yet.

And obviously there were no radical changes to the design....

Who said the changes have to be "radical"?

I'm not criticizing that they did it .. I'm glad...

One could hardly tell by your ranting.

they should have done something better than a v6 a long time ago.

agreed

 

[AndyG]

It's called making a conversation easier to follow.

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Apparently, it's not because it is available early 2021.



Is the Hellcat practical or mainstream?



Unless you have insider engineering information, you just can't legitimately make that statement just yet.



Who said the changes have to be "radical"?



One could hardly tell by your ranting.



agreed

Please see the thread title "what are your thoughts.....". Those are are mine. This is a forum ..it's what we do here. Post stuff.

I'll ad this, I'm generally right about industry trends and have a pretty well tuned bull detector.

The 392 is FCA's only fast way to respond to Ford's Bronco, and they likely hope it is a trump card. It isn't.

They sat on their laurels with the last 13 years success and only continued to refine the platform, with the only significant improvement in capability being the 8 speed automatic...which is really designed to better utilize the 3.6 's peaky power....but I think it makes it better off road as well. Owners say that it does. They had played with big engines and had it developed far enough to make 2021 production, all the while making public, published statements that it couldn't be safely done.

Meanwhile, Ford develops the Bronco and offers an amazingly broad variety of options and models...so here we are.

Just as I was dead right about the Gladiator not being the next Tacoma, I'm likely right that the 392 Wrangler is more likely destined to be a unique, specialty model and not the dominant engine for future models. It's more of a sign of awakening by FCA, and solid proof they can get larger engines in the Wrangler.

Basically, the mighty 4 door Wrangler has gone as far as it can in its current packaging...and the thinking that got it that far likely can't take it any further. It has to change, and we are witnessing the beginning of that change. The 392 very well may be spark that starts that, or the sign, that that is happening . It is exciting. I'd like to have one.


On threads like this, going to post things I believe.

It was a crock that it couldn't be done. It sure enough got done when they wanted to. The impossible usually just takes working a little harder.

 

[Bbrayden85]

Just yesterday I saw with my family the announcement of the new Rubi 392, and it absolutely blew us away. A V8!? In a Jeep?!?! Stock?!?!? Wanted to know what the other people on this forum's opinions were on it because if we had more money, we would snap that thing right up lol
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I love it! Great competitor to the bronco. Love jeeps marketing strategy on that. Straight out of dodge’s playbook. Only change is that garbage top that you cant take off and is basically an electric tonneau cover

 

[Artsifrtsi]

The 392 is FCA's only fast way to respond to Ford's Bronco, and they likely hope it is a trump card. It isn't.

I do disagree with this. They could have just put in the 5.7, but they'd still need to charge a premium that most looking for a V8 would not pay for only a mild bump in power. They had to go to the SRT engine to sell it.

 

[AndyG]

I do disagree with this. They could have just put in the 5.7, but they'd still need to charge a premium that most looking for a V8 would not pay for only a mild bump in power. They had to go to the SRT engine to sell it.

Well let me modify it to "a currently produced engine was the only way"

Again... I think they felt compelled to offer something... In response to the hoopla about the Bronco.

I think in a larger sense the Bronco just isn't going to ever be a Jeep.... And FCA is basically just beginning to see the need to make the Wrangler more powerful. I realize it's not the majority of the buyers that need the bigger engine ...but the ones that need it speak pretty loud.

 

[Oman Jeep]

My thoughts - personally can't wait for it.

Hope that they also offer it in the JT Gladiator, or the absolute best case scenario would be they also green light the J6 2-door Gladiator concept and package that with the 392.

Full size truck power on a relatively compact solid front axle platform would be incredible in the sand dunes.

 

[Fouledplugs]

the absolute best case scenario would be they also green light the J6 2-door Gladiator concept

I’d buy one today just to daily. Love the J6.