What was it Annie crooned about tomorrow in that musical – ‘You’re always a day away?’
Well, if you are one of those diehards pining for Jeep’s new truck edition, the wait probably feels a little like that song lately. Especially after the company said it would extend Wrangler JK production well into 2018, before shutting down that line to begin truck preparation.
Then you have Jeep head Mike Manley on record last March saying they were planning to delay the truck release until later in 2019. This, in order to fully evaluate the new 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL rollout and make sure any problems are dealt with before moving on to the truck.
A few spy shots here, some component and product speculation there. And yet, nothing definite for the hopeful legions awaiting the vehicle’s launch.
Always a day away.
Until now. Because, you know, the sun will eventually come out tomorrow.
Jeep announced during a recent Fiat Chrysler dealers’ meeting that the JT truck, possibly named Scrambler, will rise in showrooms just over a year from now in April 2019.
That means a timeline probably similar to what the company employed when releasing the 2018 Wrangler JL. Production should begin sometime late this fall, with an official unveiling in either Los Angeles or Detroit, and then the move to showrooms. Judging by that same JL playbook, the truck order banks would then open sometime in January 2019 for those looking to personally build their vehicle.
As it stands now, the Wrangler JK production line is set to shutdown somewhere around April 9, after which FCA will begin retooling for the Jeep Truck. This retooling is expected to take about six months which would put November in play for a production start.
The new Jeep truck is the company's first foray into the pickup market in 25 years, and originally was targeted for a 2017 release when FCA announced the vehicle back in January 2016. That timeline was altered later in 2016 when the automaker signaled it now expected the truck in production by the end of 2018.
Based off spy shots, the vehicle will utilize the new Wrangler JL front end design and probably many of its components such as revamped grille, 3.6L Pentastar engine, 8-speed automatic transmission and ranked windshield. It is also expected to somehow employ the Ram 1500 frame in some respect. However, no vehicle specs have been officially confirmed by Jeep.
One thing that has, though, is the vehicle's price level. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne announced earlier this year that the company wants the truck 'intentionally' priced high as they believe it is a lifestyle vehicle.
“The reality is from a price standpoint, it’s completely out of that (low-to-mid) range,” Marchionne said. “The (truck) consumer is somebody who appreciates the attributes of a Wrangler and who has a need for additional storage equipment. It’s a unique vehicle.”
The automaker expects production to fall somewhere just short of 100,000 units a year, he added.
For all the latest information on the Jeep truck, check out our 2019 Jeep Scrambler page.
