A few weeks back I described the Ram 1500 Revolution Concept as unwrapping a present I didn’t know I wanted but upon opening immediately loved. Less than a month later, Ram has given us the actual production Ram EV you’ll be able to buy, and it was like opening an expensively wrapped gift from someone who really knows you only to find nestled within layers of gossamer tissue paper a pair of socks. Fuck me. Just put it on the pile with life’s other disappointments over there.
It’s the same don’t-scare-the-horses approach Ford has taken with the F-150 Lightning, and I get it, I really do. When you’re playing 4D Monopoly with real billions you don’t just Send It and hope for the best. But this is not the first time Ma Mopar has pulled the ol’ switcheroo.
After teasing us for years that there was a new Grand Wagoneer coming, when it was finally revealed in 2021 the all-new WS Wagoneer was a huge missed opportunity. There’s none of the heritage or character that makes the OG SJ Wagoneer so fantastic. I’m sure it’s a fine vehicle, but from a design point of view they had a free field goal and blootered the ball so high and wide there’s a danger NORAD mistook it for a Chinese spy balloon and sent F-22s after it.
I bow before no one in my love for the original SJ Grand Wagoneer (forget the XJ and ZJ abominations; sorry David). Over 29 years in production, it evolved from something of an ugly duckling to become the quintessential old-money all-American luxury off-roader.
Updated as, and when, AMC had any spare cash lying around it was still selling well when Chrysler bought the company. And since all the tooling was long paid off it generated good profits of around six thousand dollars per car in 1987. Time and forthcoming FMVSS standards eventually killed it in 1991.
I briefly get to daydream when we’ve evacuated the Autopian bunker again for yet another poisonous gas leak. In those precious moments of freedom, my mind wanders to an alternate career where I’m a highly paid design consultant with a barn full of my favorite cars. I’d have a gothed-to-fuck SJ Wagoneer and it would look something like this: monochrome and moody in color but fundamentally unchanged underneath.
Why do I love them so much? Probably because it lived long enough to become a timeless icon, yet still retained a weird mix of the anachronistic and barely up-to-date. It’s warm and friendly and ever so slightly twee, like a Range Rover Classic.
I lost an hour this morning trying to find the commenter who suggested redesigning the Grand Wagoneer. Not for the first time I came up empty, so hopefully, it was one of our beautiful and talented Rich Corinthian Leather members, and not one of the hoi polloi (just kidding. You’re all hoi polloi.)
Let’s imagine then I screech my jet black Citroën SM to a halt outside the Auburn Hills design center, stub out a Gauloises with a Cuban heel black suede Chelsea boot and stride into the studio to check on the progress of the WS Wagoneer. Horrified at the generic-looking full-size clay model before me I order an immediate Sergio Marchionne-style (RIP) do-over. Here’s one possible direction.
One of the defining attributes of the SJ is its high glass-to-body ratio. Crash regulations (more specifically FMVSS 216a if you want to look it up, nerds) essentially stipulate the roof must be able to withstand three times the weight of the vehicle when it’s all gone horribly shiny side down. This is one of the reasons behind thick pillars.
One of my big problems with the new Wagoneer is its design emphasizes the thickness of its pillars by painting them, as opposed to trying to hide them with blacked-out trim pieces. So that’s the first thing I’ve done – joined up the Daylight Opening (DLO) to give a more cohesive look. The new Wagoneer has a very deep, slab-sided look to the bodyside, and this little bit of visual trickery creates a clear visual distinction between the sheet metal and the glazing, making the car look shallower and longer.
There’s a rumor that the old SJ got its famous wood paneling because the tooling for the bodyside was so worn out the panels were coming out rippled. That’s probably not true, but regardless of how or why it happened, the wood became one of the things the car was known for.
Sadly, Jeep didn’t resurrect this defining visual feature for the new car, although that hasn’t stopped the aftermarket from trying. Grand Wagoneer restorers Wagonmaster offers a kit, but it looks like shit. Why? Because the WS isn’t designed to have wood paneling so it looks exactly what it is – tacked on. Now, you could be ‘that person’ who points that the original wasn’t designed with it in mind either, but surfacing wasn’t as sophisticated back then so it wasn’t as incongruous.
I’m not about to make the same mistake. Remember our EV station wagon? That had a small wood trim piece that wrapped around the tailgate and under the rear side glass. With the Wagoneer, I’ve run wood down the length of the body side, but much shallower in profile compared to the original. The trick is to make it look like it’s meant to be there, which I’ve done by making it sit flush and introducing a subtle cut-out for the top of the wheel arch flares.
If wood is a bit too New England liberal arts academic for your taste, then this panel could be offered in a variety of different contrasting finishes. This is a six-figure SUV now, and customers at that level like personalization which is why the new L460 Range Rover keeps its ‘tuning fork’ trim at the leading edge of the door even though it’s no longer required to function as a vent.
Stellantis Chief Designer Ralph Gillies has said they tried the wood paneling on a mockup in the studio but dismissed it for being too retro, which is a bit fucking rich for a company trading on the heritage of something General Patton used to be driven around in. My solution being flush mounted would require a recess in the sheet metal which means you couldn’t have any trim—but if it works on a Range Rover it can work here.
The rear I struggled to get right, until I had the idea to recess the whole of the tailgate area and not just the glass like on the SJ. I’ve turned the rear wheel arch cut out from a negative surface on the original to a positive on my redesign, and then used those surfaces to provide the volume to keep the rear light clusters vertical, without cutting into the tailgate opening. One of the features I like about the Escalade is its full-height rear lights give a distinctive Down the Road Graphic (DRG) at night time, and here I’m trying for the same effect.
There’s a negative “step: in the lower tailgate for the license plate, and the wood wraps around the to provide visual continuity in the rear three-quarter view and break up the body color. The rear side marker lights sit below the trim similar to the indicator treatment at the front, and I’ve used Helvetica for the script because designers are incapable of choosing any other font (actually I thought this was a fun resemblance to old AMC graphic design, although I don’t think they actually used it).
Should Ralph have given me a job all those years ago when my old mate J Mays put us in touch? Or are you cruelly going to take my new Hot Wheels Grand Wagoneer out of its pack and stomp on it mercilessly until I beg you to stop? Let me know what kind of wood you’d like down in the comments.
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It’s bizarre to me that Chrysler, known for styling icons, could have had another style icon in the WS, but instead chose to make it look like a 2007 Tahoe. The Ram REV is another unusual misstep. I have no problem with it being so heavily based on the DT, hell I own one, but the parts that make it visually an EV are just so cartoonish. This is a company that knows damn well how to make an attractive vehicle, so it is truly baffling that they keep choosing not to.
Wow I like this model very much I will try to buy it by next month and I will also need winch for it which I liked in this website.
https://winchinsider.com/
Thank you for on-target redesign but thanks especially for blootered.
“when you’re sat in row Z and the ball hits your head….” (to the tune of “that’s amore”).
I would have the windshield a little more upright. It’s a little too raked for me and gives me the sedan on stilts vibes.
We’ll agree to disagree on the sidewalls, but the wheels need to be tucked inside the fenders to finish the retro inspiration.
Random thought:
What does a goth car designer think of chrome accents?
Personally, I’m surprised black nickel plating (or similar) hasn’t caught on in automotive design. Been popular in bizjets for decades and looks fantastic with all sorts of finishes and colours.
I get why the Wagoneer doesn’t have the wood paneling (although I thought the wood surrounds on the headlights for the prototype was a perfect touch I wish carried over), and why it’s not retro, but I also don’t expect people will be doing megabuck restorations on the new one in 30 years.
This is far better, although as a non-designer, I’m also quite fond of the WK2 Grand Cherokee (especially pre-facelift) as an honorary modern GW, especially since they’re about the same size.
I hate the oversize wheels and super low profile tires designers put in their sketches. And far too often on actual cars.
I know they think it looks cool, but all they are doing is distracting from, if not completely overwhelming, their actual designs. It’s exactly as bad as if they decided to put giant chrome sidepipes on every car they sketch.
To quote the movie, In And Out, “What a fabulous window treatment!” I don’t know why Jeep went for the Federal Building columns look.
My gosh, that’s such an improvement. The IRL new one is giving Hummer H2, not Grand Wagoneer, and that’s such a tragedy that it’s unreal.
There’s a joke in there about buyers’ remorse for a $100 grand hummer, but I’m not sufficiently motivated to elaborate that particulars.
Considering what a hideous monstrosity the new Wagoneer is and this statement “Stellantis Chief Designer Ralph Gillies has said they tried the wood paneling on a mockup in the studio but dismissed it for being too retro”. Yeah I would immediately fire that guy.
These days everyone wants retro. Plus its coming from the brand that prides itself on not materially changing the Wrangler for like ever. He must be a Stellantis french implant…
He’s a lifer I think.
On some level I do understand, and I mentioned it a bit in my eighties rant. Heritage can be a millstone around your neck if you’re not careful, and a lot of designers wilfully try to avoid it.
But Jeep (and Dodge and RAM) all lean extremely heavily on it (very successfully) so it feels obtuse not to leverage it on the new Wagoneer.
The worst part of the new Wagoneer, at least some of them because thank god it appears to optional, is that chrome window trim. Jesus H that’s some Pep Boys-level awful right there.
Yeah, it’s bad because it draws attention to the body colored pillars.
Yeah, that was always one of the best aspects of the SJ and why I still consider them one of the ultimate canvases.
Peel the wood off and it changes nothing. Paint the roof a different color and it changes nothing. Because when you look at the side of an SJ? It’s just this expanse of reflective surfaces. Nothing but glass and chrome. Because the B and C pillars were cleverly hidden. So cleverly hidden that people will insist they don’t exist.
To which I say: “oh yeah smart guy? Then what are the 3 point belts attached to, hmm?” That’s right – B pillars. And how does the roof not collapse the second you put anything on it? Exactly – C pillars.
But when you look at it from the side, you just don’t see them. It’s a brilliant bit of low-cost styling and engineering that works brilliantly. (Well, except in collisions, but that’s a separate matter.) It’s what makes the SJ feel incredibly ‘airy’ and ‘open’ inside.
And it’s by far and away the absolute worst part of the new Wagoneer and shows just how little the design team studied the history. If they were trying to pass crash and also honor the original? Square frames all around, and everything from the window sill to the rain gutter either chrome or preferably brushed metal or black. There’s no question the door frames could have been made thinner as well, and should have been. Those aren’t ‘frames’ or ‘surrounds,’ they’re bloody continents between the glass. And dear gods do they make it feel cramped, even before you compare an SJ. Like seriously. I am not claustrophobic or large, and that interior felt dark and confining.
Though I will also say, looking again, that’s the other thing that was off about your design – the floating roof. Part of what gave the SJ it’s legendary presence was the rear pillars. Those are what communicate a lot of the ‘muscularity’ for want of a better way to describe it. The idea that it wasn’t just a pretty face, but something that could do real work.
Point taken about the D pillar, I did debate keeping them but on the SJ Wagoneer they do actually break a car design rule: lines should converge not diverge to an imaginary floating point above the car (proof you can break rules if you know what you are doing).
Yeah. Bear in mind, I’m not saying it doesn’t look good – because it absolutely does. But to my eyes, it doesn’t look like a Grand Wagoneer. It looks like something entirely different. Like if Porsche designed a 3 row boxy SUV.
And today I learned 1) a rule about car design 2) how very good AMC was at breaking rules.
If you look at the XJ, any such imaginary point is about six miles above the car. And on the SJ, there’s two.
I’ve noticed that the alignment of it can be about on the level of a Pep-Boys aftermarket kit as well
I like the license plate 🙂
“LA DAVID” is Spanish for “The David”. 🙂
It works multiple levels. We’re not all surface snark around here, we try to give you more for your money.
Yep. You guys are a full-service organization 🙂
It’s also Louisiana David.
“I briefly get to daydream when we’ve evacuated the Autopian bunker again for yet another poisonous gas leak.”
Like clockwork at the end of every Taco Tuesday.
The Autopian canteen serves a thing gray gruel concocted from the contents of David’s fridge.
Depending on the color of the vehicle, I’d like to see the wood offerings match those of the classic Eames Chair. Palisander would look great.
I have to say, Adrian’s design is the best automotive ugly duckling to swan transformation I’ve ever seen. Chryslerantis really botched the design of the new Grand Wagoneer. They knew their mission was to make an American Range Rover and they already had the template of the original GW to start with. That formula should have easily produced a new classic and sales hit.
It was, and I’m not kidding, one of the biggest disappointments of my car design life.
I feel like I must be the only person alive that doesn’t hate the styling of the Wagoneer as is.
Is it great? No.
Is it fine? Yes.
Is it better looking than the Ford, Toyota, or Nissan offerings in the class? Also yes.
Would it be improved with wood grain? Resoundingly no. Leave that shit in the 70s.
Its a box. I don’t know how you can like the styling of it when its just a box.
I legit thought someone had put a body kit on a Tahoe the first time I saw one.
If it’s just a box, why do so many people hate it?
You’re right that it’s inoffensive, and I’m not out here calling it a masterpiece of design, but sometimes the vitriol is just inexplicable. The nameplate hasn’t been culturally relevant in almost 40 years. It’s such a weird thing to be hung up on. No one is mad that the Maverick truck doesn’t take styling cues from the 70s compact sedan.
I think it’s b/c the original was so well-known for so long, and in large part b/c the package was so almost anti-establishment, even back in the day.
For what became its target demographic, it was the truck version of a Volvo 240 in a lot of ways.
The new Wagoneer reminds me mostly of the Navigator, created in the late 90s mostly b/c Ford recognized early that many Americans would go crazy for the combination of luxury and giant truck. Not really any notable history there.
I really don’t see what the difference is between the original GW and the Navigator, maybe that’s why I struggle to understand the betrayal some seem to feel over the new one.
They’re both highly profitable attempts to put a luxury veneer over a utilitarian base. Somehow, if you first came up with the concept in the 70s (GW, RR) you’re considered classy, but if you did so in the 90s (Navigator, Escalade) you’re considered tacky.
I think that’s it – the original Wagoneer basically started the segment, and was a bit of a hybrid as it kept a lot of “truck” stuff from the vinyl bench seats and indifferent interior styling. And also, it was the only version of itself.
The Navigator on the other hand was simply the most optioned up Expedition possible. It seemed badge engineered from the beginning.
So maybe the anger is about something being a copy of something vs being a copy of a copy?
As far as luxury veneer on utilitarian frame goes, the new Wagoneer is too much Escalade and not enough Yukon Denali.
The Grand Wagoneer has one of the ugliest styling features ever, and it’s the chrome trim around all the windows. The chrome looks so awkward and out of place because of the styling of the large body panel pillars. On the base wagoneer the trim is black, and it looks totally acceptable.
I hate it because it is so godawful huge. And because its just a box.
But also, yes that last one is me. More than a little salty that Ford didn’t name the Maverick truck the Courier, and bring back a little hybrid sedan named the Maverick.
My cat really likes the box-like design, but then he likes anything box-related. Me, not so much. Especially that chrome window trim. It makes me mad every time I see it.
The only part of the current one I really don’t like is the rear. They botched it badly. That said, it’s just another hugely oversized tank that is too big for it’s own good. (looking at you, GM)
That said, the interior makes up for everything. What do I care about how the outside looks… if I’m driving, I can’t see it!
I also think the new Waggy looks fine. Every now and then, I contemplate buying a used Suburban as a runabout. Perhaps in 10 years, I’ll be contemplating an old Wagoneer as a runabout.
Personally, it looks awful, largely because the design emphasizes flaws. Thick pillars running into chrome make the pillars look huge, but also makes it look like the pillars weren’t intentional. Thin headlights and grille make the thing bulky and tall. Lines around the rear quarter emphasize how upright the thing is but doesn’t embrace it, making it look like they didn’t actually mean for it to have a near vertical rear end and it was a last-minute change. Largely unadorned side surfaces call attention to how fussy the daylight opening, lighting and grille are.
This is the whole problem. It’s fine. It’s not offensive, sort of blandly handsome. They could have and should have done much better for such an iconic nameplate. Instead we got blando Jeep Generokee XL.
Its a six figure car, right? So we gotta go fancy
Mahogany is the base level.
We’re gonna have Ebony
We’re gonna have Pao Rosa
We’re gonna have Lignum Vitae
We’re gonna have Brazilwood
We’re gonna have Rosewood
We’re gonna have f’in Zitan, mother-torquers.
Every one of those gorgeous and opulent woods and more are going to be slapped on the side of this mother f’in mobile slab so that any other soccer mom you pass is gonna know that you got f’in taste coming out your god damned ass
Not related directly to the article but every time I see one driving around, is so hard to acknowledge which specific model I am looking at, the Wagoneer or the Grand Wagoneer, just a giant block of metal driving down the road. I wonder how many are they selling compared to GM products
It’s very generic, and yes there’s not much visual separation between the two. There’s plenty of headroom to push the Grand Wagoneer upwards Range Rover territory, and it would make a real statement.
Adrian, one critique.
MORE WOOD! MORE! MOOOOOOORE!
Also, the tooling most certainly was not even remotely worn out. The wood paneling came and went; if it had been, it would’ve been obvious.
The first occurrences of wood on the SJ were also contemporary to ‘woody’ station wagons like the Ford LTD Country Squire, the Chevrolet Caprice and Malibu wagon, and the Pontiac Grand Safari. So the original wood application (yours is in line with ’73-’79) was meant to make it look more ‘station wagon’ than ‘ugly farm utility truck.’
Because we don’t have a new commenting system yet, here is exactly what I mean by it being “73-79” style. See, the Wagoneers weren’t always ‘CHUNKY PLASTIC WOODGRAIN.’ It actually started as a thin strip framed by chrome highlighting a body line.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Mondial_de_l%27Automobile_2012%2C_Paris_-_France_%288676523654%29.jpg
Yeah, it started off more subtle and then as they moved the Wagoneer upmarket they went full wood.
And before that, the mid-sixties Super Wagoneer, arguably the first luxury SUV, had a metallic strip surrounded by trim, a more dramatic version of this great design.
Had exactly the same response to the new Wagoneer, especially the painted panels. It’s undefined, a soap Grand Cherokee left in the shower. Mind you I have similar problems with that weird square panel on the new Defenders.
In terms of wood, I think with some special exceptions, all the DiNoc should replicate American woods – so cherry, walnut. maple, oak.
And let’s bring back some avocado greens and browns for Pete’s sake, but in the dull-yet bright solid colors the kids seem to like these days.
And special editions, of course. One I’d really like is a Mariner (Mercury ain’t using it any more) Edition, with the same Barbados Blue paint and bleached teakwood paneling as the 1968 AMC Rebel Cross Country regional special. Hey, even a new Super Wagoneer.
I’d have tuned it similar to your monochrome variant, but I paint the bodywork gun metal with a semi-gloss finish and used burned Japanese Yakisugi wood on the sides. Maybe add a slight sprinkle of red that picks up the color from the rear lights?
Yeah, that’s the beauty of it. You can have whatever you like, if you’re willing to pay, and high end customers LOVE that sort of thing.
Too angular IMHO. One of the defining features of the original SJ to me is that almost everything is subtly curved. It’s a Jeep with the hard edges knocked off. This looks more like a Delorean SUV (which I’m not opposed to, FTR) than a Grand Wagoneer to me.
Fair, but it’s not always possible to capture subtleties in small renders like this. In the studio this would be A3 size on a board.
I’m totally ready to believe the lack of any wood paneling on the IRL model is why it’s not a smash hit. All it would take is a tasteful, minimalist hint like Adrian’s done here.
As currently offered, the GW and Wagoneer appear mostly as the Jeep version of an Escalade or Navigator, rather than as something with actual heritage. And given the price, their target audience absolutely fondly remembers the paneling on the originals. Seems like Chrysler just leaving money on the table.
(I did recently point out to my father that the big Jeeps – he just got a Grand Cherokee -still do have sorta gaudy fake wood paneling, it’s just all on the inside now. As an OG owner back when, he was still rightly disappointed)
The lack of wood definitely doesn’t help sell more. But the whole design is incongruous and lacks and charm. It’s just not attractive. The OG design was old looking, but in a classic way from the start. It evolved every so slightly. This new one has none of that. It is just big, has lines that don’t flow well, and says “LOOK AT ME IN MY $100k JEEEEEEP”.
Yeah, for my dad esp, the pricetag was a real turnoff – it seemed to him like an insane amount of money for a Jeep, compared to the much more reasonably priced OG versions he bought back when.
Hell, IIRC, his first one had vinyl seats!
I just saw one today. It looks exactly like every big American SUV made in the last 15 years. Why would you buy one?
Well done, old stick. Of course, the wood can be any variety you like, as long as it’s Wenge’.
You’ve done yoman’s work here. Really the dog’s ballocks.
They should hire you, if only for this design alone. I smeggin’ love it!
You know what sounds rugged for the GW? Cutting down redwoods for the GW Redwood edition… a big vehicle needs big wood. Despite the fact that Sequoioideae are endangered, it’s AMERICAN AF! Nothing says you’re a rugged cowboy quite like getting behind the wheel of a giant gas-sucking road monster that will crawl over any rock, with you and your 17 best buds, while sitting on the finest eel-skin seats that a redneck millionaire can afford with only the highest of fidelity audio systems for blasting out Garth Brooks (and the occasional Drake track, armirite?) and saying FU to all of the plebian prii (not priuses, because that doesn’t sound right) trying to get in your way on the 20-lane freeways of dallas! And there’s still that real redwood riding slabside and on the dash to remind you how awesome you are.
Much as I hate to get in the way of your rant, “prii” also doesn’t sound right. Leaving aside the questions of various shifts in Latin orthography, the plural of prius is priora.
Years ago, when the Prius C and Prius V were on sale, Toyota ran a survey on what the plural of Prius should be. “Prii” was the winner. https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-announces-the-plural-of-prius/
Oh, I know, but millennia ago the Romans decided that the plural is priora. I didn’t take all those years of Latin in college just to put up with a car company trying to change the rules via a customer survey; one unquestioned advantage of learning a dead language is that it’s dead.
It’s been a verrry long time, but IIRC, doesn’t the plural form end in “a” when the singular form is neutral/ends in “um”?
That is often the case, so to speak, but not always. Exceptions abound.
Bene optime!
PS Romanes eunt domus
Following what I know of the mess around the plural of octopus (octopi, octopuses, and octopodes are all acceptable, since we have a language that just takes whatever it wants), let’s go with Priodes. (Priuses, Priora, Prii, and those little Toyota hybrids are all also acceptable plurals.)
If I were inclined to compromise on this point, which I am not, I suppose I’d be okay with Prioraiiusesodes appearing in all official Toyota documentation.
But that would be a great compromise! Although I recognize my point is clearly gibberish, since there is no reason to include the Greek plural form for a Japanese car with a Latin name sold in the US. I just really enjoy chaos, and your compromise is the most chaotic option.
I just went through the grief of finding your comment on my second phone so I could like it twice.
I used to say the plural of “Prius” is “Ennui”, but the ’23 models are so much better than anything before them. Maybe “Prii” will work for them.
It’s Priusen. As in…
“I saw a flock of Priusen. There were many of them, many much Priusen. Out in the woods, in the woodsen, in the woodinisit. The Prius want the food, the food is to eatenisit.”
Glad to see that my original comment debased itself into my inability to properly construct a plural form. Maybe we can have a side convo in relation to the etymology of decidedly non-latin words such as “Wagoneer” and “Autopian”. Cheers mates!
I would say shorten the rear overhang a little, give it a full box(no Separate Bed), move that third row back or add another set of slider second rows and call it the Grand CherokeE.
So, an OG Ford Flex with wood grain?
The more I see Flexes the more I think they are modern classics. Kia thinks so too, since they styled the Telluride in homage to the Flex.
IMO Ford missed a gigantic opportunity by not entering the Flex in the NYC taxicab competition…would have been perfect.
My ideal car is whatever is halfway between the Flex and the Scion Xb.
I’ve had a few Volvo wagons and now a Yaris, so you’d think a second-gen xB would be perfect for me, but no – they’re just not my kind of ugly, and Toyotas from the mid-’00s just feel better than those from five or so years later.
(A first-generation Matrix/Vibe I’d do – I nearly did, until the Yaris came up instead.)
I’d love a Flex, but I don’t need quite that much space.
First-gen xB would be fine, of course, though my Yaris is slow enough and I appreciate the frugality and extra passing power allowed by the same powertrain in a slipperier egg shape.
This would be an edit if, well, y’know.
Its Lincoln MKT counterpart did get put into livery use, so maybe not that far off to make it. But it would have likely needed a different powertrain as a cab, probably hybrid. By the time the Flex rolled out Escape Hybrids had been used as cabs for a few years.
Generally given choices of wood, I always choose walnut or olive wood. I don’t know if that scales up to the use case of body panels, but I think I like the idea of olive wood, as it seems less visually heavy.