By Andrew Marsh, 10th February 2025
The USA is spell-bound by the Superbowl each year, and Super Bowl LIX was no different. Companies queue up to get advert slots during the game, and then spend another fortune making extended adverts. Take Jeep – a $32 million love letter to the Wrangler 4Xe, starring beautiful countryside, a stunning dog and Harrison Ford.
The reality?
In the new era USA, manufacturing has come back into focus. Nothing wrong with that.
The problem is manufacturing automobiles takes a vast investment, and the products have to comply with rules before any of the vehicles can be sold. Thousands, and thousands of pages of rules. Each rule causes additional complexity – in the case of the Wrangler 4xe, the addition of the hybrid drive system and particular the frame mounted Li-Ion battery with no upper shield has caused problems.
This points to rushed development, converting a design that was not engineered for plug-in hybrid drive to flatter tail pipe emissions and official fuel economy figures. Further, the vehicle has a body-on-chassis concept evolved over many decades, with a somewhat complex multi-part removable roof assembly.
For those who love the Wrangler, they know the short comings and are prepared to put up with regular use issues in exchange for the idea – and the occasional reality – of going off-road. These dedicated customers frequently cut their teeth on older body-on-chassis vehicles, know all about honing driving skills, selection of tyres / wheel rims and so on.
For the wider market the off-road aspect is aspirational. For those not inducted in Stellantis product reliability quirks, ownership may come as a shock.
As the USA prepares for global export, and things like Wrangler – not a small vehicle but smaller than North American average – need to find a path to better reliability, better build quality and lower prices. It’s a tough path, but not impossible. The USA has done this before, and could do it again – but the idea present products can migrate from niche sales to mass market in, for example, Europe, needs more work.
I look forward to the product catching up with the adverts.
