Episode 574 – Which Axle To Lock First

This Week In Jeep

Jeep’s New EV Looks Like WHAT?

So two things happened recently, but most of the news about it is coming from across the pond, save for a few outlying rebels or automotive powerhouses like ourselves. The first is more details surrounding the tease I told you about with Jeep’s roadmap announcement in Episode 572. If you remember, it confirmed that Jeep will be releasing a fully electric vehicle (or “EV”) sometime in the 2022 to 2023 timeline. In Amsterdam today, Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company, announced in a press release that the debut of said EV SUV would be in early 2023. Stellantis DID however give us a glimpse at least of what this completely new Jeep may look like. I’ll do my best to paint you the most accurate mental image I can by expertly describing the very esthetic this new Jeep has. Imagine if you will, the robot from the Transformers movies, “Bumble-Bee”… ok… got it? Now imagine “Bumble-Bee” having a nasty, hardcore, drunken threesome with a Compass and a Renegade and the awkward teenage love-child that was produced is exactly what this thing looks like. Down to the squinty eyes and zero articulation. 

And yes it’s yellow. And yes it very much looks more like a car than a Jeep. This little abomination will be just one of 25 EVs Stellantis plans to launch in the United States by 2030, and I thought the Italians ruined Jeep’s design standards with their influence during the FCA years, and now the French are at the helm and oh god what have we done?!?!?! Well, that makes it official. If you thought we might have dodged the bullet and were going to see this thing released into the UK market only, think again. It’s coming to a dealer near you. What we don’t know at this point eclipses what we do know about this new all-electric….” Jeep” (air quotes). So far what name badge Stellantis will dredge out of Jeep’s past to regurgitate onto this even cuter-ute god only knows. And as far as how anemic or peppy it will be, or even what kind of range it’s supposed to have, (let alone drivetrain options) are all up in the air. And speaking of air, here’s the second even juicier part of this “twofer” for you to start things off with. Stellantis is also planning to delve further into hydrogen-powered vehicles. Last year, Jeep’s parent company introduced a hydrogen-powered mid-size van in Europe based on existing Peugeot and Opel models. By 2024 Stellantis will have hydrogen power cell propulsion capabilities for full-size vehicles, and it will be here, this hydro tech, in the U.S. in one form or another sometime in or by 2025. Right now the rumors are that it will be limited exclusively to full-size trucks or vans, hinting at a possible fleet type contract for both the service-of and refueling of said fleet vehicles. This unto itself seems to fall in line with the “let’s make money off our customers by as many channels as possible” rule that Stellantis has been playing by recently. Nonetheless, this could very well open the door for hydrogen-powered Jeeps one day, and I bet you we’ll see concepts of THAT within 10 years’ time. 

Newbie Nuggets with Wendy

Glossary of Terms

I love being a newbie, but as time passes and I get more time behind the wheel or spotting vehicles, I find I’m not so new after all. But sometimes there are JTS episodes where Josh and Tony talk about something that I have to go and check out “what the heck they are referring to”. It’s usually something technical about the engine, or gears, or brakes, that maybe I haven’t had to learn yet. Instead of going to the internet and trying to figure out what they’re talking about, I simply go to the Jeep talk show website (www.jeeptalkshow.com) and click on the Glossary tab and what do you know, there is a very long list of terms right at my fingertips. I can get the info I need quickly. Josh and Tony have spent lots of time and research to create this glossary.

I love how you can “hover” over a term and you get a brief description, but if I need or want more info, I simply “click” on the term and it opens up to lots of detailed info. There are also links within the descriptions to help you fully understand the terms. Have you checked it out lately? There is some really good info on the site. AND the best part is that no one has to know that you didn’t know a term – that’s your secret. The site is private and JTS will not track your clicks and spam you on your interests – as other sites do LOL. Think about the next time you are among fellow jeepers and how they start talking jeeps and technical shit, well now you can join in. Seriously, just check it out when you need to know what something means, it’s a great resource for all of us newbies and old-timers too.

Do you know how many terms we actually have on the site? We are giving away a JTS sticker to the 7th caller who can tell us how many terms are in our glossary. Yep, we know how many we have. And while you’re in there… tell us what your favorite term is – just cause we’re curious.  

Now I selected a few terms just to tease you a little bit. I have heard of these terms before but not related to Jeeping:

Backspacing – The distance between a wheel’s outer inboard edge and its mounting flange. I bet you thought it had to do with typing….

Beefed up – lots of things come to mind on this one but in Jeeping it means A 4×4 that is stronger than stock. YEP describes our jeep for sure.

Droop – well if you are an older person, you probably dread this word; but on our site droop is any downward suspension travel. Yeah, get your mind out of the gutter, that goes for you too Nicky G.

IRS – We all know what IRS stands for but in Jeeping it means; independent Rear Suspension. As the name implies, the rear wheels of the vehicle are independently sprung. A fully independent suspension has an independent suspension on all four corners of the vehicle. I wonder if we can tell the IRS what their initials really mean.

And finally Z-Box – at first I was thinking X-Box?  But, that wasn’t right – The Z-Box replaces the factory leaf spring mount on the vehicle frame. The Z-Box opens up during axle droop and works in conjunction with the revolver shackle to reduce spring stress and maintain proper driveshaft angles. The opposing construction allows only one side to open at a time. Now if you are not sure of what I just explained, go to the glossary and check it out.

Learning new terms can be a lot of fun. Maybe set up a trivia Jeep run and ask your buddies what some of the terms mean. Could be interesting to see who knows what. Check out the glossary of terms on our website and don’t forget to call in and tell us how many terms we have and which one is your favorite. And if you find a term we don’t have, let us know, go to www.jeeptalkshow.com/contact and let us know.

And while you are on the website you might just notice the three levels of being a paid subscriber and stop being a Rat Bastard. Really it’s OK, you can still be a Rat Bastard and use the glossary of terms.

Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update

The 2021 Jeep Talk Show Gladiator will be in Conroe Texas this weekend, March 5th.  I will be attending the 3rd Lone Star Jeep Invasion!  

Pete from TheGearSpot.com has invited me to be at their vendor area and help to model the TheGearSpot storage system for your Jeep Truck or Wrangler.

This will be the first year at the event with the Gladiator the years before I was there with the XJ.

Jeremy Rowe will be at the Lone Star Jeep Invasion as well!

Camp Fireside Chat

Which Axle To Lock First?  We’ll hear your ideas, and explain why you are wrong!

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Links Mentioned in this Episode

NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/

Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver

The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/

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Rat Bastards Webpage https://ratbastard.lol

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